Lee Aaliya (bball commit from Argentina): "still needs to be admitted"
I was perusing the annual "Holy cow, Camp Sanderson really transformed these guys!" article from MLive, and was blissfully reading how everyone was going to be bigger, stronger and faster and came across this record scratch:
George Washington III, the lone freshman, has added muscle to his 6-foot-2 frame. (Another potential freshman, Lee Aaliya, committed in late August. Michigan hasn’t announced his addition. The center from Argentina has not yet enrolled at the university. A staff member said he still needs to be admitted.)
What in the hell? Does admissions not only have issues with Texas Tech, Stanford University, Faber College, etc...but now they're going to cause an international incident?
Can someone get this fixed? How was this not prioritized so Juwan Howard knew, one way or another, whether this young man could matriculate at U of M or not?
September 13th, 2023 at 5:32 PM ^
As is tradition. Assssss isssss tradition.
September 13th, 2023 at 5:36 PM ^
An international student committing in the last few days of August taking time to get admitted is one million percent different than not getting transfers in from other major American schools. I know it fits into the same narrative, but the situations are very different. There's no cost to taking his commitment - Howard didn't need to know if he'd get in or not at the time, since there's no one else available on August 26. You just take him and see if you can figure it out.
September 13th, 2023 at 5:51 PM ^
Are his transcripts being sent by clipper ship? Did he go to the Argentine equivalent of Bishop Sycamore High and we didn't know that? Or when U of M started recruiting him in late July, did everyone just say, "Well, let's just wait until late August to start looking at his school, his transcripts and other admission criteria. I am sure it will work out. We haven't had issues in the past. And if it doesn't, no big whoop."
I would be sanguine if U of M admissions had no issues in the past that are inexplicable. This is just another example of an admissions process that needs to be fixed if U of M wants to compete at the highest level, especially in basketball.
September 13th, 2023 at 6:44 PM ^
+1
i think Admissions is an old, old wooden ship used in the civil war era
September 14th, 2023 at 6:06 AM ^
here it is, with jack sparrow deftly stepping off of it
September 13th, 2023 at 7:54 PM ^
Very odd we still have admissions apologists at this point. The Michigan admissions department is one of the biggest jokes in the NCAA (or at least an entity tangential to the NCAA), which is saying a whole heck of a lot. It is the single biggest issue holding our basketball program back (among other factors as well). There is no estimating how big a loss Shannon was when that happened. Countless other examples. Too hard to overcome when rosters usually only go 7 or 8 deep. Can't afford to lose guys like that. Just as many examples in football, but thankfully we are able to overcome those, for the most part. The time has come for an intervention. This has to be addressed. None of it makes any sense. The Hinton situation should have been the last straw. Any apologists or rationalists at this point for the admissions department are not grounded in reality. Future coaches (who at some point will not be alumni) will downgrade the attractiveness of these head coaching jobs if it is not fixed. It's a built in disadvantage that makes zero sense. Please somebody out there help. Santa? Easter Bunny? Anyone. Send help.
September 13th, 2023 at 8:16 PM ^
I agree with you about Shannon, and I think there are very real issues with admissions to the detriment of our athletics programs (though I think anyone who considers it an issue with one singular "admissions department" vs a number of different departments across the university, each of whom gets to make decisions on which classes count and which ones don't, might not have a perfect understanding of what's going on). I'm just saying admissions is often more complicated for foreign students, even for athletics programs that have well-traveled paths for those foreign students. UCLA, for instance, spent months getting several European kids onto the team this summer, even though everyone knew those kids were going to UCLA for months.
I think that, due to very real concerns about how university politics have impacted our basketball team (they undoubtedly did!), people are thinking this is indicative of the same larger problem even though it's a totally normal occasion. I'm not saying the problem doesn't exist; I'm saying this is not the best example of it.
September 14th, 2023 at 11:36 AM ^
FWIW, the UCLA example is different. Their players had complex professional contracts that had to be sorted out, and until that happened, they weren't cleared by the NCAA. It wasn't an admissions issue, it was a concern about eligibility.
- The UCLA Bruins community waited patiently for months on end for Aday Mara to officially sign with the university for his first season of college basketball. The Spanish phenom had run into a number of issues regarding his contract with his professional team and that made the process of him getting to Westwood much more difficult than previously thought.
- French shooting guard Ilane Fibleuil has signed a grant-in-aid with UCLA men's basketball, the team announced Wednesday evening. The 6-foot-7 wing had been pledged to the Bruins since April 13, but was only able to get his eligibility squared away seven weeks later.
Nothing about admissions, all about getting cleared to play as an NCAA-qualified "student-athlete." Lee Aaliya was cleared by the NCAA as eligible on August 3; since then, it's been up to admissions.
September 14th, 2023 at 10:14 AM ^
This is a university. It is not an NFL or NBA minor league franchise. It has standards it wants to uphold. This has not historically been much of a detriment to our sports teams. The football program is making it work, given that we're two-time defending B1G champs and currently #2 in the nation.
