TJ Going to UNLV?

[JACKGUYII]

Re: TJ Going to UNLV?

So if someone offered you essentially the same job on a larger scale at triple the salary you would turn it down to hone your skills first?

I just fail to see how he made the program better during his time here. As someone else referenced, he elevated himself and set the program back. Failed to develop or keep the new players he brought to the program. Losing to an 8 seed and failing to get to the tournament with the talent we had is a disgrace.

[JimmyJack]

Re: TJ Going to UNLV?

He's a reporter, not a f***** fan! I'll also disagree that he doesn't care, it's a hell of a lot more fun to write and engage fans on a successful team. People that think a beat writer is a PR man for their beat are delusional.

I was a big TV fan and am also a big fan of Zim's work. They're different. Both great, in my book.

[bigticket1]

Re: TJ Going to UNLV?

Wow, tough crowd.

[BTownJack]

Re: TJ Going to UNLV?

TJ owes Mike Daum a big bit of gratitude for his new opportunity and million dollar raise. In my opinion, TJ didn't trust his abilities to coach and recruit SDSU to success beyond the Mike Daum era and took the first offer out of town. Outside of bringing David Jenkins to SDSU and giving Nagy's recruits a fair amount of space with their abilities I don't see what he did to make the program better.

And his reputation as a top-notch recruiter and the connections he made (eg. McDermott, Hoiberg, Prohm) before he even set foot on campus don't mean anything? We all had a good idea that he wasn't going to be around very long when he became our head coach. Mike certainly elevated himself, our program and TJ's resume but that isn't even close to the biggest reason he got the job at UNLV. He's been on nearly every list of possible candidates for open jobs the past 3 years.

[NebraskaJack]

Re: TJ Going to UNLV?

In my opinion, TJ didn't trust his abilities to coach and recruit SDSU to success beyond the Mike Daum era and took the first offer out of town.

So if someone offered you essentially the same job on a larger scale at triple the salary you would turn it down to hone your skills first?

[tbjack]

Re: TJ Going to UNLV?

TJ owes Mike Daum a big bit of gratitude for his new opportunity and million dollar raise. In my opinion, TJ didn't trust his abilities to coach and recruit SDSU to success beyond the Mike Daum era and took the first offer out of town. Outside of bringing David Jenkins to SDSU and giving Nagy's recruits a fair amount of space with their abilities I don't see what he did to make the program better.

Totally agree. He did very little in 3 years to elevate what he inherited to the next level. I’d say underachieved. TJ knew this and was leaving no matter what this off-season IMO. No brainer for him to take the deal but I won’t be signing praises to TJ for his work here. Depending on the outcome of these recruits/Jenkins very possible he simply used our program and set us back 8-10 years leaving a COMPLETE rebuild.

[JACKGUYII]

Re: TJ Going to UNLV?

TJ owes Mike Daum a big bit of gratitude for his new opportunity and million dollar raise. In my opinion, TJ didn't trust his abilities to coach and recruit SDSU to success beyond the Mike Daum era and took the first offer out of town. Outside of bringing David Jenkins to SDSU and giving Nagy's recruits a fair amount of space with their abilities I don't see what he did to make the program better.

[MNJack3]

Re: TJ Going to UNLV?

He's a reporter, not a f***** fan! I'll also disagree that he doesn't care, it's a hell of a lot more fun to write and engage fans on a successful team. People that think a beat writer is a PR man for their beat are delusional.

I think his point was that TV gave great insider insight without being Bias one way or another. He was also very interactive on Twitter and his weekly chats. He's got a sweet gig now that I would love to have but I miss having him on the beat, plus he loved digging into recruiting where Zimmer has been very vocal about not caring about that. I agree Beat Writers are not to be a fan, but as MontanaRabbit pointed out, it seems he would prefer covering Augie and Amateur Baseball and finds us SDSU Fan obnoxious and inconvenient.

If you asked TV a question and he didn't have an answer he would respond "Not sure but i'll check into when i'm in Brookings next" where Zimmer just brushes you off with an "IDK". He also took a shot at fans yesterday about getting yelled at regarding Ryan Miller not being hired.

[JackJD]

Re: TJ Going to UNLV?

Nate, I think you’ve spent too much time overseas. What an out of touch post!

Agreed TV was fantastic but Zim also does a great job considering the Argus is 2 or 3 sports reporters lighter than when TV was there.

