Around the NCAA

[TheLogician]

Stoked to watch Nico in 2019. Crazy athletic and skilled, too. We're looking at a potentially elite backcourt if guys stick around.

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

[Mischa]

Spoke to a guy in the MetroPlex last week, says Izzo has gone full blast after Timme and MSU in great shape right now with him.

Just on the surface, Gonzaga, MSU and Purdue make a lot of sense for him. All have traditions of utilization of big men (programs and the current coaches). All have had big men who were asked and allowed to do a lot of different things on the court. All play at a high level and usually have great opportunities to win a lot of games.

There’s no doubt in my mind that he could play alongside Carey or Stewart (or TJD). This isn’t a four guys for one spot situation IMO. In fact, I’m now thinking MSU ideally wants two big men.

Everyone focuses on playing smaller to take advantage of the ability of a “stretch 4″ to shoot and in some instances go off the dribble. If you can get a 6’10” kid who has that ability, as Timme does…man, that’s a big, big problem for opposing teams to deal with.

I’ll also make a quick prediction…whichever school gets him will have a fan favorite in terms of their own fan base and a guy who inspires a lot of ire on the road. I mean a LOT, because of the way he plays and his general attitude on the court. Hustle, motor, skill and a willingness to get vocal usually inspires those types of feelings both ways, depending upon whose jersey he’s wearing.

So which of those guys will AZ get?

Sean gets his impact PG!

Interesting.

We will see.

Bossi and Peek know these recruits pretty well. It's noteworthy that they are predicting Carey to MSU. That deserves a "wow."

MSU was given a strong indication by someone worth listening to that MSU was in the top two for Carey at mid-summer.

That being said, I still thought MSU had a better chance for Stewart.

Interesting that Bossi and Peek both have Carey to MSU and Stewart to Duke. I would have thought the opposite, but I'll defer to them on this. They cover those players every step of the way, all spring and summer.

[DirtyDez]

Is Wiseman really going to Memphis to play for Penny? Lol

[Mischa]

I think when it's all said and done, this Alabama team will compare to the 1995 Nebraska team as one of the best in the modern era. In a 12 game season...the Huskers outscored their opponents 638-174.

An unstoppable offense + dominant defense = Historical Greatness

[bwgood77]

I think when it's all said and done, this Alabama team will compare to the 1995 Nebraska team as one of the best in the modern era. In a 12 game season...the Huskers outscored their opponents 638-174.

An unstoppable offense + dominant defense = Historical Greatness

Yeah, I was hoping A&M would give them a fight and they were kind of hanging in there for awhile and then Bama blew it wide open. After A&M played Clemson so close and the way Bama is beating opponents it feels like the Warriors in the NBA.

And talking about Nebraska, you had mentioned Michigan fans being disappointed and expecting greatness. Nebraska was a powerhouse for years and then really went down the crapper.

[Mischa]

Zone read play...but needed a RPO. 5 yards is a lot to ask of for a running play. Needed the option of a pass.

Read on Twitter

[Mischa]

Per Adam Zagoria

Interesting quote from Steve Haney, attorney for Christian Dawkins: ‘Michigan State was one of the only schools that was NOT GOING to pay Brian Bowen to go there’ Haney listed MSU, Arizona, Oregon, Texas and Creighton as his final 5 before he picked Louisville in June 2017.

Now I'll tell you that the worst way to analyze a court case is by relying upon tweets from sports reporters...but with that caveat out of the way, the sense I'm getting as to the essence of the defense's case (in terms of Dawkins ) is this:

- Lots of Nike schools (Oregon, Arizona, etc...but NOT MSU) were willing to pay to get Bowen.

- He was set to go to Arizona...you know, because they were among those who were going to PAY.

- Louisville lost Donovan Mitchell to the draft and Rawle Alkins elected to return to Arizona. This opened the door for the Ville, an Adidas school. Bowen's family made a "basketball" decision. I can see this argument re: why Ville and not Zona, based on the above. If everyone's paying the same money, that's the difference, right?

- The defendants acted in the best interest of Adidas, Adidas schools and the kid himself. Thus, no intent to defraud the Adidas schools. That is a fundamental element of the DOJ case and what they claim takes this beyond a simple NCAA violation and into the realm of being a federal crime.