The basketball program brought in three transfers over the summer (Burnett, Jackson, Nkamhoua) so it's not like we can't get anyone into school. The much bigger issue is that we've had some questionable roster management over the last couple of years, so that even with those three additions, our roster still looks unsettled. And we seem to be targeting a lot of guys with uncertain academic credentials to fill those last spots.
September 13th, 2023 at 5:41 PM ^
How'd he do in Calc BC? That B- and lack of community service will probably keep him out?
September 13th, 2023 at 6:06 PM ^
And Warde Manuel is silent
September 13th, 2023 at 6:11 PM ^
Death, taxes, and ... ∆this∆.
September 13th, 2023 at 8:40 PM ^
Username always checks out!!!
September 13th, 2023 at 9:31 PM ^
DO or SAY something! Some clarity would be nice. Speculation won't work in our favor.
September 14th, 2023 at 5:09 AM ^
yes. why oh why won’t warde manuel take the the podium and rip his working colleagues in the admissions department up one side and down the other?
i mean really shred them, leaving them weeping and begging for mercy, sad that they’ve let down the true purpose of the University, which is to make sure that the basketball team has a stretch-five, and the football team can get that sixth wide receiver?
September 14th, 2023 at 6:13 AM ^
You tell them Matty Blue. I completely agree with you.
September 14th, 2023 at 10:20 AM ^
I'm not a Warde fan (for a couple reasons, most notably his handling of the Pearson fiasco) but this is out of his control.
September 13th, 2023 at 6:10 PM ^
I guess I'm surprised by the expression of surprise here.
September 13th, 2023 at 6:12 PM ^
I know everyone is going to say admission sucks, but Howard is also super bad at navigating this. If it keeps happening, eventually you have to learn to work around it, and he's done a very poor job at that.
But it's possible he still gets admitted and then great, we have a back up 5.
September 13th, 2023 at 6:21 PM ^
Do you have any evidence whatever that this is true? Or are you just adducing this from prima facie evidence? I'll wager it's the later. In which case--I know that this is just a message board--you should try not to slander people who are struggling to make things work/try not to be an a**. The bball department moved heaven and earth this summer, and did pretty damned well.
September 13th, 2023 at 6:46 PM ^
Ummmm the evidence is this type of issue keeps happening with recruiting under Howard. How often did it happen under JB??
September 13th, 2023 at 7:27 PM ^
Robin Benzig.
September 13th, 2023 at 11:14 PM ^
so just one guy in 13 years
September 14th, 2023 at 12:33 AM ^
Beilein didn't coach in the portal or NIL era and he pretty much only recruited people who coulda gone to the ivy league. It is an unfair comparison.
September 14th, 2023 at 1:45 PM ^
You are helping make his point for him. It's obvious Beilein knew the pinch-points much better than Howard and navigated them.
September 13th, 2023 at 10:50 PM ^
Terrance Shannon, Caleb Love, Papa Kante, and now Lee Aaliya. This is the minimum 4th time this happend
September 14th, 2023 at 12:35 AM ^
The fact that three guys didn't gain entry is hardly evidence that 'Juwan is bad at this.' Or--to be blunt--if that's as far as your logical superpowers take you, you ain't never, ever, rever getting into Michigan Law. Weak, weak, weak, weak, weak, weak, weak.
September 14th, 2023 at 9:44 AM ^
4 players having an issue with gaining admission is a trend, whether you'll admit it or not. But go ahead and insult my intelligence because you're to arrogant to admit something so obvious
September 14th, 2023 at 10:07 AM ^
”Gaining admission” and “having transfer credit issues” are two separate things. Two of those players main issues were, as discussed and reported, credit transfer issues—not admissions issues.
No coach can make an academic department accept a course for transfer—and the problem is the professors and Deans, not the basketball coach.
Case in point, Myles Hinton‘a freshman comp at Stanford not counting at 〽️ is an absurd outcome that no reasonable person would expect to happen. As an English professor, I am astounded that Michigan’s department would deny the credit counting for this Gen ed course, but also as a professor who deals with these issues in my state, I am not surprised that some institutions’ academics remain haphazardly uptight.
September 14th, 2023 at 12:54 PM ^
Everyone read Broadneck's response here. This seems to be a different issue -- admissions, not credit-transfer through a department for an already admitted student.
Juwan clearly has issues with roster management vis a vis recruiting and players leaving the program, but in this case, I don't think the situation has much to do with him.
September 14th, 2023 at 10:16 AM ^
*too* arrogant.
September 14th, 2023 at 2:47 PM ^
Completely different issues with each player, half a dozen staffers--not just Juwan--in charge. He was announced in August, and is a foreign player, with a whole bunch of very different issues than transfers from US schools. These just aren't apples and apples. And the guy has not been announced as a team member. . . because his entry was not yet secured. (When and if AAliya is admitted, I'm sure you'll come back and recalibrate!*) We know that the football team struggles with this, too, and has missed out on many more players than four, but you're not saying that Harbaugh is "so bad at this." It's a dumb thing to assert.
My sense, again, is that Juwan is doing a very very good job under increasingly difficult conditions, compounded by the strictures involved with admission at Michigan. It won't be Juwan who fixes it, but pressure on those up above.
