Shabazz Reinstated (but UCLA Upset)

[SilkyJ]

Link (http://deadspin.com/5961371/the-ncaa-has-reinstated-uclas-shabazz-muhammad?utm_campaign=socialflow_deadspin_twitter&utm_source=deadspin_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow)


UCLA's star freshman, Shabazz Muhammad, was declared ineligible before his first game last week. His crime? He took money from a family friend to fund unofficial recruiting visits to Duke and North Carolina. Both schools had told him he was free to take money for the trips—which took place a year ago—but somehow the NCAA found a way to decide to punish him on the first Friday of the season.

[mkline09]

I fully expect the NCAA to rule him ineligible again while they try to attempt to figure out where he will get the $1600 they have ordered him to pay back. That is just the kind of thing the NCAA would do.

[sporthenry]

The NCAA loses even more credibility if they even had any. The whole story about the lawyer's boyfriend and then reinstating someone right after declaring him ineligible. How does the NCAA rule so many kids ineligible only to re-instate them later? I know Congress has another issue or two at hand but I can't imagine that Congress won't eventually step in on behalf of this institution which has become a complete farce.

[sagegrouse]

The NCAA loses even more credibility if they even had any. The whole story about the lawyer's boyfriend and then reinstating someone right after declaring him ineligible. How does the NCAA rule so many kids ineligible only to re-instate them later? I know Congress has another issue or two at hand but I can't imagine that Congress won't eventually step in on behalf of this institution which has become a complete farce.

Why does the NCAA declare someone eligible and then reverse its course within a few days? Easy. It's the hammer and it applies to both the player and the school. Then the NCAA gets cooperation and can negotiate a penalty.

sagegrouse

[MCFinARL]

The NCAA loses even more credibility if they even had any. The whole story about the lawyer's boyfriend and then reinstating someone right after declaring him ineligible. How does the NCAA rule so many kids ineligible only to re-instate them later? I know Congress has another issue or two at hand but I can't imagine that Congress won't eventually step in on behalf of this institution which has become a complete farce.

I sure hope you are wrong. I'm no fan of the NCAA but dealing with its issues is about 876th on my list of things for Congress to pay attention to.

[roywhite]

UCLA actually just lost to ... Cal Poly; it is time to panic in Westwood (http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/blog/eye-on-college-basketball/21137033/ucla-actually-just-lost-to--cal-poly-it-is-time-to-panic-in-westwood)

I was tempted to put this in a Tony Parker thread; Tony got 3 minutes and 0 points.

Here's a game story with boxscore: Cal Poly shocks No. 11 UCLA (http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/gametracker/recap/NCAAB_20121125_CPOLY@UCLA/cal-poly-shocks-no-11-ucla-at-pauley-pavilion/nrelate)

Shabazz had 15 points and 10 rebounds, but was 4-13 from the field.

[Indoor66]

UCLA actually just lost to ... Cal Poly; it is time to panic in Westwood (http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/blog/eye-on-college-basketball/21137033/ucla-actually-just-lost-to--cal-poly-it-is-time-to-panic-in-westwood)

I was tempted to put this in a Tony Parker thread; Tony got 3 minutes and 0 points.

Here's a game story with boxscore: Cal Poly shocks No. 11 UCLA (http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/gametracker/recap/NCAAB_20121125_CPOLY@UCLA/cal-poly-shocks-no-11-ucla-at-pauley-pavilion/nrelate)

Shabazz had 15 points and 10 rebounds, but was 4-13 from the field.

They must be thrilled with the Wear twins and Drew IIIIIIIIIIII.

[dukedoc]

Also, Kyle Anderson didn't start. Played 22 min, scored 1 pt, 4 dimes. The triumvirate isn't off to a great start. Howland on the hot seat. We'll see if they can turn it around.

[NSDukeFan]

Also, Kyle Anderson didn't start. Played 22 min, scored 1 pt, 4 dimes. The triumvirate isn't off to a great start. Howland on the hot seat. We'll see if they can turn it around.

The interesting thing, at least to me, is that their leading scorer is freshman Jordan Adams, who I didn't even know was going to UCLA and/or hadn't considered him in their great recruiting class. I just saw that he was ranked #41 by ESPN heading into the year, well below Shabazz, Kyle Anderson and Parker.

