Purvis eligibility under review

[Dr. Rosenrosen]

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/8233805/ncaa-reviewing-eligibility-north-carolina-state-freshman-guard-rodney-purvis

[DU82]

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/8233805/ncaa-reviewing-eligibility-north-carolina-state-freshman-guard-rodney-purvis

What a joke the NCAA's process is. How long have they had to review his eligibility, knowing that State's going on an early trip? Unbelievable.

[JasonEvans]

What a joke the NCAA's process is. How long have they had to review his eligibility, knowing that State's going on an early trip? Unbelievable.

Well, it is entirely possible that he had summer school classes he was taking to ensure eligibility. That is not at all uncommon. Plus, they may be investigating something about his scores or transcript. Investigations don't move quickly if they are thorough.

Also worth noting that the NCAA has to verify and review the eligibility of hundreds of players every summer. It is not like Purvis was the only kid upon whom they were checking and processing. And I doubt the office that does this has many staffers.

Uggh, I feel a little sick defending the NCAA. Blech!

-Jason "I have no idea, just explaining how this kind of thing could happen before school even starts for many college athletes" Evans

[Newton_14]

Well, it is entirely possible that he had summer school classes he was taking to ensure eligibility. That is not at all uncommon. Plus, they may be investigating something about his scores or transcript. Investigations don't move quickly if they are thorough.

Also worth noting that the NCAA has to verify and review the eligibility of hundreds of players every summer. It is not like Purvis was the only kid upon whom they were checking and processing. And I doubt the office that does this has many staffers.

Uggh, I feel a little sick defending the NCAA. Blech!

-Jason "I have no idea, just explaining how this kind of thing could happen before school even starts for many college athletes" Evans

Based on what I have read, this is not about his grades at all, but totally about the validity of Upper Room. Purvis is their very first graduate. So it seems the NCAA is investigating the school and not Purvis himself.

They did say he could possibly join the team late if the ruling comes in early enough. Kind of stinks. I agree that the NCAA has hundreds of kids to clear, but seems like they could prioritize kids whose schools are going on the summer trips and review those first.

[norduck]

the NCAA doesn't forgive.

[BD80]

What a joke the NCAA's process is. How long have they had to review his eligibility, knowing that State's going on an early trip? Unbelievable.

The article says his was the 1st graduating class of "Upper Room" in Raleigh, perhaps that alone would suggest a bit of extra consideration.

[DU82]

The article says his was the 1st graduating class of "Upper Room" in Raleigh, perhaps that alone would suggest a bit of extra consideration.

Yes, and he's been in the school since 2001 (according to the article), and a prime D1 athlete for quite a while.

The "clearinghouse" has been around delaying athletes' start with their school/team for years now. You'd think they'd be able to handle something like this, they've had plenty of practice.

(Clarification: the article said the school has been open since 2001, meaning this year's graduating class started in kindergarden or first grade, not necessarily Purvis. The article doesn't mention when he started there.)

[Blue KevIL]

"Purvis eligibility under review"

There you had me hoping the 1986 title may be retro-actively awarded to Duke. :cool:

[allenmurray]

My son played on a fairly high level AAU team in the Triangle and is the same class as Purvis (one of only 6 NC teams to make it to Nationals in Orlando 2 years ago). It was certainly no secret then that Upper Room was more of a basketball factory than a school. The ability of parents of prospective D1 players to ignore all the wharning flags amazes me. Purvis could have stayed at his local high school and still had plenty of D1 offers.

[JasonEvans]

My son played on a fairly high level AAU team in the Triangle and is the same class as Purvis (one of only 6 NC teams to make it to Nationals in Orlando 2 years ago). It was certainly no secret then that Upper Room was more of a basketball factory than a school. The ability of parents of prospective D1 players to ignore all the warning flags amazes me. Purvis could have stayed at his local high school and still had plenty of D1 offers.

What is it about the Triangle and these schools? Correct me if I am wrong, but in recent years we have seen Mt. Zion, Word of God, and now Upper Room exist in the area as pretty much basketball teams and little else. Am I wrong? I think that maybe Mt Zion is a real school but the other two had hoops teams before they had classrooms, right? If half the kids in your school are playing Varsity Hoops, then something weird is going on.

I don't think we have anything close to this in the state of Georgia, at least not that I have heard of. All the big stars here go to regular schools.