Yours was just a dumb swipe at Juwan and I should have ignored you, I'll admit.
*Note: There are whispers that because of the late date of his agreement to come to the UM, he will not be able to play until January.
September 13th, 2023 at 7:35 PM ^
Howard is also super bad at navigating this.
Please expliquez por favor how he is supposed to navigate the ADMISSIONS PROCESS.
Help me understand. Harbaugh is also at the mercy of Admissions which supposedly lost us Xavier Worthy.
But Juwan is "super bad" at it?
September 13th, 2023 at 10:11 PM ^
How about don’t target kids that you don’t 100 percent know are going to be admitted?!? I like Juwan but at some point you have stop beating your head against the wall and seek a different way to build your program
September 14th, 2023 at 10:23 AM ^
this is all what UFRs call "results-based charting." players want to go to michigan, admissions has issues, ergo admissions is a problem, and *therefore,* coach bad and AD badder. apparently it's really simple, and all admissions issues are identical.
September 14th, 2023 at 10:26 AM ^
Help me understand. Harbaugh is also at the mercy of Admissions which supposedly lost us Xavier Worthy.
The difference seems to be that Jim has a Plan B. Miss out on Worthy? Find someone else. We've gone 27-3 since 2021.
Juwan missed out on Shannon and we played in the NIT. I've been a fan of his, but his roster management has been bad lately, and it goes beyond this stuff. Like bringing in a bunch of unplayable power forwards last year, while starting the season with only three scholarship guards.
September 13th, 2023 at 10:48 PM ^
Idk why you're being downvoted. This never happened under Beilein that I recall and only happens to Harbaugh rarely. This is at least the 4th player Howard has had issues with
September 14th, 2023 at 8:47 AM ^
Beilein didn't operate in the NIL and portal era. It is a completely invalid comparison.
September 14th, 2023 at 9:48 AM ^
The portal/NIL didn't all of the sudden change our admissions requirements
September 14th, 2023 at 10:14 AM ^
Are you that obtuse? Beilein didn’t have to 24/7 go after transfers because players did not transfer at astronomical numbers at every college in this very recently past era.
Players didn’t leave programs nearly as much because they didn’t want to sit out a year—which in basketball is a very big incentive to stay when the current NBA prioritizes youth and athleticism over realized skill.
Coach K and Roy and JB and all the old guys retired because they saw this era coming. Now their predecessors are ALL dealing with this kind of transfer bonanza.
September 14th, 2023 at 2:19 PM ^
Peoples inability to understand how JB had it different than Juwan is really something. And also not understanding how football recruiting is different than basketball is even more astounding.
Post-NIL/Transfer Portal recruiting in college hoops is a constant process of keeping guys you already recruited and signed, recruiting guys you lost out on who might be transferring, and recruiting guys who are transferring. On top of just recruiting HS kids, which is hard enough.
One transfer in football usually doesn't mean much outside of QB. And if the QB is transferring they're usually not a starter or it's because you had a coaching change. One transfer in hoops can mean your season is derailed, and missing out on guys in the portal means you're relying on freshman to play who aren't ready.
Is the Michigan fanbase really so dumb to think Juwan is in the same position as JB and Harbaugh in this? You can blame him, but it's been explained by Seth numerous times that the Michigan admissions and transfer credit process is basically a game of Russian Roulette except with more bullets in the chamber.
September 14th, 2023 at 6:42 PM ^
Well, he's writing "all of the sudden," so maybe this is a kid? When people have super-generic handles, it's sometimes a sign that they're trolls, anyway, or not up to much.
September 13th, 2023 at 6:21 PM ^
Over time the issues with admissions will cause the growth machine to cannibalize itself.
I'm not sure why this repeat issue continually goes unaddressed but it's getting ridiculous.
September 13th, 2023 at 6:44 PM ^
I get the hate towards Juwan but this is fucking ridiculous. I would be furious if i was Howard. If we cant clear admissions what coach would want to come here even if Juwan isnt the answer. If this was football related AA would burn down. Sad to see our basketball program (which BTW has had far more success than football in the past 20 years) falling apart and the administration doing nothing to fix it
September 13th, 2023 at 6:59 PM ^
The death sentence for any Michigan recruit.
September 13th, 2023 at 7:06 PM ^
Why would you think an international student would get into school in a couple of weeks? The visa alone will take more time than that.
September 13th, 2023 at 9:19 PM ^
Yeah, talk to an international student and you'll hear how this entire process can take some time. I presume they'll figure it all out but it's been something like 3 weeks since he committed; shit takes some time.
September 14th, 2023 at 8:48 AM ^
Because people need to rabble rabble about something.
September 13th, 2023 at 7:39 PM ^
At some point it’s on Juwan to stop recruiting kids who can’t get in.
September 14th, 2023 at 1:48 PM ^
Despite the downvotes, I do agree with you that he (or his staff that connects with admissions) needs to start understanding admissions better. He seems to think throwing bodies towards admissions is going to get them to look up from their desks. It's not working so far.