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Stotts shock and awe
Bucks coach canned in disappointing run
By Brett Winkler
Nov. 1, 2005: Stotts wins his debut as Bucks head coach with an overtime win over the 76ers, putting the team on pace for an 82-0 record.
Many Bucks fans remain shocked and saddened, still reeling from the incredible loss they suffered on March 14.
In news that devastated the Bucks community worse than when the team traded away Steve Blake, General Manager Larry Harris announced the firing of mastermind head coach Terry Stotts.
Rather than shed any more tears over this terrible, tragic loss, lets take a look at a timeline of Stotts illustrious year-and-a-half tenure as head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks.
May 7, 2004: The Atlanta Hawks fire Terry Stotts after a 52-85 record with the team. The surprise firing is a setback for the future Hall of Fame coach, but he knows that after his teams performance, the offers will come rolling in.
July 8, 2005: It took longer than expected, but Terry Stotts finally gets another chance at head coach. The Milwaukee Bucks sign him to a contract after firing Terry Porter because he â?¦ well â?¦ why did the Bucks fire Terry Porter again?
Nov. 1, 2005: Stotts wins his debut as Bucks head coach with an overtime win over the 76ers, putting the team on pace for an 82-0 record.
Nov. 8, 2005: Stotts suffers his first loss with the Bucks when the Golden State Warriors pull the upset of the century.
April 18, 2006: The Bucks finish the 2005-06 season 40-42, a 10-game improvement from the previous season and good enough to earn the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference and face the Detroit Pistons in the first round of the playoffs.
May 3, 2006: The Bucks avoid the sweep, but Stotts first season comes to a surprisingly early end with a 4-1 series loss to Detroit.
Nov. 1, 2006: The Bucks again start the season with a win under Stotts, beating the Pistons for the first of what will probably be many key wins in the division. (Editors Note: As of the Stotts firing, the Bucks were 1-13 against the Central Division.)
Jan. 2-Feb. 23: Injuries, not poor coaching, cause the Bucks to go 3-22 over this stretch. Again, this had nothing to do with poor coaching. Not a thing. Nope. OK, OK, maybe a little.
March 5: Bucks lose.
March 10: Bucks lose.
March 12: Bucks lose.
March 14: Terry Stotts is relieved of his duties as head coach. ï?
Alright, so maybe Terry Stotts wasnt the greatest of coaches after all. Injuries certainly played their part this season, but the Bucks never really seemed to play defense under Stotts.
The good news is that his replacement, Larry Krystkowiak, is a promising coaching prospect who will get the team to play a little D.
Hopefully, Coach K will end up with a longer, more successful timeline than his predecessor.
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