I'll also offer up this thought, one I know myself during and after the recruitment of Tugs...the idea of paying $100K for that kid is mind blowing to me. Good player, but not remotely worth that kind of action even if you are willing to break the rules and pay it, based on my understanding of the market. Anthony Davis reportedly went for $250K to Kentucky and he won them a title.

Tugs wasn't winning anybody any national championships. Not even close.

[Mischa]

Also claims Jim Gatto (Adidas exec) paid De Sousa $20K to go to KU to offset/match the UA offer re: Maryland. So there's the first shoe to drop (no pun intended) re: Kansas.


Pat Forde Retweeted
Dan Wetzel‏Verified account@DanWetzel
Gatto's atty also said Under Armor paid $20,000 to recruit Silvio De Sousa to sign with Maryland and Arizona offered $150,000 for Nassir Little. De Sousa is at Kansas, Little at UNC now. Goal is to make all of college hoops look corrupt.

Also, the Arizona stuff re: Little is interesting. How does the evidence for that, if at all, related back to the Ayton material from last season which so spectacularly blew up in ESPN's face? Would be hilarious if UA was out there making concrete offers which weren't accepted for Bowen and Little but they DIDN'T for the guy they got AND ESPN blew the story completely.

Of course, the idea that Ayton didn't get paid sort of boggles the mind, so we're likely talking about what can be proven as opposed to what actually happened.

[DirtyDez]

I’m seeing a lot of words like “claims” and “offered” in regards to Arizona’s involvement. I tend to think those types of words get thrown around when there’s some reaching going on.

[DirtyDez]

Read on Twitter

[Mischa]

Dan Wetzel
@DanWetzel In court this afternoon, Brian Bowen St. Testified about offers relayed to him by Christian Dawkins for his son, Tugs Bowen, to sign with various colleges...

$25K to play his junior AAU season for the Mustangs (I saw him that spring) and another $5-8K to play for Meanstreets his final AAU season.

$2K/month to play at LaLu, paid by Shane Heirman, the then head coach. Not sure if that's over both of his seasons there or what.

Other offers...Oklahoma State was the big baller. $150K plus $8K for a car and money for a house (not sure if that's rent or buying).

Texas would "help with housing " for Bowen Sr.

Creighton - $100K and a "good job"

Oh, and Arizona reportedly offered $50K.

No details from Bowen Sr. regarding Oregon's supposedly huge offer. Says he "doesn't recall one," so that's strictly a Christian Dawkins thing at the moment.

[Mischa]

Today in College Basketball/DOJ/FBI Madness...

Per Jeff Borzello

Brian Bowen Sr. testified today that he...

• Received $1,300 from then-Louisville assistant Kenny Johnson
• Received $8,000 from then-La Lumiere coach Shane Heirman
• Received $5,000 from Mean Streets director Tai Streets
• Received $1,500 from then-Mean Streets coach Tim Anderson

• Was asked if Oregon assistant Tony Stubblefield gave him $3,000 on an unofficial visit: “I don’t recall that.”
• Was asked if he was ever conveyed an offer from UCLA: “I don’t recall that.”
• Acknowledged monetary offers from OK State, Creighton

Just so the players are kept straight...

Kenny Johnson was formerly on Tom Crean's staff at IU. Crean is not implicated in anything here and to my knowledge has always been viewed as being clean as a whistle.

Shane Heirman was La Lu's head coach when Bowen, Jaren Jackson, Tyger Campbell, etc. won the Dick's Sporting Goods mythical national championship. He is currently an assistant at DePaul...well, at least as of today, he is.

Tai Streets runs the Mean Streets AAU program, for which Bowen played his last year and for whom Romeo Weems played much (not all) of last season. He is a former University of Michigan WR. Again, no suggestion that Michigan has any involvement in this mess and to my knowledge, I don't believe they've ever signed a Mean Streets kid (neither has MSU, I don't think). Does he meet NCAA standards in being a Michigan "booster?" Believe it or not, he probably does. Should that create a problem for Michigan? Not in a sane world but, you know...