There are elite programs all over the country and plenty of them actively recruit stud players to ensure that their team is stocked. But, I don't recall hearing about others programs that seem to exist more for the basketball team than for the sake of the school. For example, Oak Hill has a crazy good basketball team every year and produces a ridiculous number of Div 1 players but it is also a school with 150+ students in high school every year. Other national basketball powers like Mater Dei in California, Simeon in Chicago, St. Anthony's in NJ, and Dematha/Dunbar in DC are all real schools.

-Jason "can you imagine if there was a college that did this... a college with less than 20 students where all of them just played basketball. The outcry would be huge!" Evans

[Dr. Rosenrosen]

What is it about the Triangle and these schools? Correct me if I am wrong, but in recent years we have seen Mt. Zion, Word of God, and now Upper Room exist in the area as pretty much basketball teams and little else. Am I wrong? I think that maybe Mt Zion is a real school but the other two had hoops teams before they had classrooms, right? If half the kids in your school are playing Varsity Hoops, then something weird is going on.

I don't think we have anything close to this in the state of Georgia, at least not that I have heard of. All the big stars here go to regular schools.

There are elite programs all over the country and plenty of them actively recruit stud players to ensure that their team is stocked. But, I don't recall hearing about others programs that seem to exist more for the basketball team than for the sake of the school. For example, Oak Hill has a crazy good basketball team every year and produces a ridiculous number of Div 1 players but it is also a school with 150+ students in high school every year. Other national basketball powers like Mater Dei in California, Simeon in Chicago, St. Anthony's in NJ, and Dematha/Dunbar in DC are all real schools.

-Jason "can you imagine if there was a college that did this... a college with less than 20 students where all of them just played basketball. The outcry would be huge!" Evans
Findlay Prep in Las Vegas comes to mind... http://www.masslive.com/hoophallclassic/index.ssf/2011/01/findlay_prep.html

There must be plenty of these hoops factories. I guess on the one hand you could say it's good that these kids get a chance at college. But then it doesn't seem like that's really the end goal here. And I can only guess that most are not really "ready" for college. Would not be surprised if many are left behind along the way when they don't make it big time. And what do they have left to fall back on? A joke of an education at both the high school and college levels. It just seems like parents are making a big bet with their kids' lives when they funnel them through these factories. And that's what they are - no matter what faith-based affiliation they come with. Sad really.

[Olympic Fan]

What is it about the Triangle and these schools? Correct me if I am wrong, but in recent years we have seen Mt. Zion, Word of God, and now Upper Room exist in the area as pretty much basketball teams and little else. Am I wrong? I think that maybe Mt Zion is a real school but the other two had hoops teams before they had classrooms, right? If half the kids in your school are playing Varsity Hoops, then something weird is going on.

I don't think we have anything close to this in the state of Georgia, at least not that I have heard of. All the big stars here go to regular schools.

There are elite programs all over the country and plenty of them actively recruit stud players to ensure that their team is stocked. But, I don't recall hearing about others programs that seem to exist more for the basketball team than for the sake of the school. For example, Oak Hill has a crazy good basketball team every year and produces a ridiculous number of Div 1 players but it is also a school with 150+ students in high school every year. Other national basketball powers like Mater Dei in California, Simeon in Chicago, St. Anthony's in NJ, and Dematha/Dunbar in DC are all real schools.

-Jason "can you imagine if there was a college that did this... a college with less than 20 students where all of them just played basketball. The outcry would be huge!" Evans

Word of God makes Mt. Zion look like Exeter Academy.

The reason that Mt. Zion has faded as a basketball factory is that it actually does have classes and is a real school. It was such a step down from ordinary scholatistic environments that for a few years it attracted all the kids who wanted to avoid as much classwork and study as possible. But there is a new generation of school -- highlighted by Word of God -- that has taken it a step farther. I tried to bring this up when we were recruiting John Wall -- and to this day I remain relieved that we didn't get him (even though Kentucky escaped any censure for he and especially Bledsole -- that's another story).

I don't know how "Upper Room" compares to Word of God, but I'm pretty sure that Rodney Purvis was at Word of God at one point. Moving on to Upper Room suggests something.

Whatever the NCAA rules, I am glad that Duke backed off his recruitment when they did.


