"Aubrey got tangled, and his momentum carried him forward"

Houston guard Aubrey Coleman joins the sad pantheon of college athletes doing the inexcusable in competition. The incident begins at 4:49 of the following video:



Houston coach Tom Penders responded to the incident as follows:

"I know Aubrey, and I have never seen him lose his temper or composure or anything."

Nor did he on this occasion. He appeared to coolly and deliberately stamp on an opponents face, and was, naturally and deservedly, ejected from the game.

"I'm just sorry the official interpreted it that way. The way I saw it, Aubrey got tangled, and his momentum carried him forward, and I think it was a mistake."

One wishes that this was a sarcastic comment from Penders. Should he not see the light, then it is up to Conference USA to hit Coleman with a lengthy suspension. As for the stampee Chase Budinger, he got the last laugh despite getting charged with a technical foul for his reaction. Arizona won the game 96-90 in overtime.

Update 6:29 PM

Coleman has issued a non-apology which does not pass the snicker test, and Penders is standing by his player:

"I want to apologize to Chase Budinger for what happened Saturday night. I never meant to step on him," Coleman said. "I have never been in an incident like this before, and I have nothing but respect for him as a great player."

"I love the game too much to do something like that intentionally. I want to say I am sorry from the bottom of my heart. I know that God knows what is in my heart, but I am hopeful that Chase will understand and forgive." . . .

Like his player, head coach Tom Penders said he regretted the incident but felt confident Coleman did not intentionally step on Budinger.

"Aubrey is one of the finest kids, both on the floor and off the floor, that I have had the privilege to coach," Penders said. "I know that he regrets the situation, but he is an exemplary student-athlete in all ways, shapes and forms."

Penders said he and his staff would work with director of athletics Dave Maggard and Athletics Department administrators to further review the incident carefully.

Update (2) 7:12 PM Monday

CUSA has suspended Coleman for a grand total of 1 game. What a joke.

Update (3) 10:40 Monday

Houston Director of Athletics Dave Maggard completes the Epic Fail:

"During his career at UH, Aubrey has never been involved in an incident that could question his respect for this game," director of athletics Dave Maggard said. "He has apologized to Chase Budinger for what occurred, and Conference USA officials have taken action regarding this matter."

"The University of Houston has always and will continue to uphold the highest levels of sportsmanship in every respect. We apologize to the University of Arizona, its basketball team and to the Tucson community for what occurred Saturday evening. Aubrey will be suspended for Wednesday night's game, and we now consider the matter to be closed."

Update (4) 7:41 PM Wednesday

I made a mistake on Monday by proclaiming this story completed. Both Penders and Coleman have been unable to keep their mouths shut, the result being that Penders is coming across as a bigger ***, and Coleman as a bigger fool.

Penders has claimed that video of the incident was 'doctored' by ESPN. Decide for yourself:

Go here for the audio. But the most ridiculous indication that both Penders and Coleman need to return to the reality-based world is that fact that both are now claiming that Coleman did not make contact with Budinger's face:

"He attempted to step over Chase; at no time did he mean to hurt the kid," Penders said. "It's clear on the replay that he never touches his face, but his shoulder."

Coleman said he thought Budinger was flopping on the play. He said he thought it was going to be a block, not a charge. He said he looked up, reacted, and then "I tried to step over him. He knows it was his shoulder. I even rolled my ankle [trying to avoid] him. I wanted to see if he was OK, but he was up on me," he said.

Yep folks, Coleman's only concern was the safety of his stampee. On a more serious note, ESPN is reporting that Coleman has been the target of harassing e-mails, including racial slurs:

Houston coach Tom Penders said that Coleman, and members of the team, have been getting "very ugly" e-mails over the incident. "There's been a lot of racial slurs," said Coleman, who is black. Budinger is white. "It's crazy. I saved the e-mails. I haven't been contacted, but I do know the police and the FBI were at the practices to make sure everything was safe."

This is contemptible behavior, and if the FBI is indeed investigating, may god speed their inquiries.

Link Roundup 11/09/08

Mark Hasty comments on Ohio State's 'Small Problem':

Hell hath no fury like a sports dad scorned, and Buckeye receiver/returner Ray Small's dad isn't pleased that his son will not play in this weekend's OSU-Northwestern game. Buckeye coach Jim Tressel suspended the younger Small for one game--"to start with," in Tressel's words--for repeatedly violating team rules.

Small's dad, Ken Small, is calling shenanigans.

"They're intentionally trying to blow his career," Ken Small told The Associated Press by telephone from his home in suburban Columbus.

There is evidence to suggest that Ray Small is blowing his own career, without any help from the Ohio State coaching staff. He was "demoted" from jersey number 4 to number 82 last spring; he is also the only Buckeye on scholarship without a biography in the school's media guide. Hence, he's clearly been in trouble before, and maybe he hasn't quite gotten the message yet.

David Mayo attempts to cheer up Michigan fans over the hiring of Rich Rodriguez, and scores some hits and highly offensive misses. A couple of the hits:

7. Jim Harrick got fired as UCLA's basketball coach for filing padded expense reports. So Rhode Island hired him and he was accused of sexual misconduct by a secretary. So Georgia hired him and a player received an "A" for a course he never attended, taught by Harrick's son, among other scholastic oddities.

RichRod certainly won't get this many botched opportunities. But he never won a national championship, either.

6. Jan van Breda Kolff recruited a basketball player to St. Bonaventure whose qualification for admission was a welding certificate, leading to a far-reaching investigation ending in the ouster of the coach, athletic director and university president.

RichRod has a roster full of players majoring in something called General Studies. But U-M actually knows about it, so I guess it's all right.

UCLA forward Nikola Dragovic has been arrested on suspicion of battery:

Dragovic, a junior from Belgrade, Serbia, was allegedly involved in an altercation with his former girlfriend. Dragovic and his girlfriend lived together, according to Coach Ben Howland, who added that, "They're going through a breakup of that relationship."

Los Angeles Police Department officers arrested the 20-year-old Dragovic at about 4:20 p.m. at the apartment he and the woman had shared in the 3200 block of Overland Avenue. According to LAPD spokesman Jason Lee, Dragovic went to the apartment to collect his belongings. He found them dumped out front.

An argument ensued, during which Dragovic allegedly pushed the woman to the floor, Lee said.

Bail was set at $20,000. It was not known whether Dragovic was still in custody late Friday night.

Georgia Tech guard Lewis Clinch has been declared academically ineligible:

Georgia Tech senior Lewis Clinch is academically ineligible to participate in basketball and will not be available to play for the Yellow Jackets during the fall semester, head coach Paul Hewitt announced Friday.

The 6-3 guard from Cordele, Ga., can regain his eligibility following the semester, which ends Dec. 12. Tech has seven regular-season games as well as tonight's exhibition game scheduled before then.

Charges against Brandon Fields dismissed; Virginia fullback arrested and charged

Petty larceny charges against Nevada guard Brandon Fields have been dismissed:

Tim Randolph, chief prosecutor for the City of Sparks, said Wednesday the city lacked enough evidence for a conviction.

"Mr. Fields never left the store with anything that didn't belong to him," Randolph said. "Although the officers had probable cause to cite him along with the other two players, I didn't think that we could have proven the case beyond a reasonable doubt. Mr. Fields also did community service."

Randolph said Fields has done more than 40 hours of community service in the last week.

The Virginia football team faces new legal woes, but is not taking action against the player involved:

Rashawn Jackson, the team's No.1 fullback, was arrested this week by U.Va. police. He faces two felony charges related to an incident on Thanksgiving last year at a first-year dormitory at U.Va.

Jackson, a redshirt junior from Jersey City, N.J., was charged with grand larceny and breaking and entering. . . .

