Pretty good interview with Jordan Goldwire.
https://www.starnewsonline.com/story...GcaHz46D2wLb5g
The story, for those wondering:
Do you have a favorite Coach K story?
There have been a lot of special moments between me and him, but my favorite game moment was my freshman year, I think we were playing Rhode Island in a tournament, and for some reason, Trevon Duval and Wendell Carter got into it about something. They were arguing all the way to the bench, and everybody was trying to calm them down, and I remember Coach K being like 'stop!' to the guys on the bench. He yelled at Trevon and Wendell, "I love your guys' passion." They were arguing, but he liked the fact that they were arguing because they were so into the game. I'll never forget that.
Has Goldwire announced which OU graduate program attracted him to Norman? Perhaps something in petroleum land management, which isn’t available at Duke?
Do grad transfers have to sign up for something, or can they kinda begin a masters in education or something with no intention of completing the degree?
The NCAA had a proposal a few years back to count grad transfers as scholarship spots for two years (or until the student completed their degree), but the was defeated.
https://apnews.com/article/college-basketball-mens-college-basketball-in-state-wire-football-college-football-e9fff3c605d64de0ab809eab183bbe7a
In other words, yes, a player could theoretically choose something for a year with no intention of completing it. I mean the same can happen with undergrad so it's not really much different. Duke, and I'm sure other schools, do have some 1-year masters programs. Master of Liberal Arts is a common one for Duke athletes as well as the MMS (in Fuqua).
Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things. - Winston Churchill
President of the "Nolan Smith Should Have His Jersey in The Rafters" Club
Goldwire's own words about why he chose Oklahoma don't mention academics:
Since we had our first Zoom, they were just so interested in me. They showed a lot of passion when it came to my game and what they thought I could do for the team. I was getting calls every day from their coaches, one was telling me he couldn't sleep because he wanted me so bad (laughs). I wanted to feel wanted, and play somewhere where I could get exposure. I like the Big 12 conference as well, so it was a number of different factors.
I thought that at some point there was a rule that they had to be transferring to study something that wasn't available at their original university? Which generally wasn't a difficult requirement to work around. I'm guessing that with the general loosening of the transfer rules, that also went away? I also assume that the only academic requirement might be that they have to take some minimal course load and then achieve some very low GPA in those classes first semester to stay eligible second semester.
Unlike the not-too-distant past, we almost never hear about academics getting in the way of sports for the student-athletes.
Totally agree with you. I think it is really sad that this is the case, but you are correct. I don't expect all student-athletes to be gunning for a 4.0 in biomedical engineering, but there should be some minimal interest in academics (which includes areas like music, art, etc). I am glad the G League option is gradually expanding so that those who truly have zero interest in being on a college campus don't have to be there. I know this conversation will again go in circles about one-and-done, NIL, transferring and other related topics, so I will shut up and leave it at that.
I'm sure I'm not alone in being more invested in JG's success at OU next year than, e.g., DJ's success in the (G) league next year. While he was never my favorite Duke player, it was great to see the player / leader evolve and develop.
My Quick Smells Like French Toast.
It does seem like there should be some actual rules for the grad transfer.
As it stands, there aren’t many 1 year programs that would be actually helpful to the average athlete (or to the average college grad). Going forward, I wonder if Big State U’s will create a 1-year masters program in some directly-applicable specialty that would have no intention of being especially academic but might be helpful to athletes or to other folks who want a 1-year additional credential that could help them be productive: “Reading, writing, and arithmetic for citizens” or some sort of 1 year business degree. It could be a masters or a “certificate” in lieu of an actual degree.
As for Oklahoma, the alma mater of my parents and over a dozen cousins, my favorite line is from the former college president, senator, governor David Boren: “at Oklahoma, we’re working hard to create a university that our football team can be proud of.”