[Dev11]

I was tempted to put this in a Tony Parker thread; Tony got 3 minutes and 0 points.

At least he probably didn't set any screens.

[FerryFor50]

Big upset there....

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/ncaa/men/gameflash/2012/11/25/79192_recap.html?eref=sihp

TP, again, does little to nothing. (3 min, 2 missed FTs)

[SoCalDukeFan]

Did not watch the game but found this in the LA Times

"Despite all the hurried attempts and defensive breakdowns, UCLA (4-2) had a chance to salvage the night when Jordan Adams snaked inside to tie the score, 68-68.

But with 11 seconds remaining, Bruins sophomore Norman Powell got confused about the score and, thinking his team was behind, committed an intentional foul."

http://www.latimes.com/sports/college/basketball/la-sp-1126-ucla-cal-poly-20121126,0,3005284.story

SoCal

[FerryFor50]

Did not watch the game but found this in the LA Times

"Despite all the hurried attempts and defensive breakdowns, UCLA (4-2) had a chance to salvage the night when Jordan Adams snaked inside to tie the score, 68-68.

But with 11 seconds remaining, Bruins sophomore Norman Powell got confused about the score and, thinking his team was behind, committed an intentional foul."

http://www.latimes.com/sports/college/basketball/la-sp-1126-ucla-cal-poly-20121126,0,3005284.story

SoCal

Sounds like a coaching issue to me... :)

[burnspbesq]

I was about to say that this wasn't a huge surprise, because UCLA barely got by UC Irvine, currently number 139 in the Sagarin rankings, in overtime. However, Cal Poly is number 218. That is the very model of a modern major crisis.

[mapleleafdevil]

Couldn't help but notice Tony Parker kicking in with 3 minutes of PT. Zeros across the board with the exception of the "2" in the 0-2 FTA line.

[NSDukeFan]

Couldn't help but notice Tony Parker kicking in with 3 minutes of PT. Zeros across the board with the exception of the "2" in the 0-2 FTA line.

It appears he may have made the correct decision. If he can hardly get on the floor for a team that lost to Cal Poly, I doubt very much he would be contributing to the #2 team in the nation and it would likely be awhile before he could contribute to a program like Duke's.

[-bdbd]

They must be thrilled with the Wear twins and Drew IIIIIIIIIIII.

Give them a break -- they're just applying what they learned in Chapel Hell....
:rolleyes:

[Dukeblue91]

It appears he may have made the correct decision. If he can hardly get on the floor for a team that lost to Cal Poly, I doubt very much he would be contributing to the #2 team in the nation and it would likely be awhile before he could contribute to a program like Duke's.

Perhaps you are right!
But I would venture to say that right about now he wishes he could be on the floor and set a few big man screens. :D
On the other hand we would have endless posts as to how a talent like TP could linger on the end of the bench and that Duke just does not know how to develop big men and or a talented bench.

[MCFinARL]

Hard not to feel a little schadenfreude here--though I don't actually bear Shabazz Muhammad any ill will since he appeared to handle his college decision rather smoothly and to treat the coaches and programs he did not choose with great respect. Another good piece of evidence, though, that it takes more than a bunch of players to make a good team.

[NSDukeFan]

Perhaps you are right!
But I would venture to say that right about now he wishes he could be on the floor and set a few big man screens. :D
On the other hand we would have endless posts as to how a talent like TP could linger on the end of the bench and that Duke just does not know how to develop big men and or a talented bench.

Sounds like everything worked out for the best for everyone. ;)

[Dr. Rosenrosen]

I find this thread... weird. I hope we don't get in the habit of tracking recruits who went elsewhere and reveling in their lack of PT, PPG, RPG or whatever other metric we can find to make ourselves feel good that we missed. Fact remains, these were recruits that K and staff felt were strong enough to recruit - and in some cases recruit very hard. It's very easy to look back now with hindsight (although, can you call just 4-5 games hindsight?) and say that it's a good thing we missed. Will we be saying that 3 months from now? Who knows. But it just seems really shortsighted, smells of sour grapes, and, well, doesn't do much to promote good karma. Lots of people (including recruits I bet) read these boards. I know we haven't said anything mean about them. But it just doesn't feel right, and I think we're better than this. Especially when we have so many positive things to focus on right now. Just one man's view of things.