Tim Anderson is the world beating, bestest trainer in the world according to a few people who probably ought to know better. He is the former coach of Mean Streets and is currently an assistant at DePaul...again, as of today he is. He is also the man credited with reeling in Romeo Weems.

[Mischa]

It's been totally lost in the shadow of the DOJ/FBI case but interesting show cause ruling out of CA...

http://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-todd-mcnair-show-cause-20181009-story.html

Essentially, a state court in California ruled that the NCAA's "show cause" penalty for a SC assistant football coach is an "unlawful restraint" on his pursuing a lawful profession and thus struck the penalty down. I won't be surprised to see the NCAA pursue this further, because at the moment it removes one of its go-to moves in penalizing individuals associated with NCAA violations. A couple of quick points on this...

1. Not surprising at all that this happened in California. For any of our attorney members who do any type of employment/contractor related work which touches that state, I'm sure you're familiar that state law there is construed against employers and any restrictions (non-competes, non-disclosures, etc.) in the most extreme fashion of any state in the nation. So, under that theory, not surprising to me that a judge there found that penalty to be an unlawful restraint. I question whether we'll see that anywhere else but we'll see.

2. It is of at least tangential interest in regard to the current college basketball case, in that at least one of the assistants under indictment was also a SC coach. Prior to this, I would have expected that individual to have received a show cause at the bare minimum, with more penalties to the program also possible. Now? Well, we'll see.

[bwgood77]

Mike Valenti breaks the Michigan psyche (This is your life now): https://971theticket.radio.com/media/audio-channel/michigan-fans-your-life

In M’s case, according to the expectations they’ve set for their own program, the ND game broke their season and sorta did exactly that. I guess technically it didn’t end the season, because if they win EVERY game from here they would make the playoffs…but that’s the problem. I feel as if some are measuring them by the standards they *should* be measured, which is essentially a 7-5 team over the last decade.

That’s not what THEY think they are, though. Better still, that’s not what they hired Harbaugh to be. In year four of his tenure, anything less than a division title can’t come remotely close to meeting expectations. The guy hasn’t finished higher than 3rd to date. Honestly, if we went back to the euphoria around the day he was hired, I think it would be virtually unanimous agreement among the Wolvie faithful that no playoff berth by the end of year four was unthinkable. This guy was supposed to be the best coach in football. Not the Big Ten East. Not the Big Ten. Not college football. FOOTBALL, period, at all levels.

If that’s the standard, and that’s what Michigan and its fan and alum base has told us it is, they’ve already failed miserably. No way around that.

Thoughts on Michigan now?

[Mischa]

Mike Valenti breaks the Michigan psyche (This is your life now): https://971theticket.radio.com/media/audio-channel/michigan-fans-your-life

In M’s case, according to the expectations they’ve set for their own program, the ND game broke their season and sorta did exactly that. I guess technically it didn’t end the season, because if they win EVERY game from here they would make the playoffs…but that’s the problem. I feel as if some are measuring them by the standards they *should* be measured, which is essentially a 7-5 team over the last decade.

That’s not what THEY think they are, though. Better still, that’s not what they hired Harbaugh to be. In year four of his tenure, anything less than a division title can’t come remotely close to meeting expectations. The guy hasn’t finished higher than 3rd to date. Honestly, if we went back to the euphoria around the day he was hired, I think it would be virtually unanimous agreement among the Wolvie faithful that no playoff berth by the end of year four was unthinkable. This guy was supposed to be the best coach in football. Not the Big Ten East. Not the Big Ten. Not college football. FOOTBALL, period, at all levels.

If that’s the standard, and that’s what Michigan and its fan and alum base has told us it is, they’ve already failed miserably. No way around that.

Thoughts on Michigan now?

Impressed with Shea Patterson. Seems he was in total control of the game. More impressive than McSorley who seems like he is a bit hyper-active.

[Mischa]

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/25015812/g-league-offer-professional-path-elite-prospects-not-wanting-go-one-done-route-ncaa

If you’re paying attention to the DOJ college basketball case, you’ll note that the $125K is in line with the numbers being tossed around as having been paid to players via shoe companies. In some cases more, in some cases less than what players allegedly received but in the ballpark.

