Seems like our friends in Chapel Hill are having some issues with telling their recruits to not do stuff, you know, against the law.
http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports...artner=ya5nbcs
To be fair though, Duke did recruit the player.
From the article it looks like both Dukes offered him a scholarship
Avery doesn't fit the stereotype often associated with such activities. He's a student at Ravenscroft, Ryan Kelly's alma mater.
My guess to that question would be the stereotypical rich child that steals for attention, often portrayed on TV as doing it for the thrill rather than the actual goods. After all, we do not know if he is on scholarship to Ravenscroft or not, but if he is not, why would he be stealing when his parents can afford to pay these tuition fees? This is a rather odd situation in which I'm certain the facts will eventually surface.
http://www.ravenscroft.org/page.cfm?p=24
Don't tell me UNC-CH students aren't smart enough to succeed academically. Florida State recruits steal crab legs.
Here are some "money quotes" -- literally -- from the article:
I am sure there is a suspicion among the lunatic fringe of Tar Heel Nation that Lance Thomas was somehow involved.[Avery] Edwards was “charged with the theft of five watches and one pair of diamond stud earrings, valued at approximately $53,000.”
According to the Associated Press, UNC head coach Larry Fedora has been in contact with the family of Edwards. ... Fedora was quoted saying Edwards is a good kid who made a terrible mistake.
Sage Grouse
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'When I got on the bus for my first road game at Duke, I saw that every player was carrying textbooks or laptops. I coached in the SEC for 25 years, and I had never seen that before, not even once.' - David Cutcliffe to Duke alumni in Washington, DC, June 2013
If Charles Manson could run a 4.4 40, UNC-CH's athletic department would describe his as a good kid who made a terrible mistake.
Two things that bother me most about UNC-CHeat's ongoing antics:
1. Years the ago, the carolina way = no one else does it like us. Today, the carolina way = everyone does it like us, so it's okay.
2. We only cheated for a few athletes, most are very smart, upstanding citizens... let us show you. So, it's okay b/c we only cheated a little.
I can't help but think of Lance Armstrong here. Deny, attack, deny, attack. Other disgraced athletes told the absolute truth along the way but many did not want to believe it. Hopefully this ends with same crumbling under the weight of the truth. They deserve it. They've had so many moments where they could have owned up, cleaned house and moved on. Folt and Cunningham had the perfect chance coming in to do the right thing without personal consequence. But they made their beds and quickly became part of the problem.
All over a couple of banners they cheated to get in the first place. I've said it before... this is all about the banners. If they weren't hanging up there, this would have been resolved long ago. What a bunch of schmucks.
I don't know if they will surface or not, but I would agree it's an odd situation. Not that, as you note, kids at private schools don't sometimes steal--of course they do, and not necessarily always for attention. But one has to wonder what would possess a kid with an apparently bright future to take such a risk. (Supporting a drug or gambling habit--his own or someone else's--maybe?)
What we haven't heard in these stories is who was the victim of this theft. Were the goods stolen from a private home (5 expensive watches sounds like a lot for one family but you never know)? Were they shoplifted from a store (if so, seems like the store clerks were a bit inattentive)? Either way it seems unlikely a break-in was involved since there were no burglary or breaking and entering charges. Or was this a "purchase" situation in which the player took the goods on deposit and later refused to pay or denied having possession? (Seems a bit harsh to handle this as a theft rather than a contract dispute but it might depend on the circumstances.)
We'd need the police report to know the answers to these very interesting questions. It wasn't just watches but diamond earrings as well.
Imagine this scenario: A guy goes to a party at a rich kid friend's house, and dad has this watch collection. Not uncommon; lots of guys collect nice watches. And mom has this jewelry. The kid gets lost finding the bathroom and ends up in the the master bedroom. His frontal lobe is a little out of kilter from the party, so...
He goes to Publix for crab legs.