[loran16]

I find this thread... weird. I hope we don't get in the habit of tracking recruits who went elsewhere and reveling in their lack of PT, PPG, RPG or whatever other metric we can find to make ourselves feel good that we missed. Fact remains, these were recruits that K and staff felt were strong enough to recruit - and in some cases recruit very hard. It's very easy to look back now with hindsight (although, can you call just 4-5 games hindsight?) and say that it's a good thing we missed. Will we be saying that 3 months from now? Who knows. But it just seems really shortsighted, smells of sour grapes, and, well, doesn't do much to promote good karma. Lots of people (including recruits I bet) read these boards. I know we haven't said anything mean about them. But it just doesn't feel right, and I think we're better than this. Especially when we have so many positive things to focus on right now. Just one man's view of things.

Though I do feel bad for UCLA fans - Howland is really screwing this team up. At the same time though, after Tony Parker's press conference, it's hard not to feel a little schaedenfreude

[Newton_14]

I find this thread... weird. I hope we don't get in the habit of tracking recruits who went elsewhere and reveling in their lack of PT, PPG, RPG or whatever other metric we can find to make ourselves feel good that we missed. Fact remains, these were recruits that K and staff felt were strong enough to recruit - and in some cases recruit very hard. It's very easy to look back now with hindsight (although, can you call just 4-5 games hindsight?) and say that it's a good thing we missed. Will we be saying that 3 months from now? Who knows. But it just seems really shortsighted, smells of sour grapes, and, well, doesn't do much to promote good karma. Lots of people (including recruits I bet) read these boards. I know we haven't said anything mean about them. But it just doesn't feel right, and I think we're better than this. Especially when we have so many positive things to focus on right now. Just one man's view of things.

First, I agree wholeheartedly with your main point here. We should not make tracking the progress of missed recruits to revel in their failings a common occurrence for all the reasons you pointed out. However, this situation is not quite the same thing. I think this thread is a result of two things. One, people are sick of the negative recruiting against Duke, with the edited films showing Duke Big Men setting the same screen 100 times. Two, Parker himself made the same comments in an article, and included a couple of shots at Wojo and Duke's lack of ability to develop big men. Then held a press conferense that would put Lebron to shame.

For those two reasons, I am comfortable with this thread. That said, at some point, the thread should die out (we should not do this all season), and to your main point, threads like this should not become a trend.

I do think it is very fair though to point out that Parker is not an impact player right now, and would not have been no matter which BCS School he chose. But for me, I thought that was painfully obvious watching the higher level All Star games.

[brevity]

I find this thread... weird. I hope we don't get in the habit of tracking recruits who went elsewhere and reveling in their lack of PT, PPG, RPG or whatever other metric we can find to make ourselves feel good that we missed. Fact remains, these were recruits that K and staff felt were strong enough to recruit - and in some cases recruit very hard. It's very easy to look back now with hindsight (although, can you call just 4-5 games hindsight?) and say that it's a good thing we missed. Will we be saying that 3 months from now? Who knows. But it just seems really shortsighted, smells of sour grapes, and, well, doesn't do much to promote good karma. Lots of people (including recruits I bet) read these boards. I know we haven't said anything mean about them. But it just doesn't feel right, and I think we're better than this. Especially when we have so many positive things to focus on right now. Just one man's view of things.

Thank you for pointing this out. I find myself uncomfortable with a lot of these threads, and I avoid the recruiting ones altogether. I do think there should be a unified thread about UCLA's season -- the newsworthiness alone makes it a necessity -- and I also understand the need to point out the struggles of players Duke once pursued. That is our point of reference, after all. I just wish it were operating at a slightly higher plane.

[sporthenry]

Thank you for pointing this out. I find myself uncomfortable with a lot of these threads, and I avoid the recruiting ones altogether. I do think there should be a unified thread about UCLA's season -- the newsworthiness alone makes it a necessity -- and I also understand the need to point out the struggles of players Duke once pursued. That is our point of reference, after all. I just wish it were operating at a slightly higher plane.

