NCAA accuses Memphis Hoops of major violations

[DeToxRox]

I know, I know, you're all shocked.

NCAA accuses Memphis of major violations during 2007-08 season - NCAA Division I Mens Basketball - CBSSports.com News, Fantasy, Video

The NCAA has formally accused the Memphis men's basketball program of major violations during the 2007-08 Final Four season under John Calipari.

In a letter -- which was first obtained by The Commercial Appeal -- the NCAA alleges "knowing fraudulence or misconduct" on an SAT exam by a player on the Final Four team. The player is not named in the report. But if the allegation is proven true, Memphis could be forced to forfeit the Final Four appearance.

Memphis is also accused of providing $2,260 in free travel for an associate of a player.

Calipari is not named or directly implicated in the report.

He now coaches at Kentucky.

CBSSports.com's initial attempt to reach Calipari by cell phone Wednesday was unsuccessful.

[wade moore]

In before MBBF rains joy over this thread.

[Logan]

Shit wade beat me.

[DeToxRox]

Dola, I won't be shocked at all if Memphis takes a beating on this one while USC gets the slap on the wrist. Memphis is coming off being a top 10 program the last 5 years, but now with Cal gone they'll go back to being a decent top 25ish program year in and year out, and even though USC hoops isn't that, it is still SC and that name means something.

Memphis, it might be nice knowin' ya.

[DaddyTorgo]

wooo! who do we think it was? D-Rose?

[wade moore]

In all seriousness.

This does bring up an issue that I've seen discussed on the CAA board that I frequent.

At what point are coaches themselves going to face some sort of punishment. Kelvin Sampson is a perfect example people use - but now Calipari. He'll be able to carry-on with no consequences whatsoever at Kentucky. If he made/condoned/directed the violations - shouldn't he personally have some repercussions? You even wonder if he had some idea this was coming and that influenced him leaving.

[Logan]

I thought some of the sanctions followed Sampson? Either way though, not enough and I agree.

[DeToxRox]

Apparently Memphis was told of this back in January so obviously Cal had to know it was coming. I think he needs to be punished since didn't he have a problem at UMass as well?

Oh well, as long as he wins at Kentucky no one will care until he's elsewhere and the next guy is left with a program in ruin.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by Logan

I thought some of the sanctions followed Sampson? Either way though, not enough and I agree.

Looks like you're right...

From Wiki:

In addition to the Gordon incident, Sampson has been in the middle of a number of other controversies. Under Sampson's watch, Oklahoma was placed under a three-year investigation by the NCAA for recruiting violations. At the end of the their investigation, the NCAA issued a report citing more than 550 illegal calls made by Sampson and his staff to 17 different recruits. The NCAA barred Sampson from recruiting off campus and making phone calls for one year, ending May 24, 2007.^[5]

And:

On November 25, 2008, the NCAA slapped Indiana with three years' probation for violations largely tied to Sampson's watch. It also imposed a five-year show-cause order on Sampson, meaning that no NCAA member school would be able to hire Sampson without demonstrating to the NCAA that Sampson has served his punishment. However, most NCAA members will not even consider hiring a coach with an outstanding show-cause order, so the show-cause will likely have the effect of banning Sampson from coaching at the major-college level until 2013.

But still. It took multiple serious incidents for the show-cause. The other punishment seems relatively minor compared to what the universities suffer.

[DeToxRox]

From reading other sites, it sounds like Pastner, their new coach who was Cal's assistant obviously knew about this so it isn't like he is going to be some innocent guy stuck in Cal's mess if that's true.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

From reading other sites, it sounds like Pastner, their new coach who was Cal's assistant obviously knew about this so it isn't like he is going to be some innocent guy stuck in Cal's mess if that's true.

Yeah.. promoting the assistant removes a little bit of the "victim" issue.

[GoldenEagle]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

From reading other sites, it sounds like Pastner, their new coach who was Cal's assistant obviously knew about this so it isn't like he is going to be some innocent guy stuck in Cal's mess if that's true.

