153 replies to this topic

[DJ MC]

He has dodged many scandals, all of which you could claim he should have been fired for.

 

The university stuck with him through that and because they don't here, he's pissed?  What a douche.

 

And let's be clear about something....when the feds have you, you are done.  Their success rate is extremely high.

 

I mean, any of us would be pissed if we lost our job, even if we knew that we entirely deserved it. So that attitude isn't surprising, especially if they really aren't following their procedures or his contract.

 

And honestly, what does he have to lose? The possibility of an analyst job? He's not going to coach again, so either he fights and wins, fights and loses, or fights and they pay him off (which is what will happen, of course).

 

Louisville is trying to cover its collective ass, because they know the NCAA is going to crush them (actual death penalty or no--they could "just" get the Bob Wade treatment). They're in panic mode, and are doing dumb things in a rash manner, and those things will come back to bite them in the end.

[You Play to Win the Game]

They probably think they are getting out ahead of it and being proactive. In their haste though, they've only managed to be the face of this whole thing. People now associate FBI scandal with Louisville.

[DJ MC]

Miami has acknowledged that they are under investigation, too, even though they weren't officially named in the original information dump (although it was assumed).

 

I think the interesting thing with this is almost less about what happens with college basketball, and more about what the chances are this scandal opens up into college football.

[SportsGuy]

Pat Forde said this morning that up to 100 schools could be involved in this by the time this is all said and done.

[Chris B]

Pat Forde said this morning that up to 100 schools could be involved in this by the time this is all said and done.

 

Wouldn't be surprised at all.

[BSLChrisStoner]

Pat Forde said this morning that up to 100 schools could be involved in this by the time this is all said and done.

 

So every major conference school?  That would suck.

Look, if MD is doing this, I'm not going to be happy.  Frankly, one way I can look at this is, is the belief that this specifically is part of the reason Gary retired.

If MD is proven to be one of a handful of schools, throw the books at the Terps.
If MD is proven to be one of 100 schools... then just figure out where the sport goes from here.

[SportsGuy]

So, you have Kentucky, Duke, Kansas, UNC....4 schools that routinely have top 5ish recruiting classes.

 

Do you assume they are all involved in this or is their rep so strong that they aren't doing these things (probably doing something but I am talking this specific investigation) to get the players?

[bnickle]

So, you have Kentucky, Duke, Kansas, UNC....4 schools that routinely have top 5ish recruiting classes.

 

Do you assume they are all involved in this or is their rep so strong that they aren't doing these things (probably doing something but I am talking this specific investigation) to get the players?

They might not be caught up in this specific investigation but there is no doubt they're all paying kids and taking part in funneling kids to agents. Kansas is  the top Adidas school so they are by far the most likely of the 4 you named to be caught in this investigation.

 

 

 

Also, Arizona and Louisville are both unquestioned Top 10 programs. Do you really think there is some big  disparity in status of the blue bloods vs these schools just below them that allows them to avoid the same tactics. Oh its Coach K and Roy Williams. I'll turn just down the 100,000 Zona is offering and go play for free at Carolina for a year.   

[Mike in STL]

I wonder if LaVar Ball had any influence on this. Hear me out.

Ball is a master marketer of Lonzo, his kids, his brand, buys into all publicity is good publicity. He is their self made agent. He built his empire on the backs of his kids.

There are a lot of, what are they called, street agents? People who want to be agents, their own boss, for the sole purpose of getting a slice of an up and coming talented kids pie. But they don't have kids of their own, so they sell parents of talented kids on this idea that they can bring them Nike, Addidas, UA, etc...

I get that it's been going on for a while, but I wonder if someone like Ball put the idea in more people's heads that they top can get rich off of talented kids. The street agents, self starters, grew exponentially and in turn did a sloppy job and red flags go up all over the FBI.

I'm not sure what the solution is, but I hope the NCAA crumbles worse than the schools. Punishing the schools only hurts many kids who had nothing to do with any of it. But hopefully the NCAA gets theirs and some good comes from this in the end.

A slap on the wrist will suck.

[SportsGuy]

What I want to know is what is the end game here?  There always has to be a huge fish to go get.

 

And the huge fish here isn't a college or a coach.  It has to be bigger than that.  

 

Is it one (or all) of the shoe companies?  Is it the NCAA?  

[bnickle]

I wonder if LaVar Ball had any influence on this. Hear me out.

Ball is a master marketer of Lonzo, his kids, his brand, buys into all publicity is good publicity. He is their self made agent. He built his empire on the backs of his kids.

