More questionable Calipari/Kentucky stuff

[Lord Ash]

Seems there is some serious question about Bledsoe even being qualified for school last year.

Looking at those grade jumps and the out-of-order classes and the ridiculous online classes (and even ignoring the conflicting grade scandal, and reading some of those quotes from school administrators) it sounds like Bledsoe should have been nowhere near a college classroom last year.

http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2...ledsoes_p.html

If the NCAA, NBA, and NBAPA cared a LICK for these kids, they would develop the developmental league into something worthwhile.

[enick66]

it sounds like Bledsoe should have been nowhere near a college classroom last year.

I think it is pretty safe to say Bledsoe was nowhere near a college classroom last year. I think his GPA was around a 1.0. Bledsoe shouldn't have been on an NCAA basketball court though.

[BD80]

I think it is pretty safe to say Bledsoe was nowhere near a college classroom last year. I think his GPA was around a 1.0. Bledsoe shouldn't have been on an NCAA basketball court though.

Nice shot! Lots of power and very nicely placed.

If his GPA was around 1.0, it sounds like his tutor and academic advisor will be or have been fired. It takes a village to properly commit academic fraud, and there must have been a breakdown in communications between the basketball office and the professors. I'll bet if you asked Bledsoe's professors to identify Eric in the team photo, most would pick John Wall!

[DevilHorns]

Cal is so incredibly unlucky. How could this much bad luck happen to one person? I feel so bad for him. Eh, I guess I shouldn't, since he knows it'll be swept under the rug anyway.

[dcdevil2009]

If the NCAA, NBA, and NBAPA cared a LICK for these kids, they would develop the developmental league into something worthwhile.

Does it really hurt these kids to be on a college campus for a year instead of in somewhere like Sioux Falls or Reno or some other D-League city? I agree that Bledsoe shouldn't have been eligible if all of these allegations are true, but the people who are the biggest victims are the students and professors who are on campus to learn and teach, but have to deal with the distractions created by the "student"-athletes who want no part of the classroom. If anything, I think the current system actually helps kids like Bledsoe who get the benefit of a year on campus to mature, instead of being thrust into the real world with no support system and what barely qualifies as a high school education.

[Jderf]

If the NCAA, NBA, and NBAPA cared a LICK for these kids, they would develop the developmental league into something worthwhile.

Does it really hurt these kids to be on a college campus for a year instead of in somewhere like Sioux Falls or Reno or some other D-League city? I agree that Bledsoe shouldn't have been eligible if all of these allegations are true, but the people who are the biggest victims are the students and professors who are on campus to learn and teach, but have to deal with the distractions created by the "student"-athletes who want no part of the classroom. If anything, I think the current system actually helps kids like Bledsoe who get the benefit of a year on campus to mature, instead of being thrust into the real world with no support system and what barely qualifies as a high school education.

I have to agree with Ash. I've said it before: some people just don't belong in a classroom, and shouldn't be forced into one. (Not insulting intelligence here, just saying that they don't value education like most of the people on this board do.) I don't think the "distraction" is much of an issue; rather the problem is that kids like Bledsoe (who don't care about education) are preventing the serious student-athletes from getting a scholarship they could really have used.

Also, although Bledsoe obviously benefited from his raised draft-status, I don't think that these players really benefit from their year on campus, maturity-wise. The only thing players like Bledsoe benefit from is the fact that the system is just so easily exploited. I'm fairly confident that, if the NBA had a viable development league, he would choose the pay-check over the scholarship any day.

[roywhite]

I have to agree with Ash. I've said it before: some people just don't belong in a classroom, and shouldn't be forced into one. (Not insulting intelligence here, just saying that they don't value education like most of the people on this board do.) I don't think the "distraction" is much of an issue; rather the problem is that kids like Bledsoe (who don't care about education) are preventing the serious student-athletes from getting a scholarship they could really have used.

Also, although Bledsoe obviously benefited from his raised draft-status, I don't think that these players really benefit from their year on campus, maturity-wise. The only thing players like Bledsoe benefit from is the fact that the system is just so easily exploited. I'm fairly confident that, if the NBA had a viable development league, he would choose the pay-check over the scholarship any day.

Yeah, we've had this discussion before, and it's an important one. You would think the immediate paycheck would be more enticing to the non-student types, but big-time college basketball has a lot of appeal (and just for the sake of discussion, let's say that the Bledsoe type is not receiving illegal benefits while in college).

Look at Enes Kanter---he was playing for a pro team in Turkey, getting living expenses and apparently a pay check besides that. He was certainly on the NBA radar. Yet his preference is to come and play a year of college basketball rather than playing for pay in Europe. Is that an economically based decision...name recognition, endorsements, etc.? Or just a chance to be a part of a popular team and sport?

My preference is a scholarship/NBA arrangement that permits high school kids to turn pro, but requires a 2-year commitment for those choosing college. With any kind of fair enforcement, it would largely eliminate a total non-student from staying eligible. Don't know what the chances of such a 2-year requirement actually happening are.

[OldPhiKap]

"More questionable Cal/Kentucky stuff"


Are we at the point where we need to number these threads?



You have to wonder why the NCAA chased Tark but somehow Cal keeps sliding. Maybe it's the hair.

[Kedsy]

My preference is a scholarship/NBA arrangement that permits high school kids to turn pro, but requires a 2-year commitment for those choosing college. With any kind of fair enforcement, it would largely eliminate a total non-student from staying eligible. Don't know what the chances of such a 2-year requirement actually happening are.

I agree with you that this would be a preferable arrangement to the one we have now, but it wouldn't have prevented the Bledsoe situation. He was not highly regarded enough in high school to go straight to the NBA.