Pastner was not on the staff when the reported allegations took place. The player in question is Derrick Rose. I don't see how this is any different from the Darrell Author (sp?) incident at Kansas.

The title is a bit of media sensationalism. Most of the allegations in the letter point to women's golf.

Now, this could be the tip of the iceberg.

[stevew]

Lance Bass is gay.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

I think he needs to be punished since didn't he have a problem at UMass as well?

Marcus Camby accepted money and jewelry from an agent. You can argue that Calipari, like everyone else on campus, must have known when Camby started walking around with a 5-figure necklace, but he never gave things to Camby and was cleared by the NCAA. He definitely never had any academic issues, and in fact UMass had multiple non-qualifiers come, sit out freshman year, and graduate within 4 years to regain that last year of eligibility. I'm not arguing that Calipari or UMass at the time was clean, I'm just arguing they did nothing that Kansas, Duke, etc, weren't doing.

The player in question has to be Derrick Rose based on the wording. Otherwise other years would have been implicated.

[stevew]

I think the sanctions should also follow the coach if he was involved.

[DaddyTorgo]

I'm just glad I went to a school where this type of things never happens, even if we're not perpetually in the championship game

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

I'm just glad I went to a school where this type of things never happens, even if we're not perpetually in the championship game

Wait, you went to BC, right?

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

I'm just glad I went to a school where this type of things never happens, even if we're not perpetually in the championship game

+1, but to say.. "even if we're playing in a mid-major conference and generally not in the conference title picture".

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

Wait, you went to BC, right?

Are you trying to say someone needs a history lesson on basketball scandals?

[Arles]

Man, Arizona supposedly had a blank check for Calipari off the bat (before he went to KY) and was talking to Floyd about the position later. If it comes out that Pitino did some shenanigans at Louisville, this might be the "Curse of the Wildcat" - where all coaches who passed on Arizona are doomed

[DaddyTorgo]

LOL - well not under the new regime.

and hey - we've got one of the highest athlete graduation rates of any school in the country - between two of the service academies last time i looked i believe

[panerd]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

Wait, you went to BC, right?

Somebody needs to watch Goodfellas, eh? This has to be the worst unintentional comedy of all time. Where does BC rank? With the Black Sox maybe?

[DaddyTorgo]

lol

[GoldenEagle]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

Dola, I won't be shocked at all if Memphis takes a beating on this one while USC gets the slap on the wrist. Memphis is coming off being a top 10 program the last 5 years, but now with Cal gone they'll go back to being a decent top 25ish program year in and year out, and even though USC hoops isn't that, it is still SC and that name means something.

Memphis, it might be nice knowin' ya.

We will see. We did get a commitment from 5 star SF/PF Latvious Williams yesterday. I think Pastner has the tools to be successful here. Calpari laid the ground work and showed how to win at Memphis. Pastner just has to follow it.

Edit: Other than the whole cheating part.

[Ksyrup]

Lot of news here in Lexington tonight, what with this and Gillispie filing alawsuit against the school. Calipari isn't named in the report, but has been asked to appear at the hearing. If he was involved, sanctions could follow him, but they would have named him if they had anything connecting him to this, I assume.

[molson]

Originally Posted by stevew

I think the sanctions should also follow the coach if he was involved.

I think it needs to go further, and sanctions should follow the coach if they happened on his watch.

It's too easy to hide the paper trail, etc. It's ultimately the coach's responsibility to run a clean program. If he can't do it, there should be some sanction.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by GoldenEagle

We will see. We did get a commitment from 5 star SF/PF Latvious Williams yesterday. I think Pastner has the tools to be successful here. Calpari laid the ground work and showed how to win at Memphis. Pastner just has to follow it.

Edit: Other than the whole cheating part.

Even with the edit, are we gonna leave this low-hanging fruit out there?

[RainMaker]

What does the SAT thing mean? That they helped him cheat? Aren't SATs taken in high school?

[GoldenEagle]

The rumor is someone else took the SAT for Derrick Rose.

