Adidas scandal latest

[HereBeforeCoachK]

At today's LSU-Vanderbilt game in Baton Rouge, the fans jeered and screamed at AD Joe Alleva but for all the wrong reasons -- they were mad that Will Wade was suspended and that Javonte Smart sidelined.

This points out the charming disparity between a classic SEC cheater and the unCheater - at LSU, they wear their cheating proudly....(it's how the state is governed after all). At unCheat, they arrogantly pretend they are pure as the wind driven....

[sagegrouse]

So Alleva gets booed at LSU; but except for a few astute fans in this area, got a free pass during his time at Duke despite Hillier, Franks, Roof, Coach G, Pressley/lacrosse debacle and complete malaise in football. Have I missed others? I’ll acknowledge the positive; he didn’t run K out of Durham.

You do understand that he was booed for actually doing his job in suspending Wade and sitting Smart and not for his job in hiring Will Wade in the first place.

[lotusland]

I would looooove to hear Self try to explain his way out of that text. Why was Gassnola talking about Ayton and letting Self down unless it was Gassnola/Adidas job to procure recruits for Self?

Garry Parrish said the difference between Self and Wade is that Self still has some degree of plausible deniability. We all know what the conversation was about but self never directly and overtly said, instructed or acknowledged that players would be paid to come to Kansas.

On the other hand, Pitino has the same degree of plausible deniability and he’s in Greece. With Pitino there’s more or a shady history though. Also Pitino may still end up coaching UCLA.

[arnie]

You do understand that he was booed for actually doing his job in suspending Wade and sitting Smart and not for his job in hiring Will Wade in the first place.

Oh yes, the irony of his getting booed for being told to do the right thing at LSU versus free pass at Duke for doing nothing.

[JStuart]

This points out the charming disparity between a classic SEC cheater and the unCheater - at LSU, they wear their cheating proudly...(it's how the state is governed after all). At unCheat, they arrogantly pretend they are pure as the wind driven...

I'll expect the heelz fans to point to State and LSU as bad guys, 'No Collusion!' and all that. After all, the NCAA gave them a 'clean bill of health', who cares what the Southern Association put them on probation for. 'Just a typo", after all.
Really getting hard to be excited about this year's March Madness.
Just my 0.02.

[Nugget]

Garry Parrish said the difference between Self and Wade is that Self still has some degree of plausible deniability. We all know what the conversation was about but self never directly and overtly said, instructed or acknowledged that players would be paid to come to Kansas.

I heard that on Parrish’s podcast and don’t really see how Self has much plausible deniability here. He wasn’t dumb enough to be as explicit as Wade, but I don’t see any wiggle room in him telling the Adidas rep “'I’m happy with adidas. Just got to get a couple real guys.” What could that possibly mean other than for Adidas to do something to steer recruits to KU?

[lotusland]

Is it a violation for Adidas to”steer” their AAU kids to an adidas school? I kinda depends on what is meant by “steer” doesn’t it? There’s plenty of plausible deniability for the ncaa and a willfully blind university as evidenced by the banners taken down in the Dean Dome.

[evrim]

I was truly embarrassed and frankly disappointed to read the Twitter thread - about LSU fans asking for firing athletic Director and supporting their cheating coach. Instead of being embarrassed they're doubling down because they can't bring themselves to admit it. Hope LSU gets years of probation. Their fans deserve that. Of course NCAA is responsible for this by not doing the right thing about UNCheat, so everybody got caught says why should you punish us?

https://twitter.com/ESPNBooger/status/1104557306916818944?s=19

[uh_no]

I was truly embarrassed and frankly disappointed to read the Twitter thread - about LSU fans asking for firing athletic Director and supporting their cheating coach. Instead of being embarrassed they're doubling down because they can't bring themselves to admit it. Hope LSU gets years of probation. Their fans deserve that. Of course NCAA is responsible for this by not doing the right thing about UNCheat, so everybody got caught says why should you punish us?

https://twitter.com/ESPNBooger/statu...916818944?s=19

personally, i don't expect more from the SEC.

[House G]

I agree. If you’re surprised by this, you don’t know LSU fans. Of course, if this were the Alabama football team being investigated, they’d be behind the G men 100%.

[HereBeforeCoachK]

I was truly embarrassed and frankly disappointed to read the Twitter thread - about LSU fans asking for firing athletic Director and supporting their cheating coach. Instead of being embarrassed they're doubling down because they can't bring themselves to admit it. Hope LSU gets years of probation. Their fans deserve that. Of course NCAA is responsible for this by not doing the right thing about UNCheat, so everybody got caught says why should you punish us?

https://twitter.com/ESPNBooger/statu...916818944?s=19

This is just LSU being LSU...just the SEC being the SEC.

[House G]

This is a good read on the Adidas scandal and the LSU perspective:
https://thehayride.com/2019/03/on-th...oversy-at-lsu/

[arnie]

This is a good read on the Adidas scandal and the LSU perspective:
https://thehayride.com/2019/03/on-th...oversy-at-lsu/

Interesting, but he tries to throw/imply Duke in the mix with State, Kansas, etc. I get his point, but really doubt Zion has taken cash from K or assistant coaches😡. The Cheat fans are all screaming that line.

