NCAA makes stiff accusations against Memphis

Just saw this story on ESPN.com. Alleges that a player on the 07-08 team, which the report implies was only on the team for the 07-08 season (cough Rose cough), had a bogus SAT score and the school knew. Also alleges someone in the program provided a couple grand for travel of a player's associate, though it doesn't specify it it was the same player or a different player (likely different from the wording).

Current charge is "failure to monitor," which is bad news, but still better than "lack of institutional control."

Also alleges someone in the program provided a couple grand for travel of a player's associate, though it doesn't specify it it was the same player or a different player (likely different from the wording).

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World Wide Wes ?

Like I said in another thread...

If this is true then it is the second time that Calipari has left a school and it was crushed by violations. I hope Kentucky knows what it's getting itself into...

Also, does anyone else feel it's bogus that the school has to take all the blame while the coach goes merrily on his way to brighter pastures?

If true and Pastner didn't know - I hope Memphis doesn't get destroyed. If Pastner did know - they deserve what they get.

If Calipari knew - bet he doesn't get anything but a slap on the wrist. May have been one of the reasons he went to Kentucky after all.

I'm so happy Tubby is the coach and the man he is - we are really lucky!

Son of a Badger said:

Like I said in another thread...

If this is true then it is the second time that Calipari has left a school and it was crushed by violations. I hope Kentucky knows what it's getting itself into...

Also, does anyone else feel it's bogus that the school has to take all the blame while the coach goes merrily on his way to brighter pastures?

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It's totally bogus. If it is true and it was proven to be all Calipari - he should be given at least some of the punishment - not the school. If nothing else - a big financial fine or something.

Hmmm.....

It will be awfully interesting to see how this whole thing plays out. I guess we'll all have to see what else comes out of this situation, but sadly, these kind of allegations against a Calipari-led program don't surprise me at all.

Some folks over in Kentucky are probably already a bit nervous, with good reason. If this story ends up having legs, it's going to damage Calipari and Kentucky pretty badly on the national stage, especially considering the recruiting class he's bringing in. If not, then all people will have to harp on is rumors.

Regardless, it sets up for a kind of Soap Opera atmosphere both in Memphis and Lexington for the near future.

Right now it's the NCAA saying that Derek Rose didn't actually take his SAT (based on what evidence I'd like to know. If they couldn't nail Darrell Arthur with actual eyewitness testimony I'd love to see what they have on Rose) and that one of his friends rode on a charter flight and stayed in his room and didn't reimburse. One is very serious and one is a pretty common occurrence but no charges of lack of institutional control at this point are telling. I feel bad for Memphis if they did have to forfeit wins due to alleged fraud by a student athlete while others have committed far more grievous or similar acts and been able to keep what they obtained due to influence and plausible deniability. Kentucky was aware of this when they hired him and the NCAA, in conjunction with Sandy Bell, cleared him of any past or present wrongdoing. So either a. He's clean b. He's really good at nothing sticking to him or c. The NCAA is very bad at its job.



I know this won't stave off the dogs in the rush to the meat but I'd just thought I'd throw this out there. I'll let ya'll get back to your regularly scheduled stoning.

The Truth said:

I know this won't stave off the dogs in the rush to the meat but I'd just thought I'd throw this out there. I'll let ya'll get back to your regularly scheduled stoning.

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Guess you missed all the posts that said "If this is true". But of course that doesn't fit with the big bad Gopher fans picking on Kentucky mantra does it.

I'll let ya'll get back to your regularly scheduled stoning.

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Thanks !

I've been watching the regularly scheduled meltdown at Catspause and the laughter at the Louisville board.

Fun stuff !

97alumni said:

Guess you missed all the posts that said "If this is true". But of course that doesn't fit with the big bad Gopher fans picking on Kentucky mantra does it.

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I see it all the time on this board. It's fine really but I'll stick up for things if I feel the need to. I haven't a problem with a discussion but it usually degenerates fairly quickly into a sordid mess. I'm just being a tad preemptive.

Reserve said:

Thanks !

I've been watching the regularly scheduled meltdown at Catspause and the laughter at the Louisville board.

Fun stuff !

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Louisville fans live in glass houses. 99% of major college programs do.

After reading this article from a Memphis columnist, it appears that if wrongs happened, they'll be hard to prove. And as The Truth points out, most college fans live in glass houses when pointing out misdeeds of other programs (after all, Gopher football fans have been down this road pretty recently with allegations against Marquis Gray and his ACT tests).