There is one in the western part of the state (I can't rem

[jimsumner]

Word of God makes Mt. Zion look like Exeter Academy.

The reason that Mt. Zion has faded as a basketball factory is that it actually does have classes and is a real school. It was such a step down from ordinary scholatistic environments that for a few years it attracted all the kids who wanted to avoid as much classwork and study as possible. But there is a new generation of school -- highlighted by Word of God -- that has taken it a step farther. I tried to bring this up when we were recruiting John Wall -- and to this day I remain relieved that we didn't get him (even though Kentucky escaped any censure for he and especially Bledsole -- that's another story).

I don't know how "Upper Room" compares to Word of God, but I'm pretty sure that Rodney Purvis was at Word of God at one point. Moving on to Upper Room suggests something.

Whatever the NCAA rules, I am glad that Duke backed off his recruitment when they did.


There is one in the western part of the state (I can't rem

Quality Education Academy?

[Dr. Rosenrosen]

I think Tudor starts to get it right at the end...

http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/08/19/2279890/packs-purvis-deserves-immediate.html

The NCAA may be inept and backlogged, but it's not really their fault all these basketball factories (and I'm not saying Upper Room definitely is - at least they have a longer standing lower school) have structured themselves in a way that creates the concern in the first place. If this were a clear case of trailblazing some great new path, that one be one thing. But kids and their parents (and ultimately recruiting coaches) have to understand it's their choice and they cannot expect preferential treatment just because of their basketball skills or recruitment ranking or what have you.

[JasonEvans]

Tudor is an idiot.

Yes, of course, we all agree that the NCAA should be able to get all this eligibility review stuff done so kids know as soon as possible if they are in trouble. Of course it would be great if the NCAA could tell Purvis in time for him to decide to go elsewhere if the NCAA won't let him play basketball at State. That is obvious. It is low hanging fruit. Tudor's argument is impossible to disagree with. He gets to look smart by saying something we can all agree with.

Except there is one problem -- it is really easy to say the NCAA should do this, but the tough question is to ask why the NCAA does not act faster. The reason is because of resources. The NCAA has a limited number of people who look into this stuff. Tudor seems to be acting as if the NCAA is intentionally dragging its heels or that there are NCAA officials who look into this just sitting around playing Tetris on their computers all day. The reality is that they are working hard, with limited resources, to make sure of the eligibility of thousands of student athletes across this vast nation of ours. Saying, "they should go faster," is a bit like insisting that a teacher provide you with your grade the moment you turn in a test in a class with 200 students. The simple reality of resources and the time it takes to check things make it impossible.

The notion, that Tudor advocates, of expediting elite athletes like Purvis, is ridiculous and not something the NCAA would ever do. How dare he imply that Purvis' eligibility questions are more important than those of a gymnast or baseball player or track and field athlete! In my mind, there is no question that Purvis' eligibility questions should take a back seat to anyone trying to play a fall sport. Basketball does not officially start until mid-October. Kids who play football, field hockey, cross country, soccer, volleyball, and water polo should come first as all of those are fall sports. If you want to move Purvis ahead of other basketball players who do not go to schools that are doing an international trip and qualify for extra early practices, fine. But moving him ahead of some cross country runner because Purvis plays a high profile sport... I cannot condone that and I suspect the NCAA feels the same.

--Jason "I hope the NCAA decides soon and I want Purvis to be a Pack uniform this season -- but banging on the NCAA for conducting an exhaustive and thorough process is really not fair" Evans

[Kedsy]

Tudor seems to be acting as if the NCAA is intentionally dragging its heels or that there are NCAA officials who look into this just sitting around playing Tetris on their computers all day.

Oh, come on. Nobody plays Tetris anymore. ;)

[Jderf]

Except there is one problem -- it is really easy to say the NCAA should do this, but the tough question is to ask why the NCAA does not act faster. The reason is because of resources.

Resources (http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/id/6756472/following-ncaa-money)?


According to the NCAA, it spends $30.6 million -- about 4 percent of its entire budget -- on administrative expenses and staff salaries.

Maybe $30.6 million isn't all that much considering the scale that they operate on. To be honest, I don't even know. But let's not pretend like the NCAA is some struggling, cash-strapped non-profit. Most of the cash-strapped non-profits I know of don't pay their administrators $1.6 million per year (http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/story/2012-07-09/NCAA-Mark-Emmert-salary/56117864/1). I'm sure a chunk of that salary could help hire an employee or two (or forty) to speed up that whole eligibility review process.