Cavaliers coach Al Groh was not available for comment. In a statement released last night, Athletic Director Craig Littlepage said: "At this time Rashawn Jackson is still a participating member of the football team. This matter will be handled within the team and the athletics department, and his final status with the team will not be determined until such time as the legal process is resolved or additional information becomes available. The athletics department will not have additional comment until this case is resolved." . . .

He reportedly stole a video-game console from Cauthen Dorm on Nov. 22, 2007. Why police waited nearly a year to charge Jackson is not clear. . . .

Failed Drug Tests, Shoplifting Charges, and Deferred Justice

Failed drug tests in the North Texas football program do not indicate a drug problem, says their coach:

Fifteen University of North Texas football players failed a drug test conducted this fall at the request of head coach Todd Dodge, according to documents obtained by the Denton Record-Chronicle through the Freedom of Information Act.

Drug tests were conducted on a pool of 86 football players selected by the coaching staff. UNT tested members of the team who were contributing on a regular basis. Fifteen of those tests, or 17 percent, were positive.

The university did not release the names of the players or what drugs they tested positive for.

“I don’t think we have a problem with drugs, but I will say that it’s every coach’s prerogative to test his team,” Dodge said. “It’s a great tool to help players stay away from drugs and temptations. When I talked to my team about drug testing all of them, I told them that if there was one young man on our team who secretly needed help, if it saved one young man from getting in trouble or ending up dead, then it is worth it.”

Two of the Nevada basketball players arrested for shoplifting earlier in the month have plead not guilty:

Nevada starting guard Brandon Fields and freshman forward Ahyaro Phillips have pleaded not guilty to a shoplifting charge stemming from an incident earlier this month at a Sparks sporting goods store.

In the same case involving a Scheels store, freshman point guard London Giles pleaded guilty Wednesday to petty larceny, and was fined $350 plus court costs of $107.

All three players have been suspended indefinitely by coach Mark Fox.

Charges have been filed in the hit-and-run accident which killed Jayson Ray, a UNC mascot, last spring:

A Paramus man was indicted today on charges that he struck and killed a University of North Carolina mascot with his SUV last year.

Armen Hovsepian’s driver’s license was suspended when the Mercury Mountaineer he was driving hit Tar Heels mascot Jayson Ray in March 2007 as he walked along a shoulder on Route 4 East, Bergen County prosecutors said.

Ray, 21, and his team were staying in a nearby hotel for the NCAA East Regional finals.

Hovsepian’s 52-year-old father, Gajik, told authorities that he was the one who was driving the SUV, and based on his statements, investigators ruled the crash accidental, police said at the time.

Several months later, investigators received a tip from a witness that it was the son who was the driver, they said.

Abuse of NCAA Transfer Rules

There is a must-read article by Dana O'Neil at ESPN.com on the abuse of hardship transfer waivers by coaches:

Last season, the NCAA granted immediate eligibility to Tyler Smith after he transferred from Iowa to Tennessee to be near his gravely ill father, who lived in Pulaski, Tenn.

The decision, invoking a hardship waiver that covers everything from injury to illness to financial hardship has been in place since 1991, was lauded by many as a student-friendly act on the part of the NCAA.

Like most paths paved with good intentions, this one has been trampled.

Players are coming out of the woodwork with ailing parents or other family members, begging to head back home … or at least in the extended geographic footprint of home.

It's got coaches piping mad on both sides of the tables, with some calling this just another example of savvy rule manipulation and circumvention, and others arguing it's an effort to do the right thing by a kid and, yes, perhaps by a program.

At Big East Media Day on Wednesday, Jim Boeheim and Bobby Gonzalez were separated by just a few tables but the two coaching peers may as well have walked 20 paces turned, and fired.

"To me the waiver makes absolutely no sense," said Boeheim, a National Association of Basketball Coaches board member who has been working with the NABC to convince the NCAA that the rule needs to be tossed. "It's the most ridiculous thing that's ever happened. If you need to come home to be with someone in your family who is sick, that's when you absolutely should sit out. How are you going to be with someone who is sick when you're playing basketball, going to practice and going to games?"

But Gonzalez, who has two players waiting in the wings, sees things a touch differently. Herb Pope, who came to Seton Hall from New Mexico State, is awaiting an appeal from the NCAA after his initial attempt at immediate eligibility was rejected, and Keon Lawrence, who transferred from Missouri to Seton Hall, is expected to file for a hardship waiver so he can play in the second semester.

Pope, from Pittsburgh, was shot four times while a senior in high school. He chose New Mexico State, Gonzalez said, to be far away from his hometown. But when coach Reggie Theus left for a job with the Sacramento Kings, Pope wanted to come home. . . .

The truth is Pope, a one-time Parade All-American, and Lawrence, who led Missouri in scoring last year, would turn bottom-feeding Seton Hall into a bona-fide player in the crowded Big East. The Pirates were picked to finish 13th in the 16-team league.

Critics argue that's all Gonzalez cares about, that the cry to do good by the kids is nothing more than a smoke screen to do good by his program.

To which Gonzalez, who is nothing if not a coaching maverick, replies, "And?"

"People like to say that I'm taking advantage of the rules to get a kid eligible. That's what every coach in America is doing," Gonzalez said. "It's so easy for all these coaches on the NABC board to sit here and say all this stuff about how this is wrong. Let me tell you something: If they had a 6-8 All-American and some rule they could use to get him eligible, it would be like they all of a sudden found religion or found Jesus."

Given his handling of the Michael Glover case, it is no great suprise that Gonzalez's response boils down to 'We will attempt to win at all costs since everyone else is.' It would be poetic justice if the NCAA took Gonzalez at his word; that this is primarily about the success of his program, not the welfare of Herb Pope, and denied the waiver.

Medical Travails; FSU's Brave New World

Georgia Tech guard D'Andre Bell is out for the season:

Senior starter D’Andre Bell said he was always taught to have a Plan A, B, C and D.

“Plan A seems to be put on hold,” the 6-foot-6 wing said Wednesday. “Now I’m going to reach for Plan B.”

Tech announced Wednesday that a condition called spinal stenosis will keep Bell from playing this season.

Diving for a loose ball during an Oct. 10 conditioning workout, Bell’s head collided with Zachery Peacock’s leg. Bell felt numbness, then tingling in his extremities.

An examination by Dr. John Heller, a spine surgeon at the Emory Orthopaedics & Spine Center, revealed Bell had an abnormal narrowing, or stenosis, in the cervical portion of his spine.

It’s a condition in which the spinal canal narrows and compresses the spinal cord. Bell needs surgery, whether or not he wants to play basketball again, and plans to have the operation over winter break.

“It’s truly a blessing that we found it,” Bell said. “I’m looking at my situation from all the positive angles, and I’m just going to play the cards that I’ve been dealt.”

Best wishes to D'Andre on a successful surgery and a full and quick recovery.

Santa Clara forward John Bryant is recovering well from a stabbing incident on September 27:

"I'm back to 100 percent right now," Bryant said. "I have a couple of scars, nothing big. It's not bad."

During the first weekend of school, Bryant and a few friends left a party and exchanged words with three men. One of the men knocked Bryant to the ground and another came at him from behind and stabbed him. He was knifed twice on the right side of his lower back and once on the left—with three inch-long scars to show for it. He needed 14 stitches to close the wounds.

"He was talking and we said, 'We don't want to mess with you' and started walking away," Bryant said. "He's not a good character. You could just tell. Wrong place, wrong time."

Bryant considers himself fortunate—and he said he's learned a lesson about not putting himself in situations where bad things could happen. He knows this could have turned out much worse or even been life-threatening.

"You reach to your back and there's all that blood and you wonder what's going on. I was a little scared," he said. "I was lucky not having any internal injuries. It just really put things in perspective. The coaches are always talking about being in the right place at the right time."

The suspect in the case was arrested for armed robbery soon after the incident:

Santa Clara police arrested Jose Domingo Segovia, 18, of Santa Clara on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon in connection with the stabbing of John Bryant, a star center on the men's basketball team. . . .