There are a lot of, what are they called, street agents? People who want to be agents, their own boss, for the sole purpose of getting a slice of an up and coming talented kids pie. But they don't have kids of their own, so they sell parents of talented kids on this idea that they can bring them Nike, Addidas, UA, etc...

I get that it's been going on for a while, but I wonder if someone like Ball put the idea in more people's heads that they top can get rich off of talented kids. The street agents, self starters, grew exponentially and in turn did a sloppy job and red flags go up all over the FBI.

I'm not sure what the solution is, but I hope the NCAA crumbles worse than the schools. Punishing the schools only hurts many kids who had nothing to do with any of it. But hopefully the NCAA gets theirs and some good comes from this in the end.

A slap on the wrist will suck.

The investigation started before Ball became known. They essentially just got lucky. They had the guy in Pittsburgh by the balls on something unrelated to CBB corruption. He by chance had connections and knew things and so it began.

[The Epic]

So, you have Kentucky, Duke, Kansas, UNC....4 schools that routinely have top 5ish recruiting classes.

 

Do you assume they are all involved in this or is their rep so strong that they aren't doing these things (probably doing something but I am talking this specific investigation) to get the players?

 

Until someone can prove otherwise, I would bet that every school, without exception, is involved.

[SportsGuy]

Until someone can prove otherwise, I would bet that every school, without exception, is involved.

So, lets say that happens.

 

Lets say most, if not all, of the major conference schools are involved.

 

What happens?  Are you going to ban all of those schools from the tourney?  Are you going to take scholarships away from everyone?

 

In other words, its easy to punish a handful of teams...its close to impossible to punish everyone. (outside of a slap of the wrist..i am talking major penalties).  

 

There is too much money at stake to say that Kansas, UNC, Duke, UCLA, Mich St, Kentucky, etc...are all out of the tourney for a few years.

 

Mike Greenberg raised an interesting question today...is this the straw that breaks the camels back and you see the major conference leave the NCAA and do their own thing, with their own rules?

[The Epic]

Using that hypothetical, I think one of three things happens. 

 

1) NCAA goes away and we have our own newly-made institution.

 

2) NCAA pretty much gets neutered, and schools get more free reign to do what they want re: paying kids, wider range of boosting, etc.

 

3) NCAA pretty much have to take huge financial bath, and a year off from athletic competition to "clean house": Now that's obviously the nuclear option, but I don't think it would be off the table. Players who'd want to go pro can just go pro, and we start over fresh a year later. 

[SportsGuy]

Using that hypothetical, I think one of three things happens. 

 

1) NCAA goes away and we have our own newly-made institution.

 

2) NCAA pretty much gets neutered, and schools get more free reign to do what they want re: paying kids, wider range of boosting, etc.

 

3) NCAA pretty much have to take huge financial bath, and a year off from athletic competition to "clean house": Now that's obviously the nuclear option, but I don't think it would be off the table. Players who'd want to go pro can just go pro, and we start over fresh a year later. 

Way too much money will be lost there....don't see that as viable.

[SportsGuy]

https://sports.yahoo...-034806204.html

[DJ MC]

One important thing to note here, in terms of who the target(s) is or are, is that 67% of NCAA Division I institutions are public. So the administrative staffs, including the coaches, are essentially government employees (think of the annual "X State's highest-paid employee is the football/basketball coach" articles). If we're talking large-scale interstate bribery and fraud among government employees, that's a hell of a scandal whether it's a congressional or a coaching staff.

[SportsGuy]

No Bueno for Pitino:

 

http://www.espn.com/...omplaint-source

[BSLMikeLowe]

Using that hypothetical, I think one of three things happens. 

 

1) NCAA goes away and we have our own newly-made institution.

 

2) NCAA pretty much gets neutered, and schools get more free reign to do what they want re: paying kids, wider range of boosting, etc.

 

3) NCAA pretty much have to take huge financial bath, and a year off from athletic competition to "clean house": Now that's obviously the nuclear option, but I don't think it would be off the table. Players who'd want to go pro can just go pro, and we start over fresh a year later. 

 

 

Thing there is the major pro leagues are the ones who determine when players are eligible to go pro, not the NCAA. Maybe not as big a deal for the NBA, where you only need to be 1 year out of high school to declare for the draft. Much bigger deal for the NFL, where you have to be 3 years out. Maybe the leagues would make a one-time exception due to the circumstances, though I doubt it. It would definitely throw the draft cycles out of whack.

[SportsGuy]

CFB has to be involved in this right?  Shoe deals in the NFL aren't big deals but you can certainly push guys to agents, etc...

 

And btw, if CFB isn't involved, I think that tells you that REAL targets are the shoe companies since the shoe deals just don't happen for football players.