I don’t necessarily agree with this take entirely…Dre’s last year here saw him going and getting buckets at the end of the shot clock when nothing was there…I don’t think there is any way he could play in our O with just standing around the perimeter…if he turns out to be the guy that goes to get a bucket late in the shot clock it cuz he is a stud not some specialized guy that can only do,one thing…go to,the hole…
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Him having this big fall off is your opinion. Obviously most UVA fans do not concure with you. His website and podcast are still a staple of many longtime UVA sports fans👍
SCOOPS? Is that what you want? Then tune in to the the daily progress. Is that where you are getting your ‘scoops’. Share with us where you get your 100% accurate scoops from …
I don’t want to turn this into a Jerry Ratcliffe thread. But I wanted to defend the guy a bit, and also give the perspective of a former sports journalist about what might be going on here.
Jerry joined the Daily Progress about the time I graduated. He’s always been a diligent reporter, and he’s always had access. He had a wide and diverse range of sources would return his phone calls, often before they returned anyone else’s.
But he’s never been particularly deeply sourced. People would return his calls, but they didn’t necessarily give him information that they weren’t giving to everyone else.
His departure from the Daily Progress seems to have exacerbated that trend – and understandably so. Building sources takes time. A ton of time. You’ve got many new coaches and administrators at UVa, and with all the content that Jerry is responsible for producing now, as well as all his additional business responsibilities, I suspect he doesn’t have as much time to make in-person appearances and chat up people and gain their trust and confidence the way he used to.
You can see that in his stories. There’s a lot of “it has been reported” and summaries of what has been printed elsewhere. He’s relying a lot more on other people’s work. As far as basketball recruiting, I’m pretty confident that someone who specializes in that area, like HGN, has better sources.
Jerry still knows more about UVa sports than almost anyone. He’s still a respected writer, and people still return his phone calls. As TobaccoRd says, Virginia fans still flock to his website. But if you’re looking for inside information that you can’t get elsewhere, he’s not the place I’d turn.
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i assume it’s the generation of fans that are closer to his age/demo… and i (probably incorrectly!) assume that most of the fans on this particular message board (particularly those interested in recruiting details) skews younger. i’m 36 and have been under the impression that puts me older than well over 50% of the individuals here.
That said, the above is all true re: Jerry and he did great work for a long time. but i don’t think his current work is that relevant or useful, so it’s wild to me that people go to see him report.
and you can clearly pick up (via those articles or just random tweets/comments in other media) his bitterness about his Daily Progress departure (as told to me, unrelated to his work quality and more related to other things that sounded to me like a reasonable reason to be let go).
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I see you obviously don’t concur with the opinion but from what I can tell most fans do agree with him. Jerry has more or less become a joke, when it comes to scoops, in most UVA spaces after the Zach Rice debacle. Doesn’t mean he can’t still write a story but he should probably bow out of trying to break recruiting news. Better places for that with better sources.
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I posted this elsewhere, but I’ll post it here too. I have some issues with Jerry’s credibility. The most recent example was his proclamation that UVA was making a huge mistake by not naming Dex head football coach and that he would bring in an unbelievable staff. I don’ know that Tony Elliott will ultimately work out or not, but I do know that when Pry left State College, Franklin didn’t elevate Dex (who was “co-DC”), but went outside to name Diaz as the DC.
In addition, while still with the Progress, Jerry wrote a slobbering column on Coach K repeating K’s lie of Sampson going 40 minutes in the ACC Tournament rout of Duke in '83. Jerry covered Holland and UVA. Why would he even begin to think Holland would keep the best player in the country in during a first-round blowout in the Tourney a year after losing Othell Wilson in the ACC Tournament and costing us an excellent shot at the '82 Natty? His knowledge of Holland and UVA should have convinced him that speaking-circuit statement of K’s didn’t pass the smell test.
To me, his worst sin was writing an “If I were in charge” column after being told of the imminent Jon Oliver-forced coaching changes for Mike London. That was incredibly disingenuous to suggest these were his thoughts about and ideal UVA staff in addition to serving as a mouthpiece for the UVA Athletic Department to justify those changes.
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For me it’s an attitude thing as well. When you screw up as of late like he has, you need to own it. He hasn’t though and I think that’s what has turned me and many others off.
Eli committing has turned it into a Jerry thread lol
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For Fans and Foes of Jerry:
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Same
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I was 36
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Man wasnt that great. 36
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I wish i was still 36
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Coming up on the 14th anniversary of 36!
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Lets go!!! ha
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I remember Fresh saying multiple times that he can make difficult things look easy … this is the kinda dude we need a roster full of … dudes who can make at least 2 aspects of the game look easier than others.
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If he is consistent with the 3 we won’t have him long
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Thanks. Dont think I have seen this video. And man wait til you see him in person
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Pairing him with Dunn and Bond defensively is going to be wild. Add a shot eraser like Buchanan and hell, @haney could be out there and that’s still an elite defensive lineup
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