Early Saturday, police received reports that four Santa Clara students had been robbed at knife point in the 500 block of Washington Street, just a few blocks off campus. As officers responded to the scene, they spotted the suspects' vehicle, a 2002 gold Hyundai, and attempted to stop the men. The suspects abandoned the car and tried to escape on foot, according to police Lt. Mike Sellers.

Officers set up a perimeter and began receiving calls from neighbors about people hiding in their back yard. Police found two of the men hiding in a yard; they later identified and arrested Segovia as the third suspect in the robbery.

Florida State wide receiver Bert Reed has been suspended for Saturday's game - for violating FSU's policy on class attendance (!!!):

After Wednesday's practice, Bowden said: "Bert Reed, to save a lot of speculation, is suspended because of missing classes.

"I'm afraid some people were making too much out of it, making it into something else. It's missing classes."

Reed was disciplined under a more strict athletic department policy put in place at the request of FSU President T.K. Wetherell because of what he views as high absenteeism.

A student-athlete with "three unexcused absences in any course" will be ineligible to play in one game. Four unexcused absences will result in missing 30 percent of that season's competition.

Is FSU truly entering a Brave New World of academic accountability? One can only hope. . .

Soap Opera News; Random Misbehaviour; UD on Graduation Rates; D-Day for FSU

Oh, brother: Terry Bowden says Tommy didn't meet expectations

"So, did Tommy Bowden deserve what happened to him Monday? Unfortunately, yes," Terry Bowden wrote on Yahoo.com. "He deserved it because he, of all people, knew what to expect when he got into this business. We grew up in it.

"He knew what to expect when he went to Clemson. He knew that no matter where you go, there is an expectation of success that must be met. After nine years at Clemson, he knew exactly what those expectations were and he knew they had not been met."

Iowa coach Ferentz suspends son from all team activities

James Ferentz, a freshman offensive lineman, was cited by Iowa City Police for drinking underage early Friday morning.

In a statement, Kirk Ferentz said he was extremely disappointed with his son's behavior. He says his son is suspended from all team activities for an indefinite time and will also be required to attend counseling sessions and perform community service for the next six weeks.

G Fields, two freshman suspended indefinitely by Nevada

Nevada starting guard Brandon Fields and two incoming freshmen have been suspended from the basketball team indefinitely after being cited for misdemeanor petty larceny, Wolf Pack coach Mark Fox said Thursday.

London Giles, a 6-foot-3 guard from Dallas, and Ahyaro Phillips, a 6-8 forward from New Orleans, were suspended along with Fields after their release by Sparks police following an undisclosed incident on Wednesday, Fox said in a statement.

"I am extremely disappointed to learn of this situation," Fox said. "I do not know all of the facts right now and will not have any further comment until I have a better understanding of the situation."

What wonderful leadership from a returning starter. What wonderful leadership from their coach.

See the following posts by University Diaries on release of NCAA propaganda I mean graduation rates:

Snapshots from Home: Graduation Rates
San Diego State: The Gift that Keeps on Giving
Notes from the Intellectual Desert
Scathing Online Schoolmarm
The University UD Calls. . .

Meanwhile, FSU faces the NCAA Infractions Committee today. There is a good wrap-up of the story here by Andrew Carter of the Orlando Sentinel, and he is doing his best to live-blog the action here.

Footnotes, Foreign Misadventure, and Random Misbehaviour

Michael Glover's lawsuit against the NCAA and the Big East over his (in)eligibility has been dismissed in federal court:

He argued in a lawsuit in August that the NCAA never gave a reason for invalidating his entire senior year transcript from American Christian Academy in Pennsylvania.

The NCAA argued that the Rhode Island federal court system had no jurisdiction over the case, and the Big East argued that it didn't belong in the lawsuit.

U.S. District Judge Ernest Torres dismissed both defendants from the lawsuit after hearing arguments Tuesday.

BYU forward Chris Collinsworth was stabbed Tuesday night while working as a Mormon missionary in Sydney, Australia:

Collinsworth's father, Jeff, said from his Mapleton, Utah, home that his son told him that he and his companion on the mission, David Ferguson, were walking in Sydney when they were jumped by a pack of men. Jeff Collinsworth said a scuffle ensued with both his son and Ferguson being stabbed multiple times. He said Chris' shirt was pulled over his head and he was stabbed in the back. The fight ended when a car came up behind the fight and the driver turned on his lights and honked his horn.

The Associated Press reported Wednesday that Ferguson was stabbed in his hand, tendons were cut and he required surgery. Jeff Collinsworth said that his son did not require surgery. There were, however, stab wounds close to his son's kidney so multiple scans of his internal organs were conducted to ensure that he didn't have any internal injuries.

Best wishes to Chris on a full and quick recovery.

Notre Dame Tight End Will Yeatman has been suspended for the season:

Because of the Sept. 21 arrest, Will Yeatman faces up to 180 days in jail for violation of the terms of a previous case, in which he pleaded guilty in February to misdemeanor charges of driving while intoxicated and reckless driving.

The plea was part of a deferred sentencing agreement made with St. Joseph County prosecutors, who dropped a third charge of criminal recklessness. The sophomore, who also plays lacrosse at Notre Dame, had been arrested and charged Jan. 28 after he drove his car on a campus sidewalk.

Under the one-year agreement, the drunken driving charge would have been dismissed if Yeatman did not commit any crimes during that time.

But Yeatman was arrested and charged Sept. 21 with minor consumption of alcohol, resisting arrest and false informing after police raided the house. The last two charges have since been dropped.

Michigan running back Michael Milano has been suspended for the season:

The university's department of public safety is investigating an alleged aggravated assault on Michigan hockey player Steve Kampfer that took place at approximately 2:25 a.m. Sunday in Ann Arbor. The incident report states that the victim was taken to University Hospital.

Police identified the alleged attacker as a 22-year-old male from Ohio. Milano, 22, hails from Rocky River, Ohio. A 5-foot-7, 193-pound walk-on running back who spent two years on Michigan's wrestling team, Milano appeared in two games last season but has yet to play this year.

San Diego State forward Lorrenzo Wade has been suspended indefinitely:

Wade was released on bail after pleading not guilty to first-degree burglary of an inhabited dwelling in San Diego Superior Court. If convicted, he faces up to six years in prison.

Police say a woman in an apartment in the city's College district woke to the sound of knocking at her door on Sept. 21 and then heard people enter the apartment. She waited until the intruders left before going outside and confronting Wade and his companion.

Wade, who lives in the same apartment complex as the woman, turned himself in to police on Oct. 7.

Wade's attorney, Richard Muir, insisted his client didn't take the television. He said he knocked on the door to see if she could move her car.

Bridge for sale! Bridge for sale!

Link Roundup October 13

Gregg Doyel pleads: Don't Hose the Hoosiers

Indiana basketball is laying there, belly exposed, hands tied behind its back. The NCAA is standing overhead, holding a very large hammer. About to swing. Here it comes ...

Don't do it, NCAA. Please. Don't hammer Indiana. The Hoosiers have had enough. . . .

The NCAA is supposed to catch cheaters and see that they are punished, so let's do some inventory here. Indiana got caught -- check. Indiana has been punished -- check. But if the NCAA feels the need to flex its muscle later this month when it announces its findings against Indiana, here's an idea:

Show mercy to the innocents left behind at Indiana, and announce that Kelvin Sampson has received the NCAA's death penalty -- a lifetime ban from college sports. Can't coach again. Can't work in administration. Can't even walk into a college basketball arena to use the bathroom.

I wholeheardtedly agree with Doyel on Sampson, but the NCAA does need to make an example of Indiana.

Doug Lederman notes the on-field success of Northwestern and Vandy

Entering this weekend’s games, teams like Stanford and Rice have winning records in their conferences, and Duke University’s squad, long an Atlantic Coast Conference doormat, has a 3-2 record. . . .