[allenmurray]

Tudor is an idiot.

Yes, of course, we all agree that the NCAA should be able to get all this eligibility review stuff done so kids know as soon as possible if they are in trouble. Of course it would be great if the NCAA could tell Purvis in time for him to decide to go elsewhere if the NCAA won't let him play basketball at State. That is obvious. It is low hanging fruit. Tudor's argument is impossible to disagree with. He gets to look smart by saying something we can all agree with.

Except there is one problem -- it is really easy to say the NCAA should do this, but the tough question is to ask why the NCAA does not act faster. The reason is because of resources. The NCAA has a limited number of people who look into this stuff. Tudor seems to be acting as if the NCAA is intentionally dragging its heels or that there are NCAA officials who look into this just sitting around playing Tetris on their computers all day. The reality is that they are working hard, with limited resources, to make sure of the eligibility of thousands of student athletes across this vast nation of ours. Saying, "they should go faster," is a bit like insisting that a teacher provide you with your grade the moment you turn in a test in a class with 200 students. The simple reality of resources and the time it takes to check things make it impossible.

The notion, that Tudor advocates, of expediting elite athletes like Purvis, is ridiculous and not something the NCAA would ever do. How dare he imply that Purvis' eligibility questions are more important than those of a gymnast or baseball player or track and field athlete! In my mind, there is no question that Purvis' eligibility questions should take a back seat to anyone trying to play a fall sport. Basketball does not officially start until mid-October. Kids who play football, field hockey, cross country, soccer, volleyball, and water polo should come first as all of those are fall sports. If you want to move Purvis ahead of other basketball players who do not go to schools that are doing an international trip and qualify for extra early practices, fine. But moving him ahead of some cross country runner because Purvis plays a high profile sport... I cannot condone that and I suspect the NCAA feels the same.

--Jason "I hope the NCAA decides soon and I want Purvis to be a Pack uniform this season -- but banging on the NCAA for conducting an exhaustive and thorough process is really not fair" Evans

I agree with you. First, Tudor is an idiot, but those of us who read the N&O have known that for a while.

The problem isn't with the NCAA or with Purvis, it is with NCSU. They recruited a student who comes to them from a school that is questionable (any school where almost half the males in the high school are on the basketball team is going to raise eyebrows). He is from their first graduating class. I read somewhere (I'll look for the link later) that one of the questions is if his school even offered all of the classes required for admission to a UNC system school. We're not talking about if he passed them, but if they are even available (to get into any school in the UNC system you must pass 2 units of a foreign langauge, Biology, Chemistry, 4 units of English, and 4 units of Math - and at least one of the Math courses has to have Algebra 1 as a prerequisite - meaning at a minimum you have to have passed Geometry or Algebra II in high school). It seems as though the folks at NCSU didn't do their due diligence.

It would be great for Purvis to know soon - if he is ineligible to play he might want to do a year of prep school somewhere, and that opportunity is slipping away from him. But the fault lies with the compliance people at NCSU - they didn't do their homework.

[BD80]

... to get into any school in the UNC system you must pass 2 units of a foreign langauge, Biology, Chemistry, 4 units of English, and 4 units of Math - and at least one of the Math courses has to have Algebra 1 as a prerequisite - meaning at a minimum you have to have passed Geometry or Algebra II in high school ...

Then how did Julius Peppers get into unc?

[allenmurray]

Then how did Julius Peppers get into unc?

If he didn't pass Algebra in high school he shouldn't have been eligible to go to any school in the UNC system (it shows on his transcript that he took algebra while at UNC). It is possible that he passed it in high school but his skills were weak and he needed it for a higher level math, or that he was exempted in high school, or maybe (though I do't thnk this is the case) that he entered UNC before that as the requirement.

You can find the requirements for entry to a school in the UNC system at this link:

http://www.northcarolina.edu/aa/admissions/requirements.htm

The minimums apply to any school in the UNC system - obviously some schools are more competitive than others. I do not know what latitude the individual schools have to admit students who do not meet the minimums - I'm sure they have some discretion.

[mgtr]

Then how did Julius Peppers get into unc?