Yeah, perhaps it can operate at a higher plane but not sure why/how you can avoid it. We often talk about players who transfer like Taylor King and reveled a bit in his initial failures. I think after people like Barnes jerked us around that they can of bring it on themselves. As far as players like Tyler Adams or LJ Rose, I wish them all the best, but I think an update on a Duke player serves to show us that our sky is not falling recruit wise and we are doing quite fine and I would update this board if LJ Rose was going off as well. These kids were almost a part of the Duke family so perhaps they are like distant second cousins.

ETA: Newton 14 summed this up as well.

[dchen09]

As much as we all think Calipari is a sleeze, I think how terribly UCLA has played in the past couple games has shown it really takes a good coach to bring the best out of a group of talented freshmen. Maybe its because he has to mix freshmen and upperclassmen but it seems pretty obvious that Ben Howland is just not up to the job. Unfortunately, I'm a bit scared of how teams like UCLA and Baylor are not getting the best performances out of their freshmen because it gives Cal an even better sales pitch. Ready or not, why take the risk of going anywhere else when Cal will get you in the draft after 1 year.

I'm not comparing him to coach K by any means but if I really wanted to goto the NBA after 1 year, I would definitely be looking at the results from this year.

[ChillinDuke]

It appears he may have made the correct decision. If he can hardly get on the floor for a team that lost to Cal Poly, I doubt very much he would be contributing to the #2 team in the nation and it would likely be awhile before he could contribute to a program like Duke's.

Yeah, but at least we would be clamoring for TP to get time instead of Alex Murphy.

(Or not.)

- Chillin

[BD80]

I was about to say that this wasn't a huge surprise, because UCLA barely got by UC Irvine, currently number 139 in the Sagarin rankings, in overtime. However, Cal Poly is number 218. That is the very model of a modern major crisis.

Cal Poly is a REALLY good engineering school right? Great academic standards? And they beat John Wooden's school in BASKETBALL?

Wow

[Deslok]

Cal Poly is a public engineering school in the Cal system, but it is not to be confused with Cal Tech, which is a private research university that is among the finest engineering schools in the world(I had a student actually get recruited to play there... in the midst of their 30+ game losing streak, the coach at the time was at least in good humor about the quality, or lack thereof, of their Division III squad... my student opted to try to walk on at Princeton instead).

[flyingdutchdevil]

Cal Poly is a REALLY good engineering school right? Great academic standards? And they beat John Wooden's school in BASKETBALL?

Wow

You sure you're not confusing Cal Poly with Cal Tech? Now that's an academic school!

Anywho, Ben Howland's days are numbered in Westwood. He is a terrible coach who can a) recruit well and b) relies on his recruits to play the game. If the recruits aren't disciplined (Reeves Nelson and Josh Smith being the most obvious cases in point), the team isn't going to function. For Wooden's sake, I really hope that Howland is gone. He is a disgrace to that program.

On another note, I think that ripping on recruits because they didn't choose Duke is poor form. Yes, I understand that Tony Parker had a self-obsessed news conference to announce his school, but he's 18! I made a lot more dumb decisions as an 18 year old! And, would I want TP to be on our team? I actually would, but not because he would contribute this year. Next year, we're thin at the 4/5 (from a bulk perspective). Tony wouldn't play this year, but a year of practice would turn him into a really good contributor next year. I hope Tony does well - I really do. And I'm sure that he'll eat up Josh Smith's minutes as Josh Smith eats up the Chinese buffet.

[devildeac]

Couldn't help but notice Tony Parker kicking in with 3 minutes of PT. Zeros across the board with the exception of the "2" in the 0-2 FTA line.


It appears he may have made the correct decision. If he can hardly get on the floor for a team that lost to Cal Poly, I doubt very much he would be contributing to the #2 team in the nation and it would likely be awhile before he could contribute to a program like Duke's.

Maybe he's working too hard on re-wording his college announcement manifesto:rolleyes:.