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/may/27/geoff-calkins-allegations-come-calipari-territory/

One point I'd like to make though-The Truth, we've generally had a civil relationship on here, but I can't imagine why you get so worked up about what a handful of Gopher fans have to say about Calipari. Considering the connection our head coach has to UK and the rather sour impression many of your peers left on us when they visited our board after Tubby's hire, I'd say we're downright tame in our critiques of Calipari/Kentucky. If you're looking for allegations, rumors, and outright lies, look to the fans of Louisville, Indiana, UNC, and the other SEC programs for that info. Everything negative I've read on here after Calipari's hiring has been pretty standard stuff that's followed Coach Cal everywhere he's been. And as I've said before, if you're a Kentucky fan, it's going to be a necessity to grow a very thick skin during the Calipari era because everyone is going to be taking their shots.

Why is that everywhere Calipari goes, there's some sorta allegations of impropriety? I will say that Calipari is one slick dude. He definitely knows how to make sure his fingerprints don't get on anything. But usually, if you live close the edge, one day you'll eventually fall off. He can't keep playing with fire forever and not get burnt.

If true, which isn't a huge strech to believe, this will make the second program that Calipari has lead that will have a Final Four vacated. Then add in his relationship with possibly the shadiest person in basketball it's easy to see why people think he is dirty.

I would like to quote Matt Painter with his take on Kelvin Sampson to express my idea on what will happen in Kentucky, "Past behavior is the best indicator of future behavior."

"Kentucky assured its boosters when it hired Calipari it had done its due diligence in checking his background."

I busted a gut after reading that line. Does anyone really think the boosters gave one rat's a*s about Cal's slippery background when he was hired?

SelectionSunday said:

"Kentucky assured its boosters when it hired Calipari it had done its due diligence in checking his background."

I busted a gut after reading that line. Does anyone really think the boosters gave one rat's a*s about Cal's slippery background when he was hired?

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Agree. I would think that based on past transgressions in the world of college basketball (and other sports for that matter), a school's boosters would be one of the last groups that would need to be assured of someone's character. Having said that, I don't doubt that there are good boosters out there that support their universities in a positive manner.

I happen to think every school has some of both. But the fact of the matter is that, fair or not, boosters have gained a reputation for being crooked in the eyes of many sports fans.

Mind Expanding On That A Bit ?

I'd love to see the explanation of this quote taken from Derrick Rose's AAU Coach -

What money would that be exactly ?

Hmmmm...

Luther Topps, who coached Rose’s club basketball team with Derrick’s brother Reggie, has been aware of the NCAA investigation for three weeks. According to Topps, the NCAA threatened to revoke former Simeon player Tim Flowers college eligibility if Flowers didn’t agree to an interview.

‘‘Tim told me the NCAA kept bothering him,’’ Topps said. ‘‘That if he didn’t talk they were going to take away his eligibility. [The NCAA] thinks that [former Simeon player Kevin Johnson] took [the SAT test] for him.’’

Simeon coach Robert Smith declined to comment on the situation.

‘‘[Smith and I] didn’t know anything about his test,’’ Topps said. ‘‘Reggie moved me and him out of the way long before that, as soon as the money got involved.’’

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http://yourseason.suntimes.com/1595888,052709-derrick-rose-ncaa-investigation.article

Reserve said:

I'd love to see the explanation of this quote taken from Derrick Rose's AAU Coach -

What money would that be exactly ?

Hmmmm...



http://yourseason.suntimes.com/1595888,052709-derrick-rose-ncaa-investigation.article

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The sad thing is the quote in that article about the NCAA threatening a kid with zero knowledge of the situation with the loss of his college eligibility if he doesn't "turn" on Rose should bother you way more than a money quote that could mean anything. That's how the NCAA "produces" evidence in a lot of cases.

Dan Wetzel weighs in on the Calipari charges with this column. In my opinion, there's not anyone fairer than Wetzel in evaluating the NCAA, although he covers other sports too, he seems to be still dialed in on college basketball pretty well.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basket...cB?slug=dw-calipari052809&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

mnboiler said:

If true, which isn't a huge strech to believe, this will make the second program that Calipari has lead that will have a Final Four vacated. Then add in his relationship with possibly the shadiest person in basketball it's easy to see why people think he is dirty.

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What is really hard to believe is that -- while Calipari knew about this investigation centered on a star player who perhaps had no business being in college -- he was out on the recruiting trail signing (a) a player many major programs had backed off of because of academic/qualification concerns (Bledsoe) and (b) a player that had just been arrested (Wall).