But teams from two selective universities, in particular, are prompting most of the discussion about this being the year of the brainiac universities in big-time football. Vanderbilt and Northwestern are both undefeated, at 5-0, and both of them are ranked in the top 25 in at least one of the key college football polls (Vanderbilt in the low teens, and Northwestern just sneaking into the USA Today coaches’ poll at 22nd).

No thanks, Doug, for giving both teams the Insider Higher Ed kiss of death. Both teams lost on Saturday, with Mississippi State taking down Vanderbilt 17-14, and Michigan State whooping Northwestern 37-20.

University Diaries unleashes her latest tirade against San Diego State

If you’re University Diaries, it just doesn’t get any better than San Diego State University, a bottomless jockhole run by a president who can’t think of anything to do with the university other than run losing plays on its sports fields. Eaten out of house and home by athletics, SDSU has no money, poor academic quality, and shitty infrastructure. President Weber’s solution is to raise student fees enormously to pay … not for classrooms and professors, but for loser sports teams.

JoePa quietly coaches Penn State to a 7-0 record

MADISON, Wis. -- Forget the press box. Joe Paterno could have coached this one from his living room.

A sore hip relegated Paterno to a perch high above the field for the second week in a row -- and once again, not having their iconic leader on the sidelines didn't matter to No. 6 Penn State.

NCAA confirms penalties against Arizona State over staged fight

INDIANAPOLIS---The Administrative Committee of the NCAA Division I Championships/Sports Management Cabinet has upheld the sanctions imposed against the Arizona State baseball head coach, as well as two student-athletes, for their actions during the 2008 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship.

The sanctions stemmed from the altercation between Arizona State baseball student-athletes Brett Wallace and Ike Davis, in the moments before their 2008 Super Regional game against Fresno State University. Arizona State University had appealed the penalties assessed against head coach Pat Murphy and student-athletes Brett Wallace and Ike Davis.

Link Roundup October 2

The NCAA has reaffirmed penalties in two infractions cases:

The first, involving the University of Arkansas, surrounds the vacation of the 2004 and 2005 Outdoor Track and Field titles, in which Olympic sprinter Tyson Gay was instrumental. Arkansas, despite being a double-repeat violator, had whined that the penalties were excessive since they were the result of actions by a 'rogue assistant coach.' Kudos to the NCAA for standing its ground.

The second involves a show-cause coaching ban levied against former Long Beach State assistant basketball coach Reggie Howard, who was at the center of a doozy of an infractions case in which the judgment came down in March.

Elsewhere in the blogosphere:

There is an excellent post by SportsProf on Harvard basketball coach Tommy Amaker's continuing moves to upset the apple cart of Ivy League athletics.

University Diaries continues her chronicling of the criminal adventures of the University of Montana football team.

Michael Glover, Seton Hall, and Diploma Mills

The NCAA is almost invariably reactive rather proactive when dealing with serious problems. That said, they should be applauded for their moves to reject high school transcripts from a number of private schools which have been tarred, in most cases not unjustly, as Diploma Mills. For background see these articles in the Washington Post, and the New York Times. Now, Seton Hall recruit Michael Glover, whose senior year coursework at American Christian Academy was invalidated, is suing the NCAA and the Big East:

Michael Glover, the Seton Hall basketball recruit who was unable to play last season when the NCAA declared him an academic non-qualifier, is suing the NCAA and the Big East in an effort to get himself declared eligible to play for Seton Hall this upcoming season.

According to the lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Providence -- where the Big East offices are located -- Glover is seeking to have the NCAA reverse its prior ruling and declare him qualified to play, and to receive an athletic scholarship. He is also seeking to be awarded financial damages equivalent to the cost of four years' tuition at Seton Hall, plus punitive damages for his having missed the 2007-08 season.

Last fall, the NCAA decided to invalidate Glover's senior year at American Christian.

That made Glover a non-qualifier, but after he appealed the decision, he was allowed to practice with the team for a while at the start of the season. However, in December, the NCAA denied Glover's final appeal, making him ineligible to play and ineligible to receive scholarship money from the school. According to NCAA rules, the only way for Glover to qualify to play Division 1 would be to go to a junior college and receive his associate's degree, then transfer to a four-year school. . . .

Unsurprisingly, the story is rather deeper than the academic, eligibility, and legal travails of one prospective student-athlete. American Christian Academy closed its High School this summer:

American Christian Academy, a tiny private school in Aston, was known nationally last winter for having one of the best high-school-age basketball players in the country.

On Thursday, the school is expected to eliminate its high school academic and athletic programs - including basketball - in a swirl of controversy.

American Christian, which officials said would continue to operate its day-care center and programs for youngsters in pre-kindergarten through sixth grade, allowed postgraduates to play on its teams for the last two years. School officials were expected to leave postgraduates off the teams next season. Now, it seems, there won't be any teams at all. . . .

"We have not been given any reason whatsoever of why the school is closing except that it's financially better to close the school," boys' basketball coach Tony Bergeron said. "In my estimation, that doesn't make any sense."

Bergeron helped develop Tyreke Evans into one of the nation's top players. Evans, the most valuable player at this year's McDonald's All-America Game, is expected to play next season at Memphis.

But the boys' basketball program has drawn criticism. Former coach Ray Carroll publicly criticized American Christian's academic standards for many of his former players, including Evans, after he was fired in June 2006, after one season. Carroll suggested that the school was a diploma mill.

Recent comments made by Seton Hall coach Bobby Gonzalez to Andy Katz at ESPN also illustrate the primary thing driving all of this. In the hyper-competitive world of revenue NCAA sports, coaches choose, or are forced, to take both short cuts and risks with athletes who are academically marginal:

Bobby Gonzalez is clear that in order for Seton Hall to be competitive in the 16-team Big East, he's got to take a gamble or two.

The third-year Pirates coach isn't hiding from his objective. He accepted two high-profile transfers within the past week -- Keon Lawrence from Missouri and Herb Pope from New Mexico State -- with the hope that both will be eligible for this season. . . .

"If you want to get into the top six or seven in this conference, you've got to be creative and you've got to take transfers. I'm not sure what they're saying about Gonzo, saying that I'm taking too many borderline guys, a gamble. But the [Seton Hall] president backs me, and I feel they're all worth the gamble.". . .

Gonzalez said Lawrence won't be academically eligible until after the first semester because the junior doesn't have enough transferable credits from Missouri. He would have to pass 15 credits in the first semester to be eligible by mid-December, the coach said. . . .

Meanwhile, Gonzalez is waiting to see if Michael Glover, who was declared ineligible last year at Seton Hall, would win his lawsuit against the Big East and the NCAA to gain eligibility.

"If he were eligible last year we would have won 20 games, not 17; he could have been an all-rookie Big East [player]," Gonzalez said of the 17-15 Pirates last season. "He definitely would be a major impact guy. Who knows? We could believe in miracles and get Keon Lawrence, Michael Glover and Herb Pope [this season]."

It would be great for Seton Hall basketball. It would be great for Bobby Gonzalez. Who else does Gonzalez's gambling serve?

NCAA Selection: What the Committee got Wrong

Congratulations to the NCAA selection committee for getting things mostly right this year, especially granting a deserving South Alabama an at-large bid. One could nit-pick endlessly and fruitlessly over seeding, but it is important to highlight the most significant things that they got wrong. These are part of an unhealthy trend.


Sins of Omission

The failure of the committee to grant Illinois State an at-large bid was the most significant sin of omission this year (a much weaker argument could be made for Dayton). Granted, Illinois State’s most significant wins, sweeps of in-conference opponents Creighton and Southern Illinois were not against NCAA tournament opponents. But it should be noted that 5 NCAA tournament teams, Butler, Drake, Indiana, St. Mary’s, and Western Kentucky visited the home floor of Southern Illinois this season. Only Butler and Indiana were victorious, and Butler’s victory came on a miracle buzzer-beating tre. Illinois State visited Southern Illinois on March 1 and came away with a 57-49 victory.

