Interview: Coach Alford talks about his decision to not speak with Mark Smith

[Mark]

4-14-12
The LoboLair.com
by Mark


(ESPN)


Welcome to the off-season. When a complete non-story turns into a story.
Even this might take the cake for "worst of the worst" or "Not so Top 10".

I understand that Lobo basketball is the center Albuquerque sports.
This is what feeds our site.

But I am still not sure I have ever seen the naming of a particular award become more of a non-story.
Long story short. UNM got the name incorrect on the Award. Its actually called the Lobo Scholar Award.
One of the UNM staffers mistakenly wrote the incorrect info down as Mountain West all academic award.

UNM has the same criteria as the MWC except playing time. UNM does not require the student athlete to have any actual playing time as a prerequisite.
A walkon or redshirt player can get recognized for this award without ever stepping on the court/field for a credited NCAA game.

This is NOT criteria Steve Alford made.
This is the same criteria that has been in place at UNM since before Alford and staff according to UNM.

The unfortunate twist in all of this is Hugh Greenwood and Kory Alford are completely getting lost in the story.
They will, however, get honored at the Lobo Scholar Banquet next week. This is also the reason UNM honored them in front of everyone without actually handing them an award.
Coach Steve Alford told The LoboLair that he will no longer speak with Mark Smith but has no issues with speaking to the journal as a paper. He feels like the Mark Smith has made this personal.

Listen to the entire interview here...x

[DAshroom34]

Seriously, I would have stopped taking questions from mark smith a long time ago. Mark smith isn't writing unbiased. He doesn't like Alford, and he knows Alford doesn't like him so he takes as many shots at Alford as possible. People may say Alford needs thicker skin, but at some point enough is enough.

[Howler]

Thanks, Mark, for posting this. It's really a tremendous credit to you personally that coach respects you enough to grant you this type of access. The value of the Lobo Lair to all of us who visit here cannot possibly be overstated, it is a great gift.

Thank you.

[fromotop]

As for me: Read my previous thread

[ThreadKiller]

First off, great interview Mark.
I think coach Alford has shown thick skin throughout his tenure here in regards to Mark Smith, but it sounds like the Journal going after his son for something he earned in the class room was crossing the line, and I agree 100%.
Its one thing to be impartial when covering a sports team and report the good and the bad, its another to be on a witch hunt and letting personal feelings trump good reporting and failing to look up the facts before it see's print. I know the standards are pretty low over there, but basic fact checking should be paramount.

[Duke]

Good get. QED.
Maybe karaoke boy can take a lesson here.

[pjamj]

Thanks Mark for the interview.

I give Steve Alford a tremendous amount of credit for doing what he did here. He has put up with Smith's BS for 5 years and everyone has their breaking point. I hope he never talks to the SOB again.

Last year Smith basically called Alford a liar with respect to the Mizzou rumors, now he falsely states that Alford wrote criteria that resulted in his son getting an award. What a jerk.

Another thing the Journal did which was very passive-aggressive and in extremely poor taste was the day they reported Bryce committed to the Lobos they also ran a blurb on the same page that referred to Alford as a coaching "retread". They essentially ruined what should have been a proud moment and memento for Alford's family by printing that BS not only on the same day but on the same page! That pissed me off, I can only imagine how it made the Alford family feel.

I am behind coach Alford 110%.

As for Smith, he is insignificant and I hope he gets what he deserves.

[NMStorm]

If the main requirement for earning this award is a 3.0 or better GPA than the majority of our team should be earning this award...imo. oh yeah...Smith should be pulled from covering lobo sports, it is very clear he has a negative personal agenda.

[Mark]

3.2, not 3.0.

[NMStorm]

3.2, not 3.0.

I missed that, 3.2 is a bit more difficult....still, I would flip out if my son dropped below 3.8... But my son can't even touch the rim (sadly) or hit a three consistently, different priorities.

[NMStorm]

3.2, not 3.0.

By the way, id thank your initial post but forum runner doesn't have that functionality, damn android!

[Mark]

I'm trying to tell you. Upgrade that dinosaur to an apple product!

[EastMtnLobo]

Atta boy Coach! Thank you for the report Mark.

[wolf1960]

Alford sticks up for all his players and the Lair has got Alfords back... thanks for the post OUR MARK, maybe the journal will finally wise up. !

[txlobo95]

Glad Mr. Krebs supported coach in this decision. Pretty clear Smith is a Tavanari and seems to have a vendetta to put as bad a spin on the program as possible. From the handling of the Jarion Henry twitter gate to making a huge story about kicking players off the team (Will Brown) in order to make room for another schollie player.

Now, it seems our coaches are not actively recruiting when they are full of schollies, even if a player has privately indicated they want to move on after the season. How many players have we lost out on because they changed the way they operate?
I can only hope they coaches run the program the way they feel they need to, Mark Smith forever be damned!

[ricoLobo]

Here's the response I made in the comments section at the bottom of the article on the Urinal's website. I doubt they'll print it, so I'll also post it here:

What we DO know is Mark Smith is the self-avowed enemy of the program. He said so the day Coach Alford was introduced to the community at his FIRST press conference with his FIRST QUESTION! Doesn't seem to me that that attitude falls into the category of what an "objective" writer should be.