As a fan of a program that was justifiably flattened by the NCAA for the academic fraud, it just makes it more frustrating watching some of the slick operators and/or big programs always seeming crooked (or turning a blind eye to crooked boosters) but somehow evading the same type of penalty.

coolhandgopher said:

Dan Wetzel weighs in on the Calipari charges with this column. In my opinion, there's not anyone fairer than Wetzel in evaluating the NCAA, although he covers other sports too, he seems to be still dialed in on college basketball pretty well.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basket...cB?slug=dw-calipari052809&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

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I like Wetzel too and it's a fair piece. I agree totally with him about perception. Roy Williams and K have done equal or worse things than Calipari but skated by because they have these "images" that are protected and even reinforced by the NCAA and Advertisers. People seem to forget that Roy left KU with major violations and that K went to the Final Four with an ineligible player.

The even funnier thing is the Commercial Appeal sat on this story for months as to not upset the community apparently. That would not fly in Lexington at the LHL. The media should do it's job first and foremost. Not worry about protecting sacred cows, the hometown team or their AD revenue (and I'm looking directly at you LCJ and Pat Forde) but reporting the truth.

"Rose wound up with a score in the mid-700s, high enough to be eligible."

According to the grid Coolhand posted the other day, assuming Rose had a 750 on the SAT, that means he would have needed a core high school GPA of about 2.65 to be eligible his one and only (freshman) season.

More proof that it's not very difficult to be eligible as a freshman. The NCAA's expectations are very minimal for incoming freshmen. A low test score like that and all a guy needs to do is be about a B- student?

Saul Smith's Facebook

On his Facebook page, former Kentucky point guard Saul Smith cautioned the basketball program about running afoul of NCAA rules.

“Bad bad day for my alma mater,” Smith wrote. “The UK athletic program will never regain its true champion nature with Businessmen running it. Never, no matter how many so called blue chip players you bring in. You can’t sacrifice your integrity for success. You just can’t do it. I’m an alum and I deserve a clean-ran program, plain and simple. Period, and if anyone disagrees, you, my friend, shouldn’t support the program I played 4.”

Smith now works as an assistant coach for his father, former UK coach Tubby Smith, at Minnesota.

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Reserve said:

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That's a can of worms that does not need to be opened.

Just to show how serious UK takes compliance these days I suggest you all read up on what happened to All-SEC DE Jeremy Jarmon last Sat. An honor student who came back for his senior year (projected as a 3rd pick by most experts) already having one degree and working on a second. He had to forfeit his entire last season of eligibility because he took a Diet Shake that he bought at GNC in December of 08 that had a banned substance in it...despite testing negative on his second test for steroids. UK self-reported the violation, went through the appeals process and Jarmon was denied. The fact is he wouldn't have been tested in the first place if UK hadn't self-reported the violation to the NCAA.

Calipari's contract (here:http://www.scribd.com/doc/13865464/John-Caliparis-contract-with-the-University-of-Kentucky-) is detailed in issues of compliance and grounds for termination and will cause immediate forfeiture of all remaining payments, salaries and benefits if he is terminated with cause as defined by the contract. This not only pertains to him but anyone under him or who the NCAA defines as a "representative of the program". So if someone under him screws up and does something shady or WWW is proven to be involved in an improper act he's on the hook for it.

Saul Redacts - Next Time Should Probably Keep His Mouth Shut

Dad ( Tubby ) might not be very happy with Saul talking to Tipton .. May find himself in a bit of hot water for not carefully choosing his words.

My ass is sore just reading it.

Bolded question is - well what exactly are you saying Saul ? Lol.

Later in a follow-up interview, Smith said he did not mean to suggest new UK Coach John Calipari used questionable methods.

“Coach Cal is my guy,” Smith said. “I’m close to him.”

Smith said he interviewed for a spot on Calipari’s Memphis staff in 2007.

Of the Memphis allegations, Smith said of Calipari, “I don’t think he knew about it, so he says.”

Smith also said his father refused to “pay” for players as Kentucky coach.

“He had the opportunity to get great players,” Saul Smith said. “But the integrity wouldn’t be there. . . .

“I’m not saying Cal has done that. I’m just saying (Kentucky) can’t afford it. We’ve been down that road.”

The Smiths, father and son, witnessed Rick Pitino’s resurrection of Kentucky basketball after the rules violations and subsequent NCAA penalties of the late 1980s. Those violations included the same academic fraud allegation that Memphis must deal with now.

Tubby Smith was an assistant coach for Pitino. Saul Smith was a ballboy. Saul recalled the UK team not being eligible for post-season play in 1989-90 as part of the penalty for previous rule breaking.

“That was salty, man,” Smith said.

When it was noted that Tubby Smith had not publicly comment about the allegations against the Memphis program and their implications for Kentucky, Saul Smith said, “I’m going to tell it like it is. He has to be politically correct.”