[RomaGoth]

Gotta love Calipari...

Five years from now, maybe Kentucky will have sanctions again too, eh?

[mh2365]

As someone who hates everything about UK ... love it

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

LOL - well not under the new regime.

I love Al Skinner as much as the next man, but you don't get players like Sean Williams to stick around that long without some faustian deals. And graduation rates are no panacaea - look at Duke and Corey Maggette.

Originally Posted by GoldenEagle

The rumor is someone else took the SAT for Derrick Rose.

Am I mis-remembering, or what that rumor going around when he was still in HS too? How many times did he take the SAT?

[MrBug708]

Oops

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by wade moore

In before MBBF rains joy over this thread.

I'm sure all the defensive Memphis fans from the college basketball thread are feeling pretty sheepish right now. They were likely the only ones surprised by this announcement.

Two things:

1. Judging from previous examples, I have no doubt that the penalties levied against Memphis will be much harsher than similar examples at bigger name schools. Sad, but true.

2. Calipari really should receive some penalties from the NCAA. The hit-and-run nature of leaving after you know penalties are coming is bush-league at best.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

I'm sure all the defensive Memphis fans from the college basketball thread are feeling pretty sheepish right now. They were likely the only ones surprised by this announcement.

FWIW, this is one time I think a little "I told you so" dance from you is justified.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by wade moore

FWIW, this is one time I think a little "I told you so" dance from you is justified.

It's never a good thing when a fan base gets blindsided like this. Mizzou went through the whole Quin debacle. I feel bad for the fans and the loyal people within the program. They're the ones that want the program to do well, but they end up getting blindsided and the jackass outsider who ruins the program heads to the hills to collect a paycheck somewhere else. Mizzou has been blessed enough to find a good man who does things the right way and wants to retire at Mizzou rather than use it as a stepping stone. Hopefully Memphis finds a similar coach, because that's what they really need at that program.

I will say that the departure of Calipari and this investigation (it may have only become public now, but many NCAA coaches knew it was in progress a month or two ago) have done wonders for other schools recruiting in Memphis. There's a ton of good talent in Memphis. Coach Anderson and his staff are recruiting 5 good players in Memphis in the 2010 class along with a couple of 2011 players. This announcement will only help in that regard. Those coaches coming in to take Memphis players now have ammo to use against that program.

[Kodos]

Originally Posted by Logan

I thought some of the sanctions followed Sampson? Either way though, not enough and I agree.

I'm pretty sure that Sampson can't coach at the collegiate level for a number of years. That's why he's an assistant in the NBA right now.

[Samdari]

Originally Posted by GoldenEagle

Calpari laid the ground work and showed how to win at Memphis. Pastner just has to follow it.

Edit: Other than the whole cheating part.

LOL.

You can't learn to win without cheating from Calipari.

You can learn to win. But cheating has always been a part of that winning with him.

[Kodos]

Everyone hates cheats, that's for sure.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

2. Calipari really should receive some penalties from the NCAA. The hit-and-run nature of leaving after you know penalties are coming is bush-league at best.

I'm really sick of the hit-and-run shit these coaches pull. Cheat for a few years, earn a big contract elsewhere, then let your old team deal with the consequences.

I think coaches need to be penalized just like the schools. The Sampson penalty should be the rule, not an anamolly. I guarantee a 5 year ban for any coach who knowingly cheated would clean up the NCAA a lot.

[Ksyrup]

I don't really get all the outrage over coaches who haven't been found to have knowledge of or participated in cheating or in committing violations. The Sampson thing played out like it did because he was directly involved. Thus, he was individually charged and the sanctions he got followed him. I'm not trying to be purposely naive here, but in order to enforce its rules, the NCAA has to have some standard of proof in order to go after somebody.