This is really a killer question! And the answer, in my experience, is that athletes don't have meet all the school standards (as all others do) but the standards of the NCAA. Of course, this applies only to top athletes. I have heard coaches discuss students SAT or ACT scores using the NCAA's minimum, not the university's minimum. So, there is definitely a double standard.

[JasonEvans]

I have heard coaches discuss students SAT or ACT scores using the NCAA's minimum, not the university's minimum. So, there is definitely a double standard.

I may be wrong but I doubt any school has a SAT or ACT minimum. it is one thing to require certain minimum level high school classes to ensure that a student has the proper foundation for the work that will be required of them in college. But I think Standardized Tests fall into a very different realm of education.

--Jason "JMO, I could be wrong" Evans

[JasonEvans]

Resources (http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/id/6756472/following-ncaa-money)?

Maybe $30.6 million isn't all that much considering the scale that they operate on. To be honest, I don't even know. But let's not pretend like the NCAA is some struggling, cash-strapped non-profit. Most of the cash-strapped non-profits I know of don't pay their administrators $1.6 million per year (http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/story/2012-07-09/NCAA-Mark-Emmert-salary/56117864/1). I'm sure a chunk of that salary could help hire an employee or two (or forty) to speed up that whole eligibility review process.

And if Tudor had made that argument and backed it up with some additional reporting, I would have no problem with it. I do not know how the NCAA allocates resources when it comes to this area of their operations. I don't know if 2 or 3 or 20 additional staffers in this department would make sense from an organizational standpoint nor do I even know if those extra staffers would mean that Purvis would know his answer by now. Again, if Tudor made some phone calls on this and came up with something to say about it, I would read that column and probably find it quite interesting.

My only point was that to merely express outrage that the NCAA has not finished this process yet and to suggest that Purvis, because he is an elite basketball player, deserves some special treatment was outrageous and the sign of a really weak column.

I would be interested to know how many student-athletes are still waiting to get Clearinghouse approval right now. Is Purvis the only one? Are there dozens, hundreds? How many staffers does the NCAA have working on the Clearinghouse right now? I would love to know when they asked Upper Room for more information/materials and when Upper Room gave them those materials.

All of that information would be really useful and would help us all to understand where the process is failing right now. Sadly, all we get from Tudor is, "they should speed things up because he is a stud and his team is playing meaningless exhibition games overseas right now..." with no depth or insight beyond that. Thanks!

-Jason "I did feel a little ill defending the NCAA earlier... blech!" Evans

[sagegrouse]

My only point was that [for Tudor] to merely express outrage that the NCAA has not finished this process yet and to suggest that Purvis, because he is an elite basketball player, deserves some special treatment was outrageous and the sign of a really weak column.



I agree with Jason's points and I generally think that Tudor is rather uninteresting as a columnist compared to Lennox R. and others in the area. When he hits home, however, it is often on a visceral issue like this one when he blurts outt he truth. And, while lazily researched, it is a valid opinion on Purvis' eligibility.

I thought Caulton Tudor's best column was two years ago when UNC was struggling on the basketball court in its meltdown season. Comparing the Heels and Devils, Tudor said, "one difference is that Duke plays hard on every play." And then he left it at that. Very nicely handled for a divided but, on balance, pro-Tar Heel readership. I have given him a three-year pass on criticism.

sagegrouse

[allenmurray]

I agree with Jason's points and I generally think that Tudor is rather uninteresting as a columnist compared to Lennox R. and others in the area. When he hits home, however, it is often on a visceral issue like this one when he blurts outt he truth. And, while lazily researched, it is a valid opinion on Purvis' eligibility.

I thought Caulton Tudor's best column was two years ago when UNC was struggling on the basketball court in its meltdown season. Comparing the Heels and Devils, Tudor said, "one difference is that Duke plays hard on every play." And then he left it at that. Very nicely handled for a divided but, on balance, pro-Tar Heel readership. I have given him a three-year pass on criticism.

sagegrouse

He is very good sometimes. But those times are few and far between (and when he is not very good, he simply phones it in).

[Starter]

I can't kill Tudor, simply because way back in 2001, my friend's battery died in Raleigh after a Duke-State game. Tudor stopped out of nowhere and gave us a jump. I can't honestly recall if I've ever read one of his articles after I graduated that year, but he's eternally my dude.