I think this won’t be the easy decision some are already claiming it is, though. Yes, you get paid without any hassle and you get access to “NBA infrastructure, as well as a bevy of off-court development programs geared towards facilitating and accelerating their transition to the pro game.” However, there are some questions…

1. Brand. The reality is that no serious number ofpeople are going to watch the GLeague, with or without elite HS players coming straight into it. That’s just reality. Might it shift over time? Sure, but that will take a LONNNNNNGGGG time. The calculation for many will be that the year of playing at a high profile school for a year will more than offset $125K. For everybody? Nope, but I believe absolutely so for some. So if you want name recognition, I’m not sure the GLeague is the best way to go about it.

2. More importantly, there’s the issue of the draft. Keep in mind, when someone takes this offer, they’re not signing a two way or playing in the NBA at all that year. The entry rule for the Draft remains unchanged. So they’re going to be earning their draft position by playing against men 5-6 years older than they are (in most instances) who are desperately trying to earn a look from the NBA, same as they are…except they’ll be more physically and mentally mature in most cases. Again, in the long run, are you better off going this route and possibly being exposed or just simply shown to be not ready for grown man levels of play, or are you helped more by playing in college for a year? I think that’s going to be a calculation with multiple answers, depending upon the situation.

For MSU fans, this isn’t great news, admittedly. Guys like Carey and Stewart would for sure be targeted by the GLeague and would be eligible to sign this contract for next season. No idea how receptive or interested they are in the idea…I’m sure we’ll begin to find out answers to that question soon enough. Not sure anyone else MSU is recruiting would be on that list…keep in mind that this is supposedly going to be offered only to “elite” players, so even someone like Keion Brooks might not qualify for the $125K.

To me, it boils down to this…does the $125K “move the needle,” given the downsides (worse conditions for training/playing in most instances compared to elite college programs, risk of exposure against older, stronger competition which negatively impacts draft status, etc.)? I’m not sure it does but we’ll begin to find out soon enough.

[bwgood77]

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/25015812/g-league-offer-professional-path-elite-prospects-not-wanting-go-one-done-route-ncaa

If you’re paying attention to the DOJ college basketball case, you’ll note that the $125K is in line with the numbers being tossed around as having been paid to players via shoe companies. In some cases more, in some cases less than what players allegedly received but in the ballpark.

I think this won’t be the easy decision some are already claiming it is, though. Yes, you get paid without any hassle and you get access to “NBA infrastructure, as well as a bevy of off-court development programs geared towards facilitating and accelerating their transition to the pro game.” However, there are some questions…

1. Brand. The reality is that no serious number ofpeople are going to watch the GLeague, with or without elite HS players coming straight into it. That’s just reality. Might it shift over time? Sure, but that will take a LONNNNNNGGGG time. The calculation for many will be that the year of playing at a high profile school for a year will more than offset $125K. For everybody? Nope, but I believe absolutely so for some. So if you want name recognition, I’m not sure the GLeague is the best way to go about it.

2. More importantly, there’s the issue of the draft. Keep in mind, when someone takes this offer, they’re not signing a two way or playing in the NBA at all that year. The entry rule for the Draft remains unchanged. So they’re going to be earning their draft position by playing against men 5-6 years older than they are (in most instances) who are desperately trying to earn a look from the NBA, same as they are…except they’ll be more physically and mentally mature in most cases. Again, in the long run, are you better off going this route and possibly being exposed or just simply shown to be not ready for grown man levels of play, or are you helped more by playing in college for a year? I think that’s going to be a calculation with multiple answers, depending upon the situation.

For MSU fans, this isn’t great news, admittedly. Guys like Carey and Stewart would for sure be targeted by the GLeague and would be eligible to sign this contract for next season. No idea how receptive or interested they are in the idea…I’m sure we’ll begin to find out answers to that question soon enough. Not sure anyone else MSU is recruiting would be on that list…keep in mind that this is supposedly going to be offered only to “elite” players, so even someone like Keion Brooks might not qualify for the $125K.

To me, it boils down to this…does the $125K “move the needle,” given the downsides (worse conditions for training/playing in most instances compared to elite college programs, risk of exposure against older, stronger competition which negatively impacts draft status, etc.)? I’m not sure it does but we’ll begin to find out soon enough.