I'm not trying to defend Calipari here - I barely follow college basketball and I'm not even a UK fan (although I'm obviously aware of the school now that I live here) - this is just my general feeling on the matter. There are so many moving parts to a big-time college sports program (and athletic department) that I don't have any doubt most coaches couldn't control what goes on even if they wanted to. At worst, I bet a lot of these guys are guilty of turning a blind eye to this stuff, or simply not wanting to be informed so they have plausible deniability. And I'm not really sure how you police that without taking down truly innocent coaches whose programs get screwed over by some over-zealous booster or players' family/advisors looking to cash in.

[wade moore]

KSyrup - I'm specifically talking about situations where there is evidence that the coach was involved (whether doing the action, directing the action, or knowing about it and doing nothing).

[Ksyrup]

Well, I guess I'm responding to the general tenor of this thread, which seems to be labeling Calipari as a "cheater" despite the fact that there's no evidence he had knowledge of or was involved in what appears to be a single SAT cheating incident and payment of travel money to someone involved with the player.

I mean, I could go out right now as a "friend of the University" and secretly offer to fly some prospect's family to a home game of their choice next year and get the school in trouble. Hard to see how Rich Brooks or John Calipari should be individually penalized for that.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I don't really get all the outrage over coaches who haven't been found to have knowledge of or participated in cheating or in committing violations. The Sampson thing played out like it did because he was directly involved. Thus, he was individually charged and the sanctions he got followed him. I'm not trying to be purposely naive here, but in order to enforce its rules, the NCAA has to have some standard of proof in order to go after somebody.

Calipari was lucky to escape UMass without any significant sanctions. There was some dirty business going on there as well. His problem now is that a pattern of behavior is quickly developing. You can only feign ignorance so many times before it becomes unbelievable.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Calipari was lucky to escape UMass without any significant sanctions. There was some dirty business going on there as well. His problem now is that a pattern of behavior is quickly developing. You can only feign ignorance so many times before it becomes unbelievable.

Exactly. It's hard to imagine that this cloud has followed him with repeated sanctions under his times as head coach without realizing that he's dirty. Maybe there isn't evidence, but Calipari had a reputation with many as dirty before this even came about.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Calipari was lucky to escape UMass without any significant sanctions. There was some dirty business going on there as well. His problem now is that a pattern of behavior is quickly developing. You can only feign ignorance so many times before it becomes unbelievable.

Unbelievable to whom? The general public? Who cares! UK specifically stated that they vetted Calipari with the NCAA, including directly speaking to the guy who penned the letter to Memphis about these violations. Plus, IIRC, the chick who was with the NCAA and involved in the UMass investigation is now on staff at UK. If they had any real concerns above mere taint - especially since they were aware of this investigation at the time they interviewed him - then I think they might have acted differently.

I guess I'm trying to understand how an agent paying a player and somebody cheating on an SAT test is automatically the coach's fault, or suggests he was even aware of it at the time? I see a clear difference between these situations (at least, what we know at this point) and the Sampson or Clem Haskins' situations.

[GoldenEagle]

I think this is really a case of forcing a one and done player to come to school. Derrick Rose knew he was going to the NBA and going to be a millionaire. He just paid someone to take the test for him to ensure that he gets into college and can showcase his skills for a year. He never intended to be a student-athlete. He went to school because he had to. It is entirely possible that Calipari had no idea.

I also like how Calipari issued a statement through UK that this is Memphis's problem, not mine.

[Logan]

He could've went to Europe for a year like Brandon Jennings.

[DeToxRox]

Well the next NBA CBA will probably force kids to play 2 years of college ball so I expect a lot more kids in Europe.

[GoldenEagle]

Originally Posted by Logan

He could've went to Europe for a year like Brandon Jennings.

Maybe. But he would have been the first to have done so (Jennings was a 2008, Rose a 2007). By all accounts, Jennings really struggled in Europe and actually hurt his draft status. I don't think you will see many go that route, unless they don't qualify. Hence the reason you need someone else to take the SAT for you.

What the NBA should do is allow players to be drafted but require that they stay in the NBADL for two years. This would instantly boost the popularity of the development league and teach young players about the lifestyle of the NBA. But that is probably for another thread.