I don't like JP's comments and I do believe he was who Marcus was talking about when he said some weren't buying into Roy's system earlier in the year. Regardless, we have to remember that we are talking about a 20 year old kid who has enough talent to play a man's sport for a living but who still has the mindset of a kid. I think IF he decides he isn't ready for the NBA and wants to come back he will have to convince Roy that he wants to be here and wants to be a part of the team (and all that means) before anything will happen, but, thankfully, Roy is much older and wiser than a lot of folks here. That will be something ROY decides, not us.
I haven't told many people this story, but many years ago I was working at a charity golf tournament where John Bunting, who had just been named UNC's football coach, was playing with a lot of other ACC coaches, current and former players and NFL types. I had the privilege of driving Bunting back to his car from the far end of one of the courses, which meant we talked a lot about UNC football for the 15 minutes or so we were together. Some of you may remember that early on he had a QB at the time (I won't mention names) who decided he didn't want to be a part of the team anymore and publicly said he was transferring. There was a lot of bitterness from fans over this, so I asked him if he had spoken to this young man and if so how he was doing. I wasn't prying or trying to get inside information, just curious. What he said really floored me. He said that this was a kid who was getting a lot of input from friends and family on what he should do and that he was very confused and that he hoped that he would really think about what he wanted to do before he made a rash decision. I asked him if he would take him back and he said that he understood the pressure these kids were under and knew that he wasn't making good decisions based on sound information so he felt bad for the kid first and foremost and offered to try to help him no matter what decision he made. He said ultimately he would welcome him back with open arms, but that he wanted to leave it up to the team. If his teammates thought he deserved to come back and be a part of the team then he would be welcomed back. If not, then it wouldn't be wise to let him because he would be a cancer to the team and they would never follow him.
I think that was one of the wisest things I have heard a coach say and I have always admired him for that. In this case, I believe that IF JP wants to be a part of next year's team Roy will welcome him back, but not before the team does. I believe if they and he welcome JP back then we should respect that and welcome him back as well. If that happens, I have no doubt we will see a much different JP Tokoto than we did this year.