[JasonEvans]

This is a good read on the Adidas scandal and the LSU perspective:
https://thehayride.com/2019/03/on-th...oversy-at-lsu/

The article essentially makes the argument that "everybody does it" so why should we be mad at LSU. That is a terrible argument and we should be outraged by it.

First of all, everyone does not do it. I am sure there are plenty of smaller D1 programs that do not funnel money to players or get shoe companies to make the payments for them. There are more than a thousand new basketball players entering D1 every year. Even if the wildest conspiracy theories are to be believed, 90% of them are not getting paid and at least half the programs in the sport are probably clean when it comes to illegal payments (the MAAC, SWAC, Ivy, Patriot, and a few others ain't paying anybody). So, even if every Power conference team was paying every single player, this would be incredibly unfair to teams from smaller leagues who are playing by the rules. It is outrageous to simply gloss over LSU and other schools flaunting the rules by ignoring the many schools who do not and cannot pay players.

Second, I have a problem with these lines:

Wade just happens to be the flavor of the month for media outrage, mostly because LSU is 26-5 and 16-2 in the SEC and could, with three wins in the SEC Tournament in Nashville this week, be a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

I don't care if LSU wins the SEC tournament by 20+ points in each game, they are not getting a #1 seed. We are talking about KenPom's #16 team and the NET's #13 team. If they win the SEC tourney, they might get a #2 seed. Worth noting that both Kentucky and Tennessee are considered more likely picks to win the SEC tourney anyway. So, the author immediately betrays his lack of knowledge of college hoops with his statement about the quality of LSU's season.

But, more to the point, the notion that we are outrages because LSU is fairly good this season is largely false. We are outraged because Wade's comments are the most clear and obvious statements yet captured on wiretap that show some college coaches were paying players. For example, the comments we have heard from Bill Self merely has him saying to his Adidas rep that we, "just need to get a couple real guys." That is nowhere near Will Wade saying he made "a hell of an offer" to Javonte Smart and lamenting that his offer was tilted too much toward the family and not enough toward the handler who was steering Smart to LSU. If Wade's comments had instead come from the coach of Missouri or Georgia (just picking a couple weak SEC teams) we would still be outraged. I will grant that the allegations take on a bit more urgency with Smart playing a key role on a team that is headed for the tourney with a decent seed, but to imply we would not care if a lesser power conference team were implicated is silly.

Bottom line -- this scandal is revealing a seedy underbelly of college athletics, one many folks suspected but which is now being confirmed. Rather than just throw up our hands and ignore it because it seems to be quite prevalent, let's find the schools and the coaches who are doing this and drum them out of the sport; let's put a system in place that discourages kids from being influenced by shady runners; let's allows the players to at least get some compensation for their efforts in what amounts to the NBA's minor league; let's make reforms so we don't have to endure any more deals under the table.

But to gloss over the Will Wade scandal as anything less than an outrage... well that would be the biggest mistake of all.

-Jason "of course the article mentions Zion and Duke... clickbait much?" Evans

[PackMan97]

But to gloss over the Will Wade scandal as anything less than an outrage... well that would be the biggest mistake of all.

-Jason "of course the article mentions Zion and Duke... clickbait much?" Evans

I've lost all my outrage at paying players since I learned the NCAA doesn't give a rats feces about whether or not kids get an education. Pay the players at least they'll get something from it. I also have to mention Duke and Zion because they better not let me down a third time. That is something to be outraged about.

[Ian]

This is just LSU being LSU...just the SEC being the SEC.

Yeah, no. It's just fans being fans.

Honestly, most fans of every school pretends to care about winning the "right way" but deep down they mostly just care about winning. That's true for LSU fans, and it's true for UNC fans who flaunted the "Carolina Way".
It's true for San Francisco Giants fans who defend Barry Bonds and true for Yankee fans who defend A-Rod.

They don't care about doing it the "right way" unless it's another badge they get to wear and another soap box they get to stand on to look down at fans of other teams. Heck, it wasn't too long ago Duke fans were all about "true student athletes" and "the value of a Duke degree" and now most of them have made their peace with becoming a NBA player-development program, so long as it means winning more games.

[jv001]

I've lost all my outrage at paying players since I learned the NCAA doesn't give a rats feces about whether or not kids get an education. Pay the players at least they'll get something from it. I also have to mention Duke and Zion because they better not let me down a third time. That is something to be outraged about.

How about a little help from the Pack. We can't carry the load every year. GoDuke!

[PackMan97]

How about a little help from the Pack. We can't carry the load every year. GoDuke!

We beat them last year. If we beat them more often, they'd be our rival.

[devildeac]

We beat them last year. If we beat them more often, they'd be our rival.

Not true. They *still* cheated.

[House G]

Wade has issued a statement:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nol...outputType=amp