[OldPhiKap]

My preference is a scholarship/NBA arrangement that permits high school kids to turn pro, but requires a 2-year commitment for those choosing college. With any kind of fair enforcement, it would largely eliminate a total non-student from staying eligible. Don't know what the chances of such a 2-year requirement actually happening are.

FWIW, I recall Coach K saying some time ago that coaches and institutions don't really know what to do with a guy who only plans to be there for a year. Either let them go pro directly from HS, or ask them for a two-year minimum college commitment. That sounds good to me.

[BD80]

"More questionable Cal/Kentucky stuff"


Are we at the point where we need to number these threads? ...

It should be a regression, counting down to the point where Cal skips out ahead of the angry mob. What number do we start at?

[roywhite]

It should be a regression, counting down to the point where Cal skips out ahead of the angry mob. What number do we start at?

Well, Cal the Cat probably has 9 lives, and has lost 2 or 3 already. Start somewhere around number 6 and count him down.

He should probably thank Butch Davis and Bruce Pearl for providing a diversion to the sheriff.

[OldPhiKap]

Well, Cal the Cat probably has 9 lives, and has lost 2 or 3 already. Start somewhere around number 6 and count him down.

He should probably thank Butch Davis and Bruce Pearl for providing a diversion to the sheriff.

Good question -- do they have different investigative staffs for the different sports, or does it all just go into a pool of employees? I'm not really sure how the mechanics of these investigations work.

[Lord Ash]

It should be a regression, counting down to the point where Cal skips out ahead of the angry mob. What number do we start at?

With the way Kentucky fans excuse Cal, you'd have to start at a VERY high number. After all, it is all the fault of The New York Times/Rick Pitino/jealous fans/the NCAA and all the rest.

[Kedsy]

After all, it is all the fault of The New York Times/Rick Pitino/jealous fans/the NCAA and all the rest.

You forgot Duke.

[Lord Ash]

No no, we are the jealous fans who hate Kentucky for their recent incredible successes.

You know, when I see this sort of stuff it always makes me feel proud of what we have as Dukies. We are very lucky.

EDIT: Oh, and sorry, apparently the PA for the NBA is just called the NBPA. That makes a certain amount of sense

[sagegrouse]

"More questionable Cal/Kentucky stuff"


Are we at the point where we need to number these threads?



You have to wonder why the NCAA chased Tark but somehow Cal keeps sliding. Maybe it's the hair.

As Tark said when told that an envelope of cash from a Kentucky assistant to a recruit had accidentally split open at a shipping point (Emery?): "Now I guess they'll have to put Cleveland State on probation for two years."

sagegrouse

[Namtilal]

This is a complicated issue for me. I enjoy rooting against Kentucky, ever since they broke my heart in '98, but I have no animosity towards the program. I do view Calapari as the evil orchestra conductor who uses others to repeatedly break the rules. However, I cannot find fault in Bledsoe or his family, school, and coaches in Alabama. Yes, they broke the rules, but (in this case at least) I think they did what was best for him.

Now, I can only say that because I believe he did get positive benefits from being part of the university community and the Kentucky basketball program. I do believe that the year he spent on campus will make him more successful and able to handle the life challenges of a super wealthy, famous professional athlete. Even if the NDBL were developed to the point of being a serious alternative to the one-and-done trend, I do not see how it could give the life experiences that a year at a university does.

However, I know that this is not a trend that should be followed. For every Bledsoe who is allowed to move through the system without achieving the standards, there are 10 or 100 young men who just coast on raw talent, get this type of fraudulent help from their high school, but never are able to parlay that into a professional career. I believe in the standards. However, paradoxically, I don't fault anyone who saw a super-talented boy lacking the upbringing and structure to succeed academically and cheated in order to get him where he is today.

Calapari, however, is just a self-serving cheater. He's not like Coach K, who finds diamonds in the rough like Dockery and challenge them to meet the demands of succeeding. It is becoming overwhelmingly suspicious that since he is so closely related to all this repeated fraud, that he is successfully orchestrating it and insulating himself from behind the scenes.

[mgtr]

It should be a regression, counting down to the point where Cal skips out ahead of the angry mob. What number do we start at?

Start at two, I would hope. Not likely, however.

[Stray Gator]

This is a complicated issue for me. ... I cannot find fault in Bledsoe or his family, school, and coaches in Alabama. Yes, they broke the rules, but (in this case at least) I think they did what was best for him.

Now, I can only say that because I believe he did get positive benefits from being part of the university community and the Kentucky basketball program. I do believe that the year he spent on campus will make him more successful and able to handle the life challenges of a super wealthy, famous professional athlete. Even if the NDBL were developed to the point of being a serious alternative to the one-and-done trend, I do not see how it could give the life experiences that a year at a university does. ...

Whether that year on campus provides any real benefit as an opportunity for maturation ultimately depends, I believe, on the extent to which the individual student-athlete is required to bear the responsibilities of an ordinary college student that constitute genuine "life experiences." While scholarship basketball players at most major schools, including Duke, enjoy certain advantages in the form of tutoring and advance course registration, those who need to maintain their eligibility are at least required to attend classes and do coursework and take tests; and outside the classroom, I assume they need to attend to many of the mundane day-to-day "obligations" that we would regard as "life experiences," such as doing their laundry, keeping track of their checking accounts, etc. In addition, one might argue that the most significant aspect of personal growth in college results from interaction with other students. I don't know whether and to what extent star basketball players at Kentucky lead lives resembling those of ordinary college students. But I'll confess that I'm skeptical that their one year on campus yields the same "life experience" benefits as players in most programs.