Maybe the NCAA Investigators are going to Take their Job Seriously

Tweet

With all the publicity over the last couple of years about the slime in College Hoops, it was only a matter of time before the investigators caught up. Here is a great piece about the investigation into the Josh Shelby recruitment. Looks like Kansas, Tennessee and Kentucky are on the hot seat on this one.

Now all we have to do is get the NCAA to focus the penalties on the Coaches as well as the cheating schools. Let's stop rewarding these sleezebags with new jobs when they cheat -- let's ban them from the the college game for a period of time.

Great Article on Recruiting by Dana O'Neil: Interviewed 20 Coaches

Tweet

I really enjoyed this ESPN article and I hope you do too. Here are some notable quotes from the article:

What is your least favorite part of Summer Recruiting?

"I'll tell you another problem -- 70 percent of the kids we're sitting here watching should be in summer school. They shouldn't be here (at AAU ball).''

How many of your peers do you trust?

This had some fascinating answers and I am not going to repost them all so go read the article, but here is one:

"How many? Five,'' one coach said. Five percent? "No, five total,'' he said. "And those five are my assistants.''

How many programs do you think are committing major violations? Secondary? And why does no one snitch?

Wow, this answer is scary!!!
"One of my players [who left early for the draft] was working out with another top-five draft pick,'' a coach said. "They got to talking and my kid said something about not having money or whatever on campus. The other kid said, 'My coach set up expense accounts all over town for me. Yours didn't?'''

Which league is the cleanest? The dirtiest?

'Congratulations, Jim Delany. Your league wins in a landslide. Of the 20 coaches surveyed, 11 said the Big Ten was the cleanest in the country. Three others cited the land where time stood still, also known as the scholarship-less Ivy League. (Although even the Ancient Eight earned one disparaging nod: "The Ivy League,'' one coach said before pausing to add, "I mean the Ivy League a couple of years ago, before all of that stuff at Harvard.")

But coaches cited the Big Ten's perceived willingness to police itself and rosters that "made sense," in which players traditionally come from the footprint of the schools they choose to attend.'

The Dirtiest...14 of 20 cited the SEC!!

What is the biggest problem facing college basketball?

Unanimous answer was agents and runners and this section is a must read. It lays out all the tricks these agents and runners use to get money into the hands of the kids and their families.


Check out the full article, it is an excellent read.

I feel Like I Have Had a Lebronotomy

Tweet

Are we serious here -- a one hour selection show tonight on ESPN?!! Really? And having said that, you bet I will be tuned-in. What a crazy story in a crazy offseason.

It looks less and less likely that he selects Chicago -- which still gives him the best chance to win multiple Championships -- but I really could not say definitively where he is going. And maybe that is the most amazing part of this story...

...How has the Lebron camp kept this thing a secret in the age of twitter, facebook and blogs? How has one person in the know, NOT spilled the beans? Think about it, nobody can keep a major secret in the age of the internet -- mergers are leaked, break-ups get out and of course every interesting video ends up on Youtube.

Maybe James really has not decided yet -- that would be crazy. Waiting until 2 minutes before the show to decide. Really? Wow.

The whole thing just blows my mind. And clearly others too. Here is the best piece I have read on the whole affair, by Bill Simmons of ESPN.

Horrible Rule Proposed by NCAA Rules Committee

Tweet

Once again the NCAA has completely missed the point with a new proposed rule that would prohibit schools from offering scholarships until July 1 of a players Junior year. I am not sure what they are trying to accomplish with this rule, but it definitely will have HUGE unintended consequences.

I will nickname it the "Rich bet Richer" clause. Currently many second tier, third tier and mid-major schools are able to get Top 100 (or Top 200 for mid-majors) players by offering early. The "Prestige" schools rarely offer early because they want to watch players develop and make sure that they do not have any major recruiting misses.

However, to remain competitive the next level of schools such as Clemson, Illinois, Florida, Ohio State, Oregon, Texas, etc, are willing to take the risk of offering very good players early. Often they will offer several good kids at the same position and tell them that the first commit gets the spot. This is good for basketball because it keeps parity amongst the clubs and is the reason the same 4-5 schools don't win the NC every year.

However, now we are going to hamstring those schools and they are only going to be able to offer in the summer before their Junior year. As a result, the Top Prestige schools will know exactly what they are getting with each kid. They will get to pick the best of the "known commodities" and all the other schools will have to slot in behind them. This just guarantees that the Top Schools will be guaranteed to stay there --- and is very bad for parity.

If the NCAA is looking for a way to ruin their glorious NCAA Tournament, this rule is a good start. It won't be much fun to watch if you know that only one of the Top 6 teams can win the tournament.

As you might imagine, I hate this rule and hope that they come to their senses before the pass it.

NOTE: Want to sound off to the committee about the proposed rule. Kevin Anderson, Athletic Director at Army is the Committee Chair, from the Army Athletics website here is his email kevin.b.anderson@usma.edu

And the Biggest Winner in the NBA Draft is....

Tweet

actually a team that did not even have a pick in the draft...your Chicago Bulls!! By trading away the 17th pick and Heinrich to Washington and freeing up his $9 million under the cap, they are in the drivers seat for the Free Agent market that starts in July.

If Chicago was a slight favorite for Lebron a week ago, they have increased that lead tonight. They now have the potential to sign Lebron and another max salary Free Agent. They also have flexibility to look at a sign and trade with Cleveland if it unfolds that way.

Of course, Miami is still in the mix too by freeing up cap space too. However, if you are James how can you pass up the opportunity to play with best young PG in the game. Wade is on the downside of his career, but Rose is just getting started. The Bulls have a guy to clean-up the boards in Noah (who importantly does not demand a lot of touches) Now the Bulls could also add Bosh, Boozer or Joe Johnson to the mix. That should seal the deal for the Bulls, but still a few weeks of stress to go.

Overall, it is very exciting news.

Lightning Striking the John Hancock Building

Tweet

This is one of the coolest videos I have seen. Imagine how many times the John Hancock tower in Chicago must get struck by lightning each year!! If only we could harness that energy.

Lightning Strikes on the John Hancock Building from Craig Shimala on Vimeo.