I didn't think about it this way, because if you are a high school stud projected to be like a top 3-5 prospect in your class, you are probably ok anyway, and $125K out of high school is A LOT of money. That's even more than I made right out of high school.

But yeah, going to Duke or Kentucky or Kansas, or best of all, Arizona, can really build your profile. It seems like most clear cut #1 prospects don't change from HS to college, at least lately, but I guess I can't remember about Fultz...obviously Wiggins, Simmons and Ayton were...but I guess other guys were up there in past years too like Shabazz, Nerlens Noel and Skal Labissiere, so it probably depends on how secure you feel getting picked high is. Because even the difference between the 1 and 2 pick is easily over $125K, I'm sure in the first year but damn sure over the rookie contract.

[Mischa]

Had my first chance to see M this year

M made a big run over the first half to push the lead out to double digits over Providence.

M defense is of course legit. They're giving up little penetration and doing a great job of contesting shots at the same time. One thing I'd note...there are a couple of weak(er) links on that roster with Iggy and Poole. On one occasion, Providence matched up Diallo against Iggy and he torched him. I think as the year goes along and definitely once we get to conference play, you're going to see opponents work to get those guys isolated and see what they can get done.

The other thing M does very well defensively is balance the floor. Providence got zero in transition and really never had a chance. That's long been a Beilein staple, even when they were horrendous on the defensive end, so not surprising but they are really disciplined with it.

On offense, at least for now, it's about one thing and one thing only...put your head down and go to the rim. They took 29 shots in the first half and only 5 were 3s. That's almost impossible to believe from a Beilein team but that's the deal with this group and with good reason, because they just don't have a great group of jump shooters. Job One against them has to be finding a way to limit their penetration, which could be easier said than done, but that's what you've got to emphasize. I think you live with letting them shoot 20 footers. When they're unable to penetrate, the half court offense looks ugly...there's no post up game to default to and again, the 3s just aren't featured with this team. One M staple which helps is that they don't give it away...4 TOs in the half.

To me, it looks a lot like last year's M team right now, save for the lack of a weapon like Wagner. Iggy is a productive offensive player but he's totally different than Wagner...doesn't give you the inside/outside threat Wagner provided. As I noted above, I'm going to be interested to see if Big Ten scouting can find the weak links I think might be there with their defense and exploit them enough to force Beilein to make some PT decisions. If I'm wrong, that defense is going to keep them in the title hunt (Big Ten variety) all year.

[bwgood77]

Mike Valenti breaks the Michigan psyche (This is your life now): https://971theticket.radio.com/media/audio-channel/michigan-fans-your-life

In M’s case, according to the expectations they’ve set for their own program, the ND game broke their season and sorta did exactly that. I guess technically it didn’t end the season, because if they win EVERY game from here they would make the playoffs…but that’s the problem. I feel as if some are measuring them by the standards they *should* be measured, which is essentially a 7-5 team over the last decade.

That’s not what THEY think they are, though. Better still, that’s not what they hired Harbaugh to be. In year four of his tenure, anything less than a division title can’t come remotely close to meeting expectations. The guy hasn’t finished higher than 3rd to date. Honestly, if we went back to the euphoria around the day he was hired, I think it would be virtually unanimous agreement among the Wolvie faithful that no playoff berth by the end of year four was unthinkable. This guy was supposed to be the best coach in football. Not the Big Ten East. Not the Big Ten. Not college football. FOOTBALL, period, at all levels.

If that’s the standard, and that’s what Michigan and its fan and alum base has told us it is, they’ve already failed miserably. No way around that.

I don't think if they replace him they'd be better, but likely would really start to regress. Frankly I was surprised he turned them into as good of a team as he did in his first year from what they were...I would have expected it to take him about 4 years to turn them into a top 10-15 team, because, really, college football is mostly about recruiting.

I’m gonna ramble...

What is hilarious is that he was loved at Michigan when he played as QB. Tough guy.

Then he was a coach at Stanford and made the comment about Michigan having a way to admit athletes that are subpar students. And a way to keep them eligible. So the Michigan propaganda machine turned on him and all the Michigan fans hated him. How dare he.......