SUPERBUNNY

I, too, agree with Superbunny. A reporter for an independent paper owes us nothing. Given the financial struggles newspapers are having, we probably owe the reporters our support by buying subscriptions (I am not a subscriber to the Argus--feeling a little guilty about that).
JackJD, BS in Journalsim.

[naters_gonna_nate]

Re: TJ Going to UNLV?

This is spot on. When TV was on the beat, that was really his only gig. Zim does a great job for what the AL gives him to work with as a reporter.

Personally, I think that their sports coverage is slowly becoming a bit of a joke. SDSU and USD are both successful, and large enough, to have their own beat writers. SDSU has an excellent journalism department, I would love to see them utilize some of that talent to cover the Jacks.

Check my longer post from late last night

[SoDakJack]

Re: TJ Going to UNLV?

Nate, I think you’ve spent too much time overseas. What an out of touch post!

Agreed TV was fantastic but Zim also does a great job considering the Argus is 2 or 3 sports reporters lighter than when TV was there.

SUPERBUNNY

This is spot on. When TV was on the beat, that was really his only gig. Zim does a great job for what the AL gives him to work with as a reporter.

Personally, I think that their sports coverage is slowly becoming a bit of a joke. SDSU and USD are both successful, and large enough, to have their own beat writers. SDSU has an excellent journalism department, I would love to see them utilize some of that talent to cover the Jacks.

[JacksFTW]

Re: TJ Going to UNLV?

I am not surprised to see TJ go, but didn't think he would get this type of opportunity for a few more years. Coach Hendo will do a great job!

[SUPERBUNNY]

Re: TJ Going to UNLV?

Terry Vandrovec was and is the GOAT and I'm still sad he's not the State beat writer. Zimmer is fine, but he pales in comparison and doesn't seem to have any rooting interest for SDSU. He's obviously supposed to be fairly neutral, but between the lines I've never felt he gives one s**t about how SDSU actually performs.

Nate, I think you’ve spent too much time overseas. What an out of touch post!

Agreed TV was fantastic but Zim also does a great job considering the Argus is 2 or 3 sports reporters lighter than when TV was there.

SUPERBUNNY

[naters_gonna_nate]

Re: TJ Going to UNLV?

It's funny how perspectives and biases inform opinions. USD fans swear that Zimmer is a SDSU homer. People on here are upset that he doesn't have a "rooting interest" in SDSU. Good stuff.

Simply my opinion, but it would be enjoyable to have a reporter who is from here, knows the history through and through, and has a rich appreciation for the university. And there is certainly a route of writing to reflect both that and provide objective analysis. This is really the case for all of the beat writers for your Nebraskas and Iowas. They grew up there, are engrained in the history, some attended the universities, and some even wrote for the school newspapers while there! When the team loses a huge game, you can feel the heartbreak through the words. When they win, you can feel their shared interest and passion. And the result is really beautiful writing.

Now, with Zimmer, it just feels like he's doing his job. Nothing more, nothing less. He was assigned to SDSU by the Argus, he took the assignment, and that's that. But we don't get to bleed the passion with him the next morning when we open up the Argus. And to the point, I certainly don't think the Argus has some obligation to keep the SDSU writer SUPER neutral to appease the USD crowd and the USD writer SUPER neutral to appease us. Granted, the Argus has terrible funding issues and these writers are being asked to write for more things than anyone is capable of. But in a perfect world, our SDSU writer would have gone to SDSU, understand the nuances of the athletic department, know the history,and have a burning passion to write about SDSU sports in an objective manner. It is done many other places outside of South Dakota.

To wrap up this long-winded, off-topic discussion, I'd like to be clear that I have absolutely no qualms with Zim as a person. Seems like a good man and he does his job pretty well. Just feels like more of a job than a dream hobby for him to cover SDSU. Nothing he can control. I do appreciate his coverage. And with that, good night, my friends!

[Mr_Tibbs]

Re: TJ Going to UNLV?

Yeah, I have no problem with Matt's neutral take's at all. And I don't mind when he tells it like it is, whether that be calling out our defensive staff after that debacle in Fargo in December, or reading through the coach speak surrounding the press conference after the WIU upset. My issue is more on his hot takes on twitter that really give off an impression that he'd rather be covering D2. I enjoy his articles and apprecite his coverage. But he has a pretty arrogant tone and comes across as an NSIC fan boy sometimes.