[Slackerb]

I agree with you. First, Tudor is an idiot, but those of us who read the N&O have known that for a while.

The problem isn't with the NCAA or with Purvis, it is with NCSU. They recruited a student who comes to them from a school that is questionable (any school where almost half the males in the high school are on the basketball team is going to raise eyebrows). He is from their first graduating class. I read somewhere (I'll look for the link later) that one of the questions is if his school even offered all of the classes required for admission to a UNC system school. We're not talking about if he passed them, but if they are even available (to get into any school in the UNC system you must pass 2 units of a foreign langauge, Biology, Chemistry, 4 units of English, and 4 units of Math - and at least one of the Math courses has to have Algebra 1 as a prerequisite - meaning at a minimum you have to have passed Geometry or Algebra II in high school). It seems as though the folks at NCSU didn't do their due diligence.

It would be great for Purvis to know soon - if he is ineligible to play he might want to do a year of prep school somewhere, and that opportunity is slipping away from him. But the fault lies with the compliance people at NCSU - they didn't do their homework.

How can you possibly pretend to know what the NCAA Clearinghouse is investigating at Upper Room and who might be to blame?

[flyingdutchdevil]

I may be wrong but I doubt any school has a SAT or ACT minimum. it is one thing to require certain minimum level high school classes to ensure that a student has the proper foundation for the work that will be required of them in college. But I think Standardized Tests fall into a very different realm of education.

--Jason "JMO, I could be wrong" Evans

I know Duke doesn't, but they do that the 50%, 75%, and 90% percentile for test scores. That is merely a benchmark. If the #1 QB wants to come to Duke and has just the minimum NCAA requirements but lacks the ideal grades and test scores to get into Duke and clearly is in the bottom 1%, you think that's gonna stop Coach Cut from taking him?

The same can be said for a donor who gives $100 million to Duke. I don't care how dumb his kids are, they are obviously getting in the school.

[allenmurray]

How can you possibly pretend to know what the NCAA Clearinghouse is investigating at Upper Room and who might be to blame?

How do I know what the NCAA is investigating? Multiple media outlets (ESPN, WRAL, News Observer) have reported that the focus of the review is on whether Upper Room offers the courses necessary to meet minimum standards of the NCAA (and for acceptance in a UNC system school), and if the courses they do offer are the equivilent of those offerred in a "standard" high school curriculum .

How do I know who might be to blame? Well, honestly that is just speculation. But given the nature of Upper Room (less than 60 total students enrolled, almost half of whom are on a basketball team) the folks at NCSU should have given more careful scrutiny to his eligibility - that seems obvious given the investigation.

Since there are less than 60 students enrolled total in their high school, he liklihood that they offer all of the courses that the UNC system requires is a legitimate question. Knowing what the minimum requirements are for admission to a UNC system school is pretty easy to find on the UNC sstem web site.

I hope he is eligible. Next to Duke NCSU is the school I root for most strongly. But it really seems someone droped the ball on reviewing his eligibility, and Purvis is the one to suffer for it. Anyone who is familiar with basketball in the Triangle area knows there have been concerns about there being so many schools here with very small numbers of students, which seem to exist soley for the purpose of having a basketball team. Sooner or later the NCAA was going to take a closer look.

[tommy]

Duke was recruiting Purvis very hard for some time. In fact, at one point I thought we were in pretty good shape to get him. Does anyone recall when we moved off of him, relative to his transfer to Upper Room?

[UrinalCake]

Duke was recruiting Purvis very hard for some time. In fact, at one point I thought we were in pretty good shape to get him. Does anyone recall when we moved off of him, relative to his transfer to Upper Room?

I think we stopped recruiting him around the fall of 2011 when we were holding a scholarship for Shabazz. We already had Rasheed coming in plus Curry and (we thought) Dawkins for one more year, it wasn't certain whether Austin would leave, and Jones coming in the following year. Our backcourt was just too crowded. I don't think it had anything to do with his transfer, but that's just my own uneducated guess.

