Duelin’ Doolin Leads San Francisco
Austin Westlake and Texas D1 Ambassador alum Cody Doolin scored 21 points and had 7 assists as the Dons defeated Santa Clara last night. Twelve of the soph’s points came in the last 6 minutes of the game to lead the com from behind win. The following are exerpts from a story in the San Francisco Chronicle this morning.
San Francisco Chronicle : Steve Kroner
Maybe a little argument with his head coach was just the tonic for USF point guard Cody Doolin. He and Rex Walters had a confrontation early in the second half of the Dons’ 85-69 victory over Santa Clara on the Hilltop on Thursday night.
USF had not led to that point, but Doolin and the Dons dominated from there as they extended Santa Clara’s losing streak to a school-record-tying 12 games. During a timeout with 14:14 left, Walters got into a heated exchange with Doolin near midcourt. Walters initiated brief physical contact. As the USF players went to the bench, Walters slammed his clipboard to the floor.
Cody Doolin circa 2009 with the Texas D1 Ambassadors
After the game, Walters said he was trying to get Doolin to do a better job of giving his teammates defensive signals. Walters said Doolin is the rare player who can handle public criticism.
“Us old-school guys complain about new-school kids,” Walters said. “He’s the one kid that I absolutely know can take that type of chewing and respond the way he does.”
Said Doolin: “I didn’t even think about it two seconds after it happened. … I just tried to (focus) not on how he was conveying the message, but what the message was.”
Doolin led the Dons with 21 points and seven assists. So, was Walters’ outburst a calculated move to inspire Doolin? “I’m not Bobby Knight,” Walters said. “I’m not Coach K, and I’m not Roy Williams. I’m not that smart.” Said Doolin: “I think it obviously got me fired up a little bit. I guess it was a great thing.”
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A couple of weeks ago I was visiting with Coach Walters and he told me “Cody’s my guy, I love him. He’s just so unselfish, analytical and tough on himself I wish he’d shoot the ball more”. Fast forward to this morning and I was having coffee with Proud Papa Jim Doolin who’s an in your face kinda guy. We were chuckling. “Cody’s such a sweet kid and good person but he has a fire in his belly. I’m not so sure that Coach Walters shouldn’t have gotten him fired up sooner because this kid is one of the most mentally tough competitors I’ve ever coached and he’ll respond by getting after it.”-Coach Max Ivany
Keep kicking butt Cody!
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