Later on Thursday, Smith took down the previous posting on his Facebook page and replaced it with this:

“Just disappointed that my alma mater is in the news again for negative things. Unreal, how many people follow my facebook status. 2 reporters call. wow. I feel like a rockstar.”

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Saul's comment was a shot at the bow of the administration of UK that he feels didn't give him the opportunity to coach at his Alma-Mater with his father.
Saul is rationalizing here and it's a poor show on his part. You can't claim recruiting suffered because you didn't "pay" for players. Does that exist? Sure it does and it happens in ways that the NCAA haven't even begun to understand but it doesn't happen every single time. It's a blanket statement to justify why recruiting suffered at UK under Smith at points.


Brandon Wright was set to commit to UK. He stated that he grew up a UK fan. Every time Tubby asked Reggie Hanson, the pointman on the recruitment, Reggie would say "It's in the bag" What Reggie failed to tell him was that Roy Williams was personally camping out at Wright's high school just to be noticed: Not talking to him but sitting in the stands with a bag of popcorn. Talk to the people at BA and they'll tell you the same thing: That left an impression on Wright. So Wright comes to UK on his official, is ready to commit on the spot, and Tubby tells him (and I'm paraphrasing here) "Don't, go ahead and take your other visits". Wright's next visit was to Carolina and their midnight madness. He committed a couple of days later (not real sure on the timeframe on that one) to North Carolina and ended up saying that UK finished a distant third to them and Duke.

What happened next is in UK lore: Tubby went apeshit. He held a staff meeting and tore into his assistants. This was all witnessed by a former long time UK Secretary (and a person that Billy Gillispie had transferred out of the basketball offices because he didn't like her because she "ran her mouth"-which was true. Font of information that lady was. That helped sever his relationship with former alums. She was beloved by the former players on a level matched only by Mr. Wildcat) and reported on TCP at the time. Evidently, Reggie also hadn't even bothered to update the mailing lists on the database that programs use to send out to potential recruits. Tubby at that point told them if they couldn't do their jobs he'd do them for them and got back into recruiting more on the road instead of leaving it up to Hanson and Rigot (who is worthless. I don't often speak ill of people on the internet but this is they guy who, when asked by an AAU coach about Kevin Durant during his junior year, answered "Who is Kevin Durant?") to make the contacts.


When George Felton left (and I've met him through my Grandfather who played at USC in football back in the 50's. Between him, Don Meyer and Rick Byrd I've learned more about the game just being quiet and listening than all the books I've read or the games I've played) Tubby lost a lot. Felton knew everybody in the high school, in the summer circuit and in the cams. Felton was instrumental in landing Tayshaun Prince and Keith Bogans because of his relationships with their coaches/handlers and Tubby would come in and close. That's what Tubby is great at in recruiting for the most part: Closing. Walking into a home and sealing the deal. The sad thing is that's not how it's done anymore. You have to (for better or worse) "work the circuit" all summer, be seen at every kids game, your assistants have to be seen, you have to "schmooze' and if you're not good at that your assistants better damn well be. Which is why Vince Taylor is just a plus for you guys: He knows how to do this stuff so Tubby doesn't have to.

I'm dizzy from the Kentucky spin machine, thank god we have "The Truth" to set us free the knetucky and Truth's response was very predictable and pathetic.

JohnnyGopher said:

I'm dizzy from the Kentucky spin machine, thank god we have "The Truth" to set us free the knetucky and Truth's response was very predictable and pathetic.

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I'm sorry Johnny. I'll just nod my head and agree with whatever fantasy you have in your head.


ntia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem


Which is simpler: A person fails or underperforms in certain aspects of their job and performance suffers overall or a vast conspiracy designed, controlled and implemented to ensure one person's failure despite the fact that person's success is directly tied into an overall greater success or image that those within said conspiracy crave?

By the way: There was a thread where FoT called me a bunch of names and accused me of lying when I said Saul interviewed for Cal at Memphis.

http://ukbasketball.bloginky.com/2009/05/28/saul-smith-cautions-uk-about-sacrificing-integrity/

Later in a follow-up interview, Smith said he did not mean to suggest new UK Coach John Calipari used questionable methods.

“Coach Cal is my guy,” Smith said. “I’m close to him.”

Smith said he interviewed for a spot on Calipari’s Memphis staff in 2007.

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I don't normally gloat but after being called a racist, a liar, a hillbilly, a host of other names and having my character assassinated I have to serve up some humble pie to FoT on this one.


Edited: Also the changing nature of his facebook status goes back to what I was saying earlier: He's still upset at the Administration for what happened at the end (which I and others have detailed) and I don't blame him for having that opinion. He is a son first and foremost.