[Bluedog]

^Duke stopped recruiting Purvis in July 2011. I recall it coinciding with Rasheed lighting it up on the summer circuit. With the initial recruitment, Purvis was a top 5-10 talent and Rasheed was top 30 or so. When the staff saw more of Rasheed and what he was capable of, they thought a scholarship could be better used on a different player than Purvis. They almost switched positions in the rankings, with Rasheed being more highly touted as a fringe top 10er and Rodney falling off a bit. Obviously, the staff can't discuss their rationale of prospects, but the rise of Rasheed in the rankings definitely coincided with Duke no longer showing interest in Rodney. I hope the NCAA clears him; I actually am looking forward to NC State being solid this year.

[Li_Duke]

^Duke stopped recruiting Purvis in July 2011. I recall it coinciding with Rasheed lighting it up on the summer circuit. With the initial recruitment, Purvis was a top 5-10 talent and Rasheed was top 30 or so. When the staff saw more of Rasheed and what he was capable of, they thought a scholarship could be better used on a different player than Purvis. They almost switched positions in the rankings, with Rasheed being more highly touted as a fringe top 10er and Rodney falling off a bit. Obviously, the staff can't discuss their rationale of prospects, but the rise of Rasheed in the rankings definitely coincided with Duke no longer showing interest in Rodney. I hope the NCAA clears him; I actually am looking forward to NC State being solid this year.

I thought it coincided with him moving up a year (he was originally in the same class as Parker and Randle). At that point, it went from bringing Purvis onto a team that recently graduated Curry and Dawkins to him competing with them for minutes if he came. Then he chose Louisville (because we wouldn't have immediate playing time) and we went after Rasheed. By the time he de-committed from them, Rasheed had committed and had leapfrogged him in the rankings.

[JasonEvans]

Something may be going on at Upper Room. ESPN's high school hoops analyst Jason Jordan says on twitter (https://twitter.com/JayJayESPN/status/238370319319040000)that there is a "mass exodus" of basketball players from the Upper Room team. 1 player has transferred and Jordan says there will be more.

It might just be a panic over what is going on with Purvis and concern that these players could see their offers dry up and their chances to play college ball limited by staying at Upper Room... or it could be something else. Hard to say but this cannot be good news for Purvis' hopes of playing with NC State soon.

-Jason "what a mess... " Evans

[Newton_14]

Something may be going on at Upper Room. ESPN's high school hoops analyst Jason Jordan says on twitter (https://twitter.com/JayJayESPN/status/238370319319040000)that there is a "mass exodus" of basketball players from the Upper Room team. 1 player has transferred and Jordan says there will be more.

It might just be a panic over what is going on with Purvis and concern that these players could see their offers dry up and their chances to play college ball limited by staying at Upper Room... or it could be something else. Hard to say but this cannot be good news for Purvis' hopes of playing with NC State soon.

-Jason "what a mess... " Evans

Agree. The good news for Purvis is he has been cleared to attend class on full scholarship. That is a huge step in the right direction, and honestly, I am confused on why he would not then be immediately eligible to join the team. If his transcript was sufficient to get him into school, what else would be required in addition to that, in order to participate in sports?

I assume there is something else required? If anyone can enlighten me there, I would appreciate it. Thanks

[JasonEvans]

Agree. The good news for Purvis is he has been cleared to attend class on full scholarship. That is a huge step in the right direction, and honestly, I am confused on why he would not then be immediately eligible to join the team. If his transcript was sufficient to get him into school, what else would be required in addition to that, in order to participate in sports?

I assume there is something else required? If anyone can enlighten me there, I would appreciate it. Thanks

I am just guessing, but here are my guesses...

1) The decision to admit a student is up to the school, not the NCAA. Just because NC State clears him to attend classes and feels his high school transcript is good enough for admission, it does not say anything about the NCAA's role in this.

2) The decision about granting a scholarship, again, rests primarily with the university. With one big caveat, I think. That caveat is whether the player in question is a "pro," and has received improper benefits therefore making them ineligible for sports and a sports-related scholarship. So, the fact that he is on scholarship may merely mean that the NCAA has determined that it does not believe he got any improper benefits.

3) The decision about whether he is allowed to play has not been made because the NCAA is still looking into whether he meets academic eligibility guidelines.

Again, I am just guessing at this stuff and I may be dead wrong about some of it.

-Jason "the more I think about it, the more I think that I could be really wrong about #2 involving the NCAA at all... I bet Enis Kanter was on scholarship for Kentucky last year even though he got paid and was ineligible as a result" Evans

[Newton_14]

I am just guessing, but here are my guesses...

