Good Bye Andy Dolich

It is with a sad heart that I write that Andy Dolich has resigned as President of Business Operations for the Memphis Grizzlies. Andy has been with the club since May of 2000. Andy was the lone holdover of the original group of executives who brought the club from Vancouver.

Andy has been the recipient of many negative comments over the years but in my dealings with him I always found him to be a class gentleman who handled himself and represented the franchise well. In his resignation letter Andy said:

“It was an honor to work for the Grizzlies organization and I am grateful for the incredible resources provided to our staff by Michael Heisley and our local owners. Ownership is doing everything in their power to build a successful community invested professional basketball franchise for all Memphians. FedExForum is a national jewel of a sports and entertainment facility that this community should be justifiably proud of.”

“I was blessed to work with a team of wonderful professionals who everyday in every way strive to improve the Grizzlies organization and the fan experience at FedExForum. I have never had a group of corporate partners and loyal fans more supportive of the ultimate goal of being a champion both on the court and in the community.”

Team owner Michael Heisley added these comments:

“Andy was instrumental in the team’s successful move from Vancouver to Memphis,” said Michael Heisley, Memphis Grizzlies Majority Owner. “His role in the marketing of FedExForum was critical to the outstanding arena that we have in our city. He was vital in every aspect of the organization’s success and was a champion of the team’s community investment programs which have set such a high standard in the pro sports industry. Having Jerry West and Andy Dolich assist me in launching the franchise in Memphis was invaluable. We have set a strong foundation which we are prepared to build on as we move forward.”

Andy did many great things in Memphis but will probably be best remembered for the Fan Advisory Board, the first of its kind in professional sports. The board, consisting of around 40 citizens including season ticket holders, power pack holders and non-season ticket holders was developed to have a better way to keep in touch with fans and their concerns. The model is being copied in many other markets around professional sports today.

The Grizzlies sales staff has asked me to appeal to fans of the team to attend the Houston game on Dec. 28th to give Andy a sell out at his last home game with the team. Call 800-HOOP for tickets.

The Grizzlies and 3 Shades of Blue will miss Andy's strong leadership and his willingness to try any means possible to help the team succeed in this community.

News and Notes

Over on Grizzlies.com they have a write-up about Media Day, which was held yesterday. There are also plenty of photos and player portraits to peruse, including the one shown here. Rudy Gay caught a fish "this big".

(Copyright 2007 NBAE. Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images)

The Grizzlies announced that they signed two free agents to the training camp roster yesterday -- Kasib Powell and Dontell Jefferson.

Dontell Jefferson is a 23-year old 6'4", 195-pound guard who played two seasons with Atlanta Metropolitan College, then transferred to the University of Arkansas for his final two seasons. He then played professionally last season with the NBADL champion Dakota Wizards, where he averaged 9.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg and 3.7 apg and 1.37 spg. He was coached there by David Joerger, who was recently hired as a Grizzlies assistant.

Kasib Powell is a 26-year old 6'7', 215-pound forward who attended Texas Tech for 4 years. Powell played professionally overseas in Bosnia, Greece, Russia and Greece. Last year, Powell averaged 9.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.0 apg and 1.4 spg for Spartak (St. Petersburg, Russia) in the Russian Superleague. He attended the training camps of three different teams the past three years: Orlando Magic (2006), Chicago Bulls (2005) and Minnesota Timberwolves (2004).

In other news, it looks like the rest of the sports world has caught on to the story we reported here on Shades of Blue four days ago -- Mark Price is the shooting coach for the Memphis Grizzlies. When news breaks, we're first on the scene with the duct tape.

Marlon Morgan has a nice column in the Commercial Appeal, detailing the fact that the team is actually healthy for this season's training camp -- a big difference from last year's disastrous start. He's got quotes from Brian Cardinal, Damon Stoudamire, Marc Iavaroni and Tarence Kinsey, all of whom are ready to prove that last season was an aberration and that this team was a lot better than their record indicated. Damon, in particular, seems to have a chip on his shoulder going into this season, which could result in him playing a lot more minutes than many fans would have expected after the selection of Mike Conley Jr. on draft night.

Finally, I urge all of you to read Geoff Calkins' column in this morning's Commercial Appeal titled "There's nothing hopeless about the Grizzlies this season". In it, Calkins details just how much things have changed from the standoffish, keep-at-arm's-length approach the organization had employed for the previous few seasons when dealing with its fanbase. The column is highlighted by President of Business Operations Andy Dolich offering his parking space so that a longtime season ticket holder would renew for this season. It is a new era in Memphis for the Grizzlies, so I think everyone should be willing to give them a chance to prove themselves to the community at large.