Illinois State also posted six more wins than two teams which made the field, Arizona and Oregon. Each of these teams finished poorly, with Oregon going 6-6 and Arizona 4-8 in the metric which the committee utilizes (digging a bit further back, Oregon lost 9 of its last 15). Illinois State finished 9-3, with two of those losses coming against #5 NCAA tournament seed Drake. The inclusion of Arizona and Oregon smacks of pandering to the BCS conferences, which have been progressively elbowing out the others when at-large bids are handed out.


Sins of Commission

The following represent the pairings for non-BCS teams in the seeding mid-range:

5 Notre Dame v. 12 George Mason
5 Michigan State v. 12 Temple
5 Drake v. 12 Western Kentucky
6 Oklahoma v. 11 Saint Joseph’s
7 Gonzaga v. 10 Davidson
7 Butler v. 10 South Alabama
7 Miami v. 10 Saint Mary’s
8 UNLV v. 9 Kent State
8 BYU v. 9 Texas A&M

Is this entirely incidental? I hope so. But it is certainly suspicious that a disproportionate number of these pairings automatically prevent non-BCS teams from advancing to the second round. This phenomenon is a continuation from last year, when the committee managed to place three non-BCS teams with a national ranking, Creighton, Memphis, and Nevada, all within the same initial pod of four teams.


The committee should, however, be thank for their work and it should be noted that no matter what they do, the upsets always seem to come. Let the madness begin!

March Madness: Projecting the Field

Here is the field of 65 as I would choose it:


Auto-Bids:

American Patriot; Arkansas or Georgia SEC; Austin Peay OVC; Belmont Atlantic Sun; Boise State WAC; Butler Horizon; Cal State Fullerton Big West; Clemson or North Carolina ACC; Coppin State MEAC; Cornell Ivy; Davidson Southern; Drake MVC; George Mason CAA; Illinois or Wisconsin Big 10; Kansas or Texas Big 12; Kent State MAC; Maryland Baltimore County America East; Memphis CUSA; Mississippi Valley State SWAC; Mt. Saint Mary’s NEC; Northwestern State or Texas Arlington Southland; Oral Roberts Summit; Pittsburgh Big East; Portland State Big Sky; San Diego WCC; Siena Mid-American; Temple A10; UCLA Pac 10; UNLV MWC; Western Kentucky Sun Belt; Winthrop Big South.


At-Large Bids:

Marginal teams not included in the Bubble Breakdown below are discussed, as are the implications of today’s games.

(Arkansas SEC) – Arkansas will take this spot only if they lose today in the finals of the SEC tournament.
Baylor Big 12 – Baylor was a mediocre 9-7 in conference, and had only a 3-8 record versus the top 50, but picked up only one bad loss and had a solid 9-6 RD/NT record.
BYU MWC – Brigham Young only has two top 50 wins, but was the regular season champion of a top-ten RPI conference, and reached its conference finals.
Clemson or North Carolina ACC – One of these teams will take the ACC auto-bid, the other is a safe at-large candidate.
Connecticut Big East
Dayton A10
Duke ACC
Georgetown Big East
Gonzaga WCC
Illinois State MVC – The explicit rationale for including Air Force in 2006 was that it was ‘The #2 team in the #8 RPI conference.” This describes Illinois State this year, which compared to Air Force in 2006, also has two more top 50 wins, an RPI 17 spots better, and a non-conference Strength of Schedule 156 spots better. Illinois State also reached the finals of its tournament, unlike Air Force, which crashed out in the first round.
Indiana Big 10
Kansas or Texas Big 12 – One of these teams will take the ACC auto-bid, the other is a safe at-large candidate.
Kansas State Big 12
Kentucky Big 12 - There might be a question if the bubble were stronger this year, but the 12-5 conference record coupled with 9-3 down the stretch clearly gets Kentucky in.
Louisville Big East
Marquette Big East
Miami ACC – Miami was mediocre 8-8 in conference after an 11-0 start, including three bad losses, but did pick up quality wins against Duke and Clemson.
Michigan State Big 10
Mississippi State SEC – Mississippi State went only 2-7 versus the RPI top 50, and had one bad loss, but did top the SEC West.
Notre Dame Big East
Oklahoma Big 12
Purdue Big 10 – A bubble candidate? No given the 2nd placed finish in the Big 10 and a 5-4 record versus the top 50. But Purdue’s 4 bad losses will not likely be overlooked when it comes to seeding.
Saint Joseph’s A10 – Entering the A10 tournament, St. Joseph’s looked like a dead duck after losing 6 of their previous 9 games. The run to the finals, including a win against Xavier probable puts them in given the 5-6 record versus the top 50.
South Alabama Sun Belt – Granted, two of South Alabama’s top 50 wins were against in-conference Western Kentucky, and they picked up some bad losses. The crucial thing is that South Alabama showed they could defeat tough opposition out of conference when they took down Mississippi State. It should also be noted that South Alabama stretched Vanderbilt to two overtimes on the road.
Stanford Pac 10
St. Mary’s WCC
Tennessee SEC
Texas A&M Big 12 – Despite the mediocre 8-8 conference record, Texas A&M went 5-7 versus the RPI top 50, and picked up no bad losses.
USC Pac 10
Vanderbilt SEC
Washington State Pac 10
West Virginia Big East
(Wisconsin Big 10) Wisconsin will take this spot only if they lose in the finals of the Big 10 tournament
Xavier A10


Multiple Bid Conferences:

Big East: 7 or 8
Big 12: 6
SEC: 5 or 6
Pac 10: 4 or 5
Big 10: 4 or 5
ACC: 4
Atlantic 10: 4
West Coast: 3
Missouri Valley: 2
Mountain West: 2
Sun Belt: 2


Bubble Discussion

Kansas State Big 12 (19-11; RPI 49; SOS 33; 3-6 1-50; 5-7 last 12; 10-7 in conference; 1 bad loss; 5-9 RD/NT)
The fact that a resume like this puts you on the right side of the bubble this year illustrates the mediocrity of this years' bubble teams. It is also a wonderful illustration of why there is no need to expand the number of teams in the tournament field. The top 50 wins and the 10-7 conference record trump the awful 5-7 record down the stretch.

Dayton A10 (21-10; RPI 32; SOS 34; 4-4 1-50; 6-6 last 12; 9-9 in conference; 4 bad losses; 7-7 RD/NT)
Once again, these numbers are mediocre. But Dayton will probably benefit from the fact that they were missing key personnel during the mid-season slump which saw them fall from 14-1 to 17-9.

----------------------------- Cut Line #1 (Valid with losses by Arkansas and Wisconsin)
Villanova Big East (20-12; RPI 51; SOS 48; 4-7 1-50; 7-5 last 12; 10-10 in conference; 4 bad losses; 8-9 RD/NT)
Why does Villanova beat out the following teams? Principally because it was not AS hopeless as the other teams discussed here going down the stretch.

----------------------------- Cut Line #2 (Valid with a loss by Arkansas or Wisconsin)
Arizona State Pac 10 (19-12; RPI 83; SOS 77; 6-7 1-50; 5-7 last 12; 9-10 in conference; 2 bad losses; 6-8 RD/NT)
I hate seeing teams with negative records in conference and down the stretch, especially when they shopped around for the #296 non-conference SOS in the country. But Arizona State is more deserving than any of the teams which follow it. I have them in over Oregon barely (they split the head to head match ups this season) on the strength of quality wins and RD/NT record.