UNM made a mistake in its press release. Was Smith even at the basketball banquet? Doesn't look like it. Why did you print something that you didn't think was factual in the first place? You know what happens when you assume, don't you, Randy?

New Mexico's "Leading" Newspaper has stooped to a new low. Maybe Mark could get a job at TMZ -- that's what he really wants to do when he grows up.

[loborick]

Thanks, Mark. Coach giving you this interview reinforces what we know...that this is the place to go for Lobo basketball news. Mark Smith has had this coming since Coach was hired. He needs to apologize to Coach for his behavior or the Journal needs to make someone else the men's basketball beat writer. This has gone on too long.

[txlobo95]

Was Smith even at the basketball banquet? Doesn't look like it.

Yes, sitting at the same table as Scott Galetti.

[jdw]

You know, reading all of this turns on my way-back machine. I grew up reading Dennis Latta and Frank Maestes at the Journal, Stevens and O'Rourke at the Trib. Actually worked at UNMSID as a work-study for a year and got to see it from the inside. Times have indeed changed.

The aforementioned writers took their share of shots at the Athletic Department, but it was never personal. UNM is a public institution and is definitely not perfect. It is part of the media's job to point out the imperfections when they appear. That said, they also maintained pretty decent relations with the various coaches they covered. It sort of makes sense; it's really nice to be able to impose on a coach at deadline and get a quote without losing the arm holding your recorder.

Whatever the history between Coach Alford and Mark Smith, the Journal is losing the PR war and that really is unusual. Controversey sells papers, but when you start attacking a local icon you better have a reason more substantial than "I don't like him".

I see it as a failure of management at the sports desk. You know Coach has a temper, manage the silly relationship!

Our Mark is right: this has got to be the silliest non-story I've seen in Lobo sports and the Journal's going to have to scramble their staff to rectify the situation. Should never have been allowed to happen.

Jeff

[Digital Lobo]

Muck Fark Smith.

[Wolfen1]

Muck Fark Smith.

My feelings exactly. This chit got old a long time ago. Then they(the journal) try to justify their handling of this matter. What a waste of ink, not mention the rag's salary costs.

It's obviously personal in nature and the attacks on Alford are predictably unfounded.

[pithowler]

Mark Smith needs to apologize not only to Coach Alford but, to every lobo player and coach, past or present, at whom he has taken a cheap shot. Then, if he has a conscience, he should resign. Smith is a cheap shot artist. He likes to make something out of nothing and he loves to kick people when they are down. He needs be shown the door imo. His writing is weak, so much so that I would feel sorry for him if he weren't such an a$$. At this point however, I don't think Smith is the only problem. After all the trash he has written about the Lobo program, it is amazing to me that he has not been fired. I want to know who he answers to. If they aren't willing to get rid of him, maybe they are the ones who need to go. I remember growing up reading the newspaper and being excited about reading lobo articles. There used to be uplifting articles written about the players and what some of them have overcome. Now it is almost always negative. Any fool can write a negative article. It takes real talent to wirte profile articles. The Journal, for years now, has been biting the very hand that helps to feed it. I, for one, am delighted that Coach Alford has decided to bite back.

[LoboMike]

If Smith was going to be as petty as trying to portray some type of favoritism for Kory getting this award (which he clearly earned), then what was Smith going to try and suggest in the future with any playing time, roles, awards, recognition that both Kory and Bryce get? It's best that Coach shut this BS down now, which he did. He's certainly not going to take anything from Smith where his own kids are concerned.

[pjamj]

Muck Fark Smith.

Dare I suggest a T-shirt? Would love to sport one around town!

[Lobolouie1]

I discontinued my subscription to the Journal long ago due to Mark Smith. His dismissal is long over due!

[LoboJ1]

Dare I suggest a T-shirt? Would love to sport one around town!

im guessing that will only build him a reputation as a bad boy celebrity ofsorts. best bet is to end to tell Journal owners about him and his damage to unm athletics...and a planned cancelation of subscriptions,
...also boycotting the urinal, dont even give it any hits online. the journal tells advertisers we get x amount of viewer hits every day, well, if that number drops, they get cant charge as much and that creates finanical pressure, which is probably the only thing that will make the smith love-fest at the journal change.

[LoneLobo]

The journal will keep smith as long as people keep reading his stories and talking about them. We want that to change then go after the advertisers. When advertisers balk at purchasing ads change will happen. Until that happens it's just more of the same until coach gets tired of it and moves on...

better yet, call the advertisers and tell them to quit the journal and then tell them where you go to get your Lobo news. That way we can kill two birds with one stone... put an end to mark smith who brings us divisive drivel and prop up our own Mark who's got the best Lobo site bar none!

[datildame]

Good idea, LoneLobo

[polhzp]

Coach lasted a year longer than I did. I stopped my subscription last year because of him. I, like most Lobo fans and New Mexicans want to hear and read positive stories about our team. I do understand we will have some negative but I don't appreciate him going out of his way to finding it or making it up.

[Digital Lobo]

Dare I suggest a T-shirt? Would love to sport one around town!

This would be a good logo for the T-shirt.


Muck Fark Smith!!!!