[g-money]

While we're on the subject of recruits that got away, I'm happy to report that this dunk took place in the NBA and not over in CH:

http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-triangle/post/_/id/43377/the-six-best-things-about-the-harrison-barnes-dunk-because-five-is-not-enough

Mark Jackson must be teaching Barnes to be aggressive. Making up for the lost time under Ol' Roy.

[burnspbesq]

Cal Poly is a REALLY good engineering school right? Great academic standards? And they beat John Wooden's school in BASKETBALL?

Wow

There are two Cal Polys, in San Luis Obispo and Pomona. UCLA lost to SLO, which plays in the Big West. Cal Poly Pomona plays D2, and is a member of the California Collegiate Athletic Association; I think we played them in an exo a few years ago after they won the D2 championship.

They are sort of neither-fish-nor-fowl in the overall scheme of public universities out here. Administratively, they are part of the Cal State system, but they are generally considered to be a substantial step up from the Cal States in terms of admissions standards, quality of instruction, etc. (albeit not at the level of the UC system). SLO is strong in engineering disciplines; Pomona, in addition to being solid across the board in liberal arts, functions as the ag school in the Cal State system (when the school first opened, the area was nothing but dairy farms).

[ChicagoCrazy84]

While we're on the subject of recruits that got away, I'm happy to report that this dunk took place in the NBA and not over in CH:

http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-triangle/post/_/id/43377/the-six-best-things-about-the-harrison-barnes-dunk-because-five-is-not-enough

Mark Jackson must be teaching Barnes to be aggressive. Making up for the lost time under Ol' Roy.


That was pretty insane. I didn't think HB had it in him :)

[Jderf]

... but I told you so. ;) Looks like my "optimistic" projection was even less realistic than I thought. I think we dodged a bullet on this one. I'd bet TP would have been a seriously unhappy transfer.

From March:


This is probably the greatest irony about our current situation. Let's say that the pro-Parker folks on the board get their wish, and Tony stuns everyone and ultimately decides to come to Duke. What happens next?

I'd bet it would actually end up hurting our reputation anyway, and that our "perception problem" would become even worse!

Because, and I think that many would agree, the most likely course of events following TP's commitment would be this: Tony comes to Duke and has a decent, but not stellar, freshman year. Let's be optimistic and say he racks up 10 ppg and 5 rpg, in 20 minutes. If that happened (or even worse, if Tony came up short of that), our detractors would be all over it. Seriously. "Another promising, top-50 post player goes to Duke, only to disappear into mediocrity!"

Of course, they would be wrong. They would be ignorant. They would be setting up false expectations, a prototypical strawman argument, only so they could knock those expectations down. So yes, they would be very far off-base. But that wouldn't matter, because they would still be saying it nonetheless. Repeatedly. En masse. They would have yet another (bad) reason to point a finger at Duke and show everyone "how far we have fallen."

Basically, I'm saying that no matter how this situation plays out, whether Duke ends up "winning" or "losing," people are going to claim that it is just further evidence of a crumbling empire. For the very simple reason that they just don't like us. They will still be wrong. And we will still be annoyed. And that's just what is gonna' happen. It's like a bad movie where you know exactly how it is going to end but you have to watch anyway -- only thing you can do is make sure you've got enough popcorn.

[timmy c]

... but I told you so. ;) Looks like my "optimistic" projection was even less realistic than I thought. I think we dodged a bullet on this one. I'd bet TP would have been a seriously unhappy transfer.

From March:

Thanks for posting this.

For mild entertainment, I went back and re-read a bunch of pages from the Tony Parker Recruiting thread. Re-reading a few of the anti-prophetic statements were a reminder of how wrong most of us are about the actual immediate impact a high school player will have on a high major program.

[Billy Dat]

Josh Smith just quit the UCLA team.
http://seattletimes.com/html/huskymensbasketballblog/2019782887_report_josh_smi.html

[MChambers]

I had nothing better to do last evening, so I watched the end of the game and saw, to my disappointment, UCLA come from behind in the final minutes to win, based mostly on Texas's inability to run anything resembling an offense. I was shocked to see that both teams are in Pomeroy's top 50.