But then he did well at Stanford and went to the NFL and took his team to the Superbowl. But for some strange reason he was going to get fired. But that was ok. Rumors started that he would be the next head coach at Michigan. The Proponganda machine started back up and all the Michigan fans went back to loving him. Despite all warning signs that this Harbaugh seemed different. They loved him anyway. And they paid him like they loved him.

Now he has the same record as Brady Hoke. But he is 1-6 against MSU and OSU. A WR has not caught a TD in 50 quarters. Michigan is dead last in the Big Ten in beating ranked teams on the road. Again, he has never finished better than 3rd........in the East. Rank the Big Ten teams in the last 5 years would be OSU, MSU, Wisconsin, PSU, Iowa, Northwestern, then maybe Michigan. He was supposed to be the QB whisperer but even with the revolving door and transfer at QB coming and going, it is just now that Michigan fans are starting to wake up. The QB’s at Michigan have been pedestrian at best.

“He may not be the coach we thought he was. We want the Stanford version”. Former players are turning on him and getting suspended from their current jobs. Harbaugh looks unenthused and confused when he talks to the media.

This is a critical time for Michigan. The MSU game may very well be for his job if Michigan lays an egg at Northwestern and Wisconsin (is it possble they struggle with Nebraska?) They have a bye week after MSU so can lay it all on the line. Will it be enough?

But if they do replace Harbaugh, rest assured the next head coach will be the best young coach in the history of young coaches. He will be the next Urban Meyer or Nick Saban and will get back to the Michigan core values. One thing that never dies is the propaganda machine. The worse the situation at Michigan gets, the louder and more outlandish the blabber becomes out of Ann Arbor.

Go Green, Beat ASU

I don't think they'll replace him though.

[Mischa]

I don't think if they replace him they'd be better, but likely would really start to regress. Frankly I was surprised he turned them into as good of a team as he did in his first year from what they were...I would have expected it to take him about 4 years to turn them into a top 10-15 team, because, really, college football is mostly about recruiting.

I’m gonna ramble...

What is hilarious is that he was loved at Michigan when he played as QB. Tough guy.

Then he was a coach at Stanford and made the comment about Michigan having a way to admit athletes that are subpar students. And a way to keep them eligible. So the Michigan propaganda machine turned on him and all the Michigan fans hated him. How dare he.......

But then he did well at Stanford and went to the NFL and took his team to the Superbowl. But for some strange reason he was going to get fired. But that was ok. Rumors started that he would be the next head coach at Michigan. The Proponganda machine started back up and all the Michigan fans went back to loving him. Despite all warning signs that this Harbaugh seemed different. They loved him anyway. And they paid him like they loved him.

Now he has the same record as Brady Hoke. But he is 1-6 against MSU and OSU. A WR has not caught a TD in 50 quarters. Michigan is dead last in the Big Ten in beating ranked teams on the road. Again, he has never finished better than 3rd........in the East. Rank the Big Ten teams in the last 5 years would be OSU, MSU, Wisconsin, PSU, Iowa, Northwestern, then maybe Michigan. He was supposed to be the QB whisperer but even with the revolving door and transfer at QB coming and going, it is just now that Michigan fans are starting to wake up. The QB’s at Michigan have been pedestrian at best.

“He may not be the coach we thought he was. We want the Stanford version”. Former players are turning on him and getting suspended from their current jobs. Harbaugh looks unenthused and confused when he talks to the media.

This is a critical time for Michigan. The MSU game may very well be for his job if Michigan lays an egg at Northwestern and Wisconsin (is it possble they struggle with Nebraska?) They have a bye week after MSU so can lay it all on the line. Will it be enough?

But if they do replace Harbaugh, rest assured the next head coach will be the best young coach in the history of young coaches. He will be the next Urban Meyer or Nick Saban and will get back to the Michigan core values. One thing that never dies is the propaganda machine. The worse the situation at Michigan gets, the louder and more outlandish the blabber becomes out of Ann Arbor.

Go Green, Beat ASU

I don't think they'll replace him though.

M had a very good year. The problem is you're expected to be great. You can't lose like this. Inexcusable. 9 million a year means you need to produce. No different than Stafford and the Lions. Time to part ways. Hasn't worked. This is how you're judged. Let's flip the script. Ohio State was run over with negative analysis this year. Except all OSU does is win.