----------------------------- Cut Line #3 (Valid with wins by Arkansas and Wisconsin)
Oregon Pac 10 (18-13; RPI 58; SOS 37; 3-6 1-50; 6-6 last 12; 9-10 in conference; 2 bad losses; 6-10 RD/NT)
Syracuse Big East (19-13; RPI 55; SOS 9; 3-8 1-50; 6-6 last 12; 9-10 in conference; 2 bad losses; 5-8 RD/NT)
The RD/NT record and the more mediocre top 50 record keep Syracuse out.
Mississippi SEC (21-10; RPI 46; SOS 64; 5-3 1-50; 5-7 last 12; 7-10 in conference; 6 bad losses; 7-8 RD/NT)
Mississippi has a 5-3 record versus the top 50, but their bad losses and a conference record 3 games short of .500 should keep them out.
Florida State ACC (19-14; RPI 59; SOS 15; 3-6 1-50; 6-6 last 12; 8-10 in conference; 3 bad losses; 6-10 RD/NT)
Out as a result of their negative conference and RD/NT records, and the bad losses.
Arizona Pac 10 (18-14; RPI 38; SOS 2; 5-8 1-50; 4-8 last 12; 9-11 in conference; 2 bad losses; 8-8 RD/NT)
This one is painful. But a team that goes 4-8 in its last 12 does not deserve to be in.


Out

Charlotte A10 – 5 bad losses
Creighton MVC – 1-7 versus the top 50
Massachusetts A10 – 1-5 versus the top 50
New Mexico MWC – 1-4 versus the top 50
Ohio State Big 10 – 2-10 versus the top 50
Southern Illinois MVC – 6 bad losses, 5-10 RD/NT record
UAB CUSA – 0-2 versus the top 50
Virginia Commonwealth CAA – 0-2 versus the top 50
Virginia Tech ACC – 1-7 versus the top 50. To Seth Greenburg: I have immense respect for you. You are one of the good guys in College Basketball. But leaving out a team that failed to take all but one of its chances to defeat a top 50 team does not make one certifiable.


UPDATE 3:20 PM

Texas Arlington has defeated Northwestern State 82-79 in the Southland Conference finals to make the field.

Projected play in game:
Mississippi Valley State (SWAC) v. Mount Saint Mary's (NEC)

With North Carolina defeating Clemson 86-81 in the ACC finals, I can now project the top eight seeds:

#1 Seeds:
1. North Carolina ACC
2. Memphis CUSA
3. UCLA P10
4. Texas/Kansas winner B12

#2 Seeds:
1. Texas/Kansas loser B12
2. Tennessee SEC
3. Georgetown Big East
4. Wisconsin Big 10


UPDATE 4:35 PM

The play in game has been announced:
Coppin State (MEAC) v. Mount Saint Mary's (NEC)


UPDATE 5:36 PM

Kansas has defeated Texas 84-74 and has probably earned themselves a #1 seed.

Illinois has fallen to Wisconsin 61-48 and fails to steal a bid.

Georgia 66
Arkansas 57
final

Congratulations to Georgia on stealing a bid. Given that coach Dennis Felton has been under fire for doing things right, it could not have happened to a more deserving team.

Completely Irrelevant RPI Data (To the Pollsters) Final 08 Edition

So, who does better job of determining the strength of teams? Sports writers? The secretaries for college basketball coaches? The RPI? Completely Irrelevant RPI Data is here to help you decide. And as always, do not miss Goro’s Rants, especially this gem of a comment this week:

The definition of a good coach, in an ideal world, should be first and foremost, ahead of any win totals, the ability to graduate his players. Something like 45 out of 48 players under Hinson's watch will have graduated and are now a part of the Missouri State fraternity.

Unfortunately, in today's win-at-all-costs mentality, a coach only gets a finite time to get his team to the NCAA tourney before the university heads get in a snit and pull the plug. It didn't matter that Barry's AVERAGED 19 wins per year, or that he's become such a well-respected dignitary for the conference.

I put all the blame on the insanity and moronity of the NCAA selection committee nitwits during Hinson's tenure in not inviting three very deserving Missouri State teams to the NCAA tourney (2000, 2006, and 2007). Their obvious BCS vanity is by far the biggest reason why Barry's not coming back, and that's really sad. My admonition for the cognitively-challenged MSU bigwigs is this: the new court's got some nice amenities, but you'll be lucky to keep any new coach around another nine years like you just had with Barry Hinson.

The Hall of Shame

[Team Record Conference (AP ranking, Espn/USA ranking, RPI ranking) Difference between poll average and RPI]

#1 Purdue 24-7 BE (17,16, 37) +20.5

Two weeks ago, Purdue was over-ranked at #16 and #19. Over the past two weeks Purdue beat mediocre Minnesota and awful Northwestern at home. They followed that up by losing on the road to an Ohio State team which is on or around the bubble, before somehow managing to struggle on the road at Michigan before ultimately pulling away. The pollsters managed to reward this series of mediocre performances with an average one spot rise in the polls. To play the broken record, the Big 10 is just not that good this year. Beyond a couple wins against Texas, Big 10 teams had a distinctly undistinguished out of conference record, and Purdue is a classic example. Not only was Purdue defeated by #169 Iowa State on a neutral court, but they also lost AT HOME to #194 Wofford.

#2 Davidson 23-6 Southern (23,25, 41) +17

Davidson falls out of the top spot, but maintains its spot in the Hall of Shame after a week in which it continued to beat up on awful opposition and was rewarded with an average three spot rise in the polls. Lets play blind resumes. Team A has a 26-5 record, which includes a 3-2 record versus the RPI top 50 and a 4-3 record versus the RPI top 100. Additionally, one of Team A’s losses came on the road in double overtime to a ranked team. Team B has a 25-6 record which includes a 0-3 record versus the RPI top 50 and an 0-5 record versus the RPI top 100. Team B played two ranked teams close at home but lost in regular time in both instances. Which team deserves votes in the polls? Which team deserves an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament? Team A naturally, which happens to be South Alabama, which received a total of 53 votes in the two polls this week. Team B is Davidson, which received a total of 241 votes in the two polls this week. Both teams need wins in their conference tourneys to be sure of spots in the dance, but should Davidson lose, they can count on a trip to the NIT, unlike South Alabama, who would still be in with a shout.

Davidson supporters – if you comment here, kindly put those wonderful educations to good use and produce some solid analysis on why I am wrong.

Editorial Note: This was written before last night’s games, which resulted in Davidson winning the Southern Conference tourney, and South Alabama losing in the semifinals of the Sun Belt tourney. Best wishes to Davidson in the quest to validate your ranking with a Sweet Sixteen run. This would, naturally, prove me wrong. Best of luck to South Alabama in your quest for an at-large bid. You represent one of the more interesting bubble cases this year.

#3 Gonzaga 25-6 WCC (20,22, 30) +9

Gonzaga climbs back into third place in this weeks Hall of Shame after two wins against an awful Santa Clara team resulted in a rise in its ranking in both polls. QUE? Gonzaga has one signficiant victory since December 1, on March 1 at home against St. Mary’s. Throughout December, January, and February, Gonzaga developed a shiny record based on wins against patsies while losing to the quality teams it faced. This team is NCAA-worthy but not ranking-worthy, and at some point the afterglow from the Elite 8 run NINE years ago needs to wear off. . .

#4 Butler 28-3 HORZ (12,10, 18) +7

After a couple weeks on the sidelines, Butler re-joins the Hall of Shame after it rose an average of two spots in the poll on the strength of a neutral-court victory over, drum roll please, ILLINOIS CHICAGO! WOW! HOW STUNNING! As in past weeks, the best illustration of Butler’s over-ranking is a direct comparison with Drake. Drake is a team which beat Butler on its home court on February 23rd, but continues to languish well behind (#16, #18 this week) in the rankings. Butler’s best wins came against #49 Ohio State, #57 Virginia Tech, #59 Texas Tech, #62 Southern Illinois, and #64 Florida State, with all of these coming in November and December. Drake’s Best wins came against #18 Butler, #31 Illinois State (X3), #51 Creighton (X2), and #62 Southern Illinois, with the latest of these coming on Sunday. The only category in which Butler can claim the advantage is the arena of bad losses, of which it has none, unlike Drake, which has two (#102 Bradley and #124 Missouri State). All told, Butler is evens at best with Drake. It will be interesting to see how far these two teams progress, if at all, in the tournament.