Maybe I had too much wine, but I thought Vitale said that UCLA needs leadership from LD II. Watching him and Travis Wear made me wish they had never left UNC. Muhammed was not impressive, either. His shot isn't strong and he doesn't seem to have the athleticism I expected.

[53n206]

I too watched parts of this game. Really mediocre performances by both teams. Texas up by eight points with about two minutes to go and they completely fell apart. Did anyone who watched the game notice the crowd, or lack of a crowd., A game played in Houston, very close to Austin. In contrast to the attendance at the Meadowlands. So my only comment, aside from two seemingly average teams, is the apparent lack of interest in Texas basketball.

[allenmurray]

Did anyone who watched the game notice the crowd, or lack of a crowd., A game played in Houston, very close to Austin.

Austin and Houston are over 160 miles apart. And college basketball doesn't mean anything in Texas. If they wanted a crowd they needed to play in Austin and tell people it was an indoor football game, then after they entered the arena lock the doors and don't let them leave.

[devildeac]

I too watched parts of this game. Really mediocre performances by both teams. Texas up by eight points with about two minutes to go and they completely fell apart. Did anyone who watched the game notice the crowd, or lack of a crowd., A game played in Houston, very close to Austin. In contrast to the attendance at the Meadowlands. So my only comment, aside from two seemingly average teams, is the apparent lack of interest in Texas basketball.

"Just like Clemson-clap, clap, clap/clap/clap"

:rolleyes:;)

[Kdogg]

Did anyone who watched the game notice the crowd, or lack of a crowd.

They played it in the Texans NFL stadium. The announced attendence was just under 2800 but actually closer to 2000 from accounts. Both fan bases are fickle so the lack of winning didn't help. Plus even in a good year most UT fans don't pay attention until after the bowl game. UCLA is really starting to worry about attendence at Pauley this season.

[Duke_92]

They played it in the Texans NFL stadium. The announced attendence was just under 2800 but actually closer to 2000 from accounts. Both fan bases are fickle so the lack of winning didn't help. Plus even in a good year most UT fans don't pay attention until after the bowl game. UCLA is really starting to worry about attendence at Pauley this season.



I had to double check those attendance figures. I thought you might be missing a zero. Wow a game between Texas and UCLA and basically only their parents showed up. Unbelievable.

http://m.usatoday.com/article/news/1756465

[ricks68]

Austin and Houston are over 160 miles apart. And college basketball doesn't mean anything in Texas. If they wanted a crowd they needed to play in Austin and tell people it was an indoor football game, then after they entered the arena lock the doors and don't let them leave.

That's it! Great idea. :)

ricks

[Nosbleuatu]

That's it! Great idea. :)

ricks

Oh! I didn't realize you were that Rick... Good luck with the new plan, Coach Barnes!

[ricks68]

Oh! I didn't realize you were that Rick... Good luck with the new plan, Coach Barnes!

You should already know that a few years ago Rick Barnes stated that he has the easiest coaching job in college basketball because there is no pressure on him to win. No one really cares very much. It sure has helped with our recruiting, however---Luol Deng, Rasheed Sulaimon, Daniel Ewing, and so many more.

ricks

[Kedsy]

You should already know that a few years ago Rick Barnes stated that he has the easiest coaching job in college basketball because there is no pressure on him to win. No one really cares very much. It sure has helped with our recruiting, however---Luol Deng, Rasheed Sulaimon, Daniel Ewing, and so many more.

ricks

I thought Luol Deng came from England and went to high school in New Jersey. What connection does he have to Texas?

[miramar]

At least not that many people saw Texas play like a JC team and finally collapse against a team that looked even worse.

I also heard Rick's halftime interview, and it appears that he hasn't gotten any smarter since leaving the ACC.

[MChambers]

At least not that many people saw Texas play like a JC team and finally collapse against a team that looked even worse.

I also heard Rick's halftime interview, and it appears that he hasn't gotten any smarter since leaving the ACC.

I've always had a soft spot for Barnes, because he was willing to take on Dean Smith.

[moonpie23]

At least not that many people saw Texas play like a JC team and finally collapse against a team that looked even worse.

I also heard Rick's halftime interview, and it appears that he hasn't gotten any smarter since leaving the ACC.

he was smart in the ACC???????