1) The decision to admit a student is up to the school, not the NCAA. Just because NC State clears him to attend classes and feels his high school transcript is good enough for admission, it does not say anything about the NCAA's role in this.

2) The decision about granting a scholarship, again, rests primarily with the university. With one big caveat, I think. That caveat is whether the player in question is a "pro," and has received improper benefits therefore making them ineligible for sports and a sports-related scholarship. So, the fact that he is on scholarship may merely mean that the NCAA has determined that it does not believe he got any improper benefits.

3) The decision about whether he is allowed to play has not been made because the NCAA is still looking into whether he meets academic eligibility guidelines.

Again, I am just guessing at this stuff and I may be dead wrong about some of it.

-Jason "the more I think about it, the more I think that I could be really wrong about #2 involving the NCAA at all... I bet Enis Kanter was on scholarship for Kentucky last year even though he got paid and was ineligible as a result" Evans

Yeah, I don't know either Jason, but after more searching, I found an article stating that it was the NCAA that cleared Purvis to enroll and start taking classes. Link Here (http://blogs.newsobserver.com/accnow/purvis-cleared-to-start-classes-eligibility-status-still-in-question)

Per the article:

The NCAA has cleared Rodney Purvis to go to class at N.C. State but his eligibility for the upcoming basketball season is still in question.
Purvis confirmed the NCAA's decision on his Twitter account on Tuesday. He will be on scholarship for the academic year, according to coach Mark Gottfried, but there's still a chance he won't be eligible to play during the 2012-13 season.

If Purvis had attended classes, prior to being cleared by the NCAA, he would have been considered a "nonqualifier" in NCAA vernacular. The ACC does not allow its members to accept nonqualifiers without an NCAA waiver. As a nonqualifier, Purvis would not be eligible for a scholarship or eligible to compete or practice as a freshman.

.

So the NCAA cleared him to enroll and go to class. I don't get it. They say they are checking to see if Upper Room had all the required "approved classes". Still if they cleared him to be a student, I don't understand why he isn't cleared to play. Seems to me if his High School education was deemed sufficient to meet the requirements needed to enroll in college, it should be sufficient to make him eligible to play. Otherwise, it seems he should not be eligible to enroll.

Clear as mud I guess

[SupaDave]

This is starting to sound a lot like the Eric Bledsoe saga so there may be some precedent for Purvis to see the court.

[sagegrouse]

So the NCAA cleared him to enroll and go to class. I don't get it. They say they are checking to see if Upper Room had all the required "approved classes". Still if they cleared him to be a student, I don't understand why he isn't cleared to play. Seems to me if his High School education was deemed sufficient to meet the requirements needed to enroll in college, it should be sufficient to make him eligible to play. Otherwise, it seems he should not be eligible to enroll.

Clear as mud I guess

i don't think the National Collegiate ATHLETIC Association is in any position to tell North Carolina State University whom it can or cannot admit or enrol in classes. Its only role -- a big one -- is to declare athletes eligible or ineligible for intercollegiate play.

sagegrouse

[COYS]

i don't think the National Collegiate ATHLETIC Association is in any position to tell North Carolina State University whom it can or cannot admit or enrol in classes. Its only role -- a big one -- is to declare athletes eligible or ineligible for intercollegiate play.

sagegrouse

True, but apparently they are allowing him to attend classes AND receive benefits from his athletic scholarship. Perhaps the NCAA does play a role in determining whether or not a player is eligible to receive an athletic scholarship? Honestly, though, it would seem like the school should determine how it wants to use its scholarships, regardless of eligibility. Didn't Enes Kanter still receive scholarship money during his year at UK?

[Bluedog]

Didn't Enes Kanter still receive scholarship money during his year at UK?

Yep, he was still on scholarship.


There is nothing preventing Kentucky from keeping Kanter on scholarship. The only thing he is not allowed to do there is play basketball.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/seth_davis/11/12/mailbag.kanter.selby/index.html

[ThePublisher]

This is probably reaching, but perhaps this is more of the 'behind the scenes' reason that Duke backed off of Purvis? I know it was said that was because of Suliamon's great improvement.

Personally, he seems like a good kid and probably did nothing wrong. Just something for the NCAA to do to waste time instead of focusing on rampant academic fraud at a certain athletic factory... I mean university.