Focus on the future of Dougherty’s program, not past losses
COMMENTARY
Brent Yarina

Year one of the Neil Dougherty regime got off to an inauspicious start last season, as the Frogs compiled a 9-19 record, finishing tied for last place in Conference USA.

From the outside, many Frog fans viewed last season as a complete failure and a giant step backward for the TCU men’s basketball program. Unfortunately, a majority of these fans were also quick to make Dougherty the scapegoat for the unsuccessful 2002-03 season.

However, this is not the case on either account.

In no way can last season be viewed as a complete failure, just as no one individual can be at fault for the poor outcome. It is greatly unfair to blame an entire season on a first-year coach.

Last season’s poor record was a collective effort, not one individual’s doing. If one is going to blame coach Dougherty, then also fault the rest of the Frogs’ coaching staff and all the players.

At some point, the head coach can only be responsible for so much of his team’s successes or failures before it is time to question the players. Coaches today are constantly walking a thin line, where they are either the victim or beneficiary, based on their players’ ability or inability to execute. This is the reason for the annual coaching carousel in sports every year.

But a coach’s fate should not be determined in this manner. No coach deserves the amount of criticism he gets when his team loses, nor does he deserve the endless praise he gets when his team wins. There is more to a good coach than just a win-loss record.

This is especially true at the collegiate level.

In comparison to a professional coach, a college coach’s duties dwarf that of a pro coach.

College coaches must be a father figure to their players, making sure they mature as individuals, go to class, get their grades and leave college as grown men. Once all those duties are complete, a college coach must then find the time to recruit new players to his program.

Maybe Dougherty did not turn this basketball program around as quickly as Frog fans envisioned he would, but he has already had a significant effect on the TCU basketball program.

Remember when the student section at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum was anything but that?

Dougherty was the mastermind behind the idea of moving the student section closer to the floor. In doing so, he has not only created a greater home court advantage for his players and team, but he has provided the stadium with a superior basketball atmosphere.

It was also Dougherty who scheduled the most anticipated home game at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum this year against his old team, the University of Kansas. Regardless of the Frogs’ record heading into this contest, it will be the highest attended game of the year.

There is no doubt Dougherty has big plans for the TCU basketball program. Dougherty must have seen some sort of future at TCU if he was willing to leave Roy Williams and Kansas two years ago.

However, those who expect Dougherty to make the Frogs into instant conference contenders are being unrealistic, considering TCU is his first head coaching job.

Give Dougherty a few more years to recruit the players he needs to fit his system and then you can judge his coaching abilities. Until that time, Frog fans must be patient and have faith in their young coach.

Dougherty learned from one of the best in Williams during his time as an assistant at Kansas and that experience and tutelage can only help him bring a winning tradition to TCU.

For any Dougherty doubters out there, just remember how much success the Frogs’ football team had before LaDainian Tomlinson and Dennis Franchione arrived at TCU.

No one expected TCU football to ever reach the current level they are playing at before we were introduced to LT and Coach Fran, so, tell me, why can’t TCU basketball do the same?