#5 Stanford 24-6 P10 (11,11, 17) +6

You heard it hear first: “Stanford is not top ten material - at least four teams, Xavier, Wisconsin, Georgetown, and Texas deserve to be ranked higher. This will be established when Stanford loses at UCLA on Thursday, and struggles on the road at USC on Saturday.” Let us remind ourselves of Stanford’s out of conference strength of schedule (#296) which was achieved by playing the following patsies at home: #183 Yale; #188 Santa Clara; #223 Northwestern State; #237 Fresno State; #273 Colorado State; #308 Harvard. They rounded this off with #335 Sacramento State, a 4-24 team whose best win came by one point, at home, against #231 Montana State.

Dropped from rankings:
Mississippi State (now unranked)


The House of Pain

[Team Record Conference (AP ranking, Espn/USA ranking, RPI ranking) Difference between poll average and RPI]

#1 Oklahoma 21-10 B12 (33,NR, 25) –9.5

I did a double take when this one popped up. Oklahoma was left for dead at 3-5 in the conference, and 15-8 overall after an awful loss AT Colorado State on February 9. Since then, they have won six of their last eight, including wins against Baylor, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech, and have made themselves a team worthy of an at-large berth without most people noticing. This is not to say, however, that they are deserving of top 25 spot. . .

#2 Vanderbilt 25-6 SEC (18,17, 10) –7.5

Vanderbilt remains the most consistently disrespected team from the big conferences, although it is difficult to find any fault for their drop in the polls this week given that they lost at ALABAMA to close out their regular season. . .

#3-T Indiana 25-6 B10 (22,20, 16) –5

*GIGGLE* Indiana becomes the first team in the history of this feature to appear in both the Hall of Shame and the House of Pain in the same season. But frankly, this team is clearly not playing to the same level under Dakich as it had under Sampson, and the loss at Penn State on Sunday is a brilliant illustration. At the rate things are going downhill, Indiana may be happy with a second-round exit, as opposed to the Final 4 that was being predicted a few short weeks ago.

#3-T Drake 28-4 MVC (16,18, 12) –5

See above under Butler.

#3-T South Alabama 26-5 Sun Belt (28,30, 24) –5

See above under Davidson.

Dropped from Rankings: Arizona (out of RPI top 25); Pittsburgh (out of RPI top 25)


Average Conference (or State or Category) Bias:

Media Darlings: +11 (Butler, Gonzaga, Davidson)
Teams from Indiana: +6.9 (Butler, Notre Dame Purdue, Indiana,)
Big 10: +4.4 (Wisconsin, Purdue, Michigan State, Indiana)
Pac 10: +2.8 (UCLA, Stanford, Washington State)
All Others: +2.4 (Memphis, Xavier, Butler, Drake, Gonzaga, Brigham Young, Davidson, South Alabama)
Big East: +.1 (Georgetown, Louisville, Notre Dame, Connecticut, Marquette)
ACC: -2 (North Carolina, Duke, Clemson)
Big 12: -2.8 (Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma)
SEC: -5.25 (Tennessee, Vanderbilt)

After several weeks of constricting biases, things went in the opposite direction this time, for the most part because there are certain teams, like Purdue, which are rarely penalized for losses as they should be, and others, like Vanderbilt, who do not get the benefit of the doubt. The action around Purdue meant that the Hoosier love-fest continued. On other fronts, the ‘Media Darlings’ continued to attract suitors. . .


Teams with closest correlation between ranking and RPI:

1. Memphis +.5
2-T. North Carolina, Connecticut, Washington State (+1, +1, -1)
5. Marquette (-1.5)


Teams included in analysis:

[Any team in the top 25 of the AP Poll, the Coaches Poll, or the RPI.]

North Carolina 29-2 ACC; Memphis 30-1 CUSA; UCLA 28-3 P10; Tennessee 28-3 SEC; Kansas 28-3 B12; Texas 26-5 B12; Wisconsin 26-4 B10; Duke 26-4 ACC; Georgetown 25-4 BE; Xavier 26-5 A10; Butler 28-3 HORZ; Stanford 24-6 P10; Louisville 24-7 BE; Notre Dame 24-6 BE; Connecticut 24-7 BE; Purdue 24-7 BE; Drake 28-4 MVC; Vanderbilt 25-6 SEC; Michigan State 24-7 B10; Gonzaga 25-6 WCC; Indiana 25-6 B10; Washington State P10; Brigham Young 25-6 MWC; Davidson 25-6 Southern; Marquette 22-8 BE; Clemson 22-8 ACC; South Alabama 26-5 Sun Belt; Oklahoma 21-10 B12.

At Georgia, a Commitment to Academics?

Those are the noises coming out of the athletics department at the University of Georgia, which a fellow blogger has described as the Worst University in the United States. From Mark Schlabach at ESPN:

When Georgia hired Dennis Felton as its men's basketball coach five years ago, the school asked him to clean up its program, which had been ridiculed nationally because of academic fraud and NCAA violations committed under former coach Jim Harrick.

Felton cleaned up the program, so much so that the Bulldogs have mostly labored through a 13-15 season with only eight scholarship players. After Felton dismissed two starters before they even stepped on the court this season, Georgia lost 11 of its first 14 SEC games before winning at Auburn 59-54 on Wednesday night. . . .

Might Felton's house cleaning cost him his job?

"I promise you this: If I were to get fired, it would be for not winning enough games," Felton said Wednesday night. "It would not be for a lack of our guys consistently representing our university and our program with class." . . .

"I want to be successful in everything," [Georgia athletic director Damon] Evans said. "There are some sports I want to see us build upon. We are 110 percent committed to Georgia basketball. I think Georgia basketball should be great. Of course, we expect great things from basketball, just like we do from every sport."

Georgia's attrition is what concerns Evans most, according to people close to the situation. The Bulldogs have lost six players during the past two seasons. . . .

At least one college basketball coach suggested Georgia's new academic standards, which require student-athletes to attend dozens of tutoring, study hall and advisement sessions each month, make it too difficult to build a program that will consistently win.

"The job is too hard," said the coach, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "You can't find enough good players who are willing to do all of that."

But Evans, who instituted the policies last year to improve Georgia's lagging graduation rates, defended the new plan. Evans said Georgia's other athletic teams haven't struggled to adhere to the policies.

"First and foremost, we're about academics," Evans said. "Aren't we supposed to encourage our kids to go to class and do what they're supposed to be doing academically? We should be asking more of them academically, to be honest. We've had other teams at Georgia have success under the same guidelines. We want to graduate players from this institution and win basketball games." . . .

The Georgia fan base is already calling for Felton's head. If Evans truly is more committed to graduating basketball players that he is to winning, then one fears that his will be next on the chopping block.

NCAA Penalizes Long Beach State

Hopes for the future success of the Long Beach State University Men’s Basketball were high in April of 2002 when Larry Reynolds was hired as the head coach:

"In the last seven weeks, I've talked to people at all levels of basketball and heard nothing but good things about Larry Reynolds as a coach," LBSU Athletic Director Bill Shumard said.

"I had an opportunity to watch his team play and I saw a team that played tenacious defense and unselfish offense. It was 10 guys playing unselfishly in the true sense of a team." . . .

Before becoming an assistant at UC Riverside, where he was assistant head coach for 16 years, Reynolds played for the Highlanders and remembers playing against Ed Ratleff and the 49ers.

"I think a return to those days is just around the corner," Reynolds said.

Three unsuccessful seasons later, Reynolds found himself under fire:

Lute Olsen, Tex Winter, Jerry Tarkanian, Craig Hodges, Ed Ratleff, 24 NBA players, 14 All-Americans, seven NCAA Tournaments and five NIT appearances are synonymous with Long Beach State basketball's rich tradition and demanding legacy.

