The Scope of the Scandal

[xusandy]

Adidas is at the heart of what we know already, because they're the source of the $$$, right? So who here thinks Adidas has spent no more $$$ on this scheme than was revealed in the indictments? And who here thinks that Nike and Under Armor have just been sitting by and watching Adidas gain competitive advantage over them during the past few years? Don't be naive!

Pat Forde said in an interview today that any coach/school that has landed a top 50 recruit recently had better have a darn good explanation for how they landed that recruit. If Nike and/or UnderArmor have similar schemes going, which seems very likely, then maybe we're even talking about half or more of the top 50 recruits having offers made to them. And to what extent will the kids themselves be blamed for "monetizing" their talent as soon as they can, vs. the coaches, the universities, shoe company execs, or agents?

IMHO, this ugly, ugly situation will cause a seismic shift in the landscape of men's college basketball, and probably in college football, and maybe in all of college sports and the structure of the NCAA itself. Fearless Prediction #1: the Big East will turn out to have a lot less dirty laundry than any other top 7 league. Hey, I'm hereby generously including the AAC in my list of the top leagues --so here's a hearty welcome to suspects like UConn, Cincy, Houston, SMU, etc. Some Big East schools will also be included in anyone's list of D1 programs with at least wee bit of explaining to do, and I can only hope we're clean.

Fearless Prediction #2: At least 20 universities will turn out to have been at least marginally involved in some bribery scheme related to college basketball, including at least a third of those who have made the Final Four since 2010. Grab yourselves a cold one, friends, and get ready to watch a true bloodbath; this is all going to be a fascinating show, albeit in a sick sort of way.

[FriarJ]

http://nypost.com/2014/08/08/how-a-high-school-stud-teaches-providence-how-brutal-recruiting-can-be/

[Jet915]

FBI will hopefully clean house. They are gonna do something that the NCAA either couldnt or wouldnt do. Kudos to them for putting a spotlight on this, hopefully NCAA basketball will be better after this clears.

[DudeAnon]

Mack is clean. My first bet would be on Willard. Then Wojo

[billyjack]

http://nypost.com/2014/08/08/how-a-high-school-stud-teaches-providence-how-brutal-recruiting-can-be/

Can't believe that was 3 years ago, and that cesspool Louisville stole him. I remember at the time thinking that Louisville during the Pitino years got very few guys to the "next level", so the guy sold snake oil. Plus the 2013 championship was run through a whorehouse. Joke. Hope Louisville sinks like a millstone.

[Hall2012]

Mack is clean. My first bet would be on Willard. Then Wojo

It's a dangerous time to be throwing stones, my friend...

[GumbyDamnit!]

Mack is clean. My first bet would be on Willard. Then Wojo

It's a dangerous time to be throwing stones, my friend...

Agree with this statement. I think any holier than thou statements need to parked until we see this unfold. Addidas, Under Armour and Nike are all fighting for the market share. I find it hard to believe that this was limited to these few schools and these few players. If Addidas was willing to buck up $150K for a single player you have to believe that this is not a isolated case.

[NJRedman]

Mack is clean. My first bet would be on Willard. Then Wojo

It's a dangerous time to be throwing stones, my friend...

Agree with this statement. I think any holier than thou statements need to parked until we see this unfold. Addidas, Under Armour and Nike are all fighting for the market share. I find it hard to believe that this was limited to these few schools and these few players. If Addidas was willing to buck up $150K for a single player you have to believe that this is not a isolated case.

Since we lost out one top level local guys to these programs (Alkin, Herron) i'm hoping we aren't implicated. We were the scrappy poor local school they wanted to go to until all that green got flashed in front of them.

Also I don't blame these kids one bit. You grow up dirt poor, single parent house live in a shitty situation and someone offered you 100-150K i'd be hard pressed to not take the money myself. This shit isn't new.

[jfan]

I blame the kids a bit, they have to know that the payments are wrong and not all of them are dirt poor. I do agree that it is a huge temptation for them. The bigger problem is the shoe companies and their connections with the AAU programs. That has to be cleaned up in a hurry. I feel sorry for the players getting caught up in this, because It's really going to hurt them at least in the short term.

[ArmyVet]

Also I don't blame these kids one bit. You grow up dirt poor, single parent house live in a shitty situation and someone offered you 100-150K i'd be hard pressed to not take the money myself. This shit isn't new.

While I generally agree with you, the central figure in this (Bowen) went to an elite prep-school where he flew all over the county for free and is not from a single parent home or destitute as far as I know.