Not many are more familiar with this tradition than Head Coach Larry Reynolds. . . .

His glamorous tenure at Division II CSU San Bernardino earned him an office inside an architectural marvel of an arena. It also left him in charge of jump-starting a once proud LBSU program that was in hibernation.

Nearly three years later, amid a third losing season, the coach is as optimistic as a person in his tumultuous position can possibly be. Under fire from boosters and supporters of the program, and in danger of missing the Big West Conference Tournament for his third consecutive year, Reynolds pointed out that even the best coaches suffer hardships.

Unfortunately, the best coach who was apparently emulated by his assistant coaches was Jerry Tarkanian, perhaps the most legendary cheater in NCAA history. Last season, Reynolds led the 49ers to an overall 24-8 record which included both Big West titles and a visit to the first round of the NCAA tournament in Columbus, Ohio. Less than a week later, on March 22, Long Beach State declined to renew his contract, and issued the standard pleasantries which indicate that there was a great deal more to the story than was being reported:

"We appreciate the hard work and leadership that Larry provided," director of athletics Vic Cegles said in a statement. "However, I believe it is in the best interest of the university and the men's basketball program to make a change. We had a banner season, but upon an extensive review I came to the conclusion that a foundation had not been built to ensure long-term success."

The rest of the story, was, of course, a looming NCAA sanctions case, which had already hit the press:

Assistant coach Reggie Howard did not accompany the team to Columbus and was put on indefinite leave as the NCAA investigates recruiting violations at the school. The team's recruiting coordinator, Howard was credited with assembling much of the squad.

Today the NCAA had its say, [the full report can be found here] and it turns out to be a doozy of a case, with the penalties including show-case hiring bans for Howard and another former assistant:

INDIANAPOLIS---The NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions has penalized Long Beach State University for major and secondary violations in its men's basketball program. This case involves improper benefits, impermissible transportation and phone contacts, unethical conduct and a failure to monitor by the institution and the former head coach. . . .

The university’s 2005-06 recruiting class included six two-year college transfers, none of which were eligible for admission to the university or athletics participation. Beginning in May 2005, with the knowledge, encouragement and assistance of the coaches, the young men took additional classes, including correspondence courses, at various institutions. Some of the young men needed as many as nine hours in a short period of time to meet academic requirements, the committee said.

The violations committed by two former assistant coaches and the former administrative assistant included paying or arranging for payment to register some or all of the six two-year college transfers in classes, paying or arranging for payment of fees so that transcripts of the transfers’ coursework could be obtained, providing impermissible tutoring and transportation, as well as making impermissible phone calls.

Also, one former assistant coach obtained a correspondence exam for one of the student-athletes, allowed the young man to complete it without a proctor, then forged the name of his friend as the proctor and returned the exam to the issuing institution.

Once an investigation into the violations began, the two former assistant coaches compounded the violations by providing false information to investigators on numerous occasions. In addition, one former assistant coach asked a number of student-athletes to provide false information and the second former assistant coach asked his friend to provide false information regarding proctoring the exam. . . .

The committee also found that the former head coach failed to monitor the men’s basketball program. Though the head coach was aware that the six two-year transfers were deficient academically and taking numerous courses in a short period of time, including one of the young men taking four classes at three different junior colleges, the former head coach did not ask questions regarding their classes, sources of support or the level of his assistants’ involvement with the young men. He also failed to involve the compliance office in the monitoring effort.

The committee also found that the university failed to monitor its men’s basketball program in its recruitment of transfer student-athletes.

The penalties include many of the old standbys, including reductions in scholarships and recruiting contacts. They also include the following:

A vacation of all wins, including any recorded in conference tournaments or the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament, in which the six two-year transfer student-athletes competed while ineligible. The individual records of the six young men shall also be vacated. Further, the university’s records regarding men’s basketball as well as the record of the former head coach will be reconfigured to reflect the vacated records and so recorded in all publications in which the men’s basketball records are reported, including, but not limited to, media guides, recruiting materials and institutional and NCAA archives. Finally, any public reference to tournament appearances and performances during this time shall be removed, including, but not limited to, athletics department stationary and banners displayed in public areas such as the arena in which the men’s basketball team participates.

This is the same penalty which was applied to the Oklahoma football program last year. It did not hold up on appeal. To be cynical, it probably will in this case, given that Long Beach State is not one of the big money programs.


Update (1) 6:44 PM

Many thanks to Steve Janisch, Assistant Athletic Director at Long Beach State for supplying the following statement, and to AD Vic Cegles for responding to my requests for comment:

NCAA Releases Findings on Long Beach State Men's Basketball Program

Earlier today the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions released its findings regard violations that occurred in the Long Beach State (LBSU) men's basketball program in summer 2005. In a press release from the NCAA, the committee cited improper benefits, impermissible transportation and telephone contact between student-athletes and former members of the coaching staff, and unethical conduct on the part of former coaching staff members.

According to LBSU Athletics Director Vic Cegles, when the university was made aware of the potential violations in October 2006, swift action was taken to address the allegations. In the course of the university's own internal investigation, the involved coaching staff member was immediately suspended, and two student-athletes were withheld from competition. The university also self-imposed sanctions on the men's basketball program prior to meeting with the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions.

"Our University has a strong culture and history of NCAA compliance," said President F. King Alexander. "No major infraction has been leveled at our university in over 35 years, and when we became aware of these issues, we move expeditiously to remove the individuals involved and remedy the situation. We have a no-tolerance policy for any coach who crosses these lines. We remain committed to operating in an athletics program with the highest integrity that reflects the broad educational values that our institution stands for."

The findings by the NCAA were consistent with the university's own, and the committee's penalties include acceptance of the university's self-imposed sanctions. The committee also imposed a three-year probation with limited restrictions, and the men's basketball team will be able to compete in post-season play every year through this period. Victories during the 2005-2006 season also would be vacated.

Update (2) 10:10 AM Friday

There is a good wrap-up of the story in today's Long Beach Press-Telegram:

In the summer of 2005, the Long Beach State athletic department was a dinghy without an anchor. The athletic director, Bill Shumard, had been AWOL for a lengthy period, there were small fires breaking out internally, and the captain's chair was still empty when he returned. Then he resigned.

And then chaos quietly ensued.

Larry Reynolds and his basketball staff had been retained by said athletic director, despite 21 wins in three seasons, as a going-away gift of sorts. It may have seemed beneficent - give the poor schmo a break - and it may have even seemed logical - leave the decision to the new men in charge.

But all it really did was give the coaching staff the opportunity to save their jobs at all costs.

There wasn't a president on campus, Robert Maxson having retired and the school a half-year away from hiring F. King Alexander. There was no oversight beyond an interim athletic director who didn't want the job and a department staff that was overworked, undermanned and weaponless.

In an effort to save their paychecks, assistant coach Reggie Howard hit the recruiting gas and did whatever he could to bring in some quick-fix JC transfers with eligibility issues.

Assistant Brent Bargan was caught in his wake. Reynolds conveniently looked the other way. . . .

"I'm happy it's over," Cegles said. "I'm happy for Dan and the student-athletes that there's no postseason ban and that we finally have a chance to move ahead.

"We live in a pretty forgiving society, and there are thousands of examples of that in the sports world. Teams go on probation every day and there are fans living larger than ever (at those schools). That will happen for us."

Here's what won't happen ever again. A basketball coach who alienates everyone on campus after two seasons will be fired on merit (Wayne Morgan) instead of being given three more tumultuous seasons and leaving the program bereft of talent and goodwill.

A coach who wins 11 games in two seasons won't be asked back for a third year, much less a fourth (Reynolds). An athletic director who has issues internally won't be allowed to make a crucial decision on his way out the door (Shumard). There won't be an extended gap of more than a year without someone in charge.

No one will be left to their own devices.

Lets hope not!