Voltron is Handsome

May 12th, 2014 at 2:15 PM ^

I'm happy for them and want them to succeed, but I'm going to miss those three guys.

SMJenkins3

May 12th, 2014 at 2:15 PM ^

I read McGary was invited but declined.  He said his back was better but still not 100% so he didn't want to go through testing etc.  

Tate

May 12th, 2014 at 2:20 PM ^

I heard McGary wasn't going to be participating and that Nik would be doing the testing but none of the position drills.

mGrowOld

May 12th, 2014 at 2:42 PM ^

Worst decision to smoke a joint?

 

A. Mitch McGary

B. Josh Gordon

The rules are ridiculous but man oh man did those guys ever cost themselves a LOT of money by partaking.

Ghost of BCook…

May 12th, 2014 at 3:16 PM ^

You can debate the LAW, but you can't debate a rule.  Rules are arbitrary by their very nature. 

I can't use my work computer to surf pornography sites.  If I did, I would be subject to immediate termination.  It's the rule, I value my job, so I follow it.  

You can be all about the benefits of legalizing pot and I wouldn't argue with you.  However, people are free to decide if they value whatever they gain by breaking a rule more than what they gain by obeying it. 

drewz05

May 12th, 2014 at 3:45 PM ^

I think the punishment is much more indefensible than the rule itself.  Yes, marijuana is against the law and I can understand the NCAA wanting to dissociate itself from its use.  However, when you suspend a player for a year for using a non-performance enhancing, non-harmful drug, but don't have similar serious penalties for almost any other legal issue (DUI, Larceny, etc.), it becomes a joke.

Ghost of BCook…

May 12th, 2014 at 3:56 PM ^

Using my previous example, I can be fired for doing something that is 100 percent legal (eg surfing porn). Punishments are at the discretion of whatever the overseeing entity, we may not like them, but they are a condition of our employment/scholarship. If we don't like it, we don't have to work for that organization or play in a league that has those procedures. It's a trade, to get "A" you give up "B". If you don't like that, nobody is forcing you into that organization. I could find a job with a porn friendly employer, or a basketball player could go to an overseas league where repercussions are less severe.

Sac Fly

May 12th, 2014 at 5:10 PM ^

It only becomes a joke when you create a straw man to prove your point.

Why would you expect the NCAA to individually police every school for criminal offenses? It's redundant, the schools can do that themselves. If minimum penalties for similar offenses are what this board is up in arms about, turn your attention to the schools enforcement instead.

Or better yet, instead of using every opportunity to whine about the big bad NCAA, admit McGary was wrong and move on already.

drewz05

May 12th, 2014 at 5:58 PM ^

I didn't say McGary shouldn't be punished, I don't condone what he did. He broke the rule and must suffer the consequences . My statement was to the point that the consequences for this action seem overly harsh when compared with other punishments issued by the NCAA.

ThadMattasagoblin

May 12th, 2014 at 8:16 PM ^

I don't think anybody thinks that what McGary did was bad but it should be a 3 game suspension max when you look at other punishments for the same crime. See Derrick Nix or the Honey Badger. Do you think a traffic ticket should lead to 5 years in prison for example? The punishment needs to fit the crime.

BlueTimesTwo

May 13th, 2014 at 4:03 PM ^

I am not seeing the straw man here.  There is a legitimate question as to why a crime like larceny, with a real, live victim is treated less severely than the victimles crime of smoking weed.

Of course someone can be upset about arbitrary rules with excessive penalties, especially when the enforcement of such a rule essentially forces an athlete to leave school rather than continue attending.  Even a half-season penalty keeps the possibility of return open, while a full-season penalty is far more likely to cause McGary and others like him to leave for the pros.  For an organization that claims to care about the athletes being "student-athletes," it is a stupid and draconian rule.

umumum

May 12th, 2014 at 5:53 PM ^

You could also get fired cuz you were spending too much time on MGOBLOG.  It's likely to be the fact that you aren't doing what you are paid to do as much as what you are looking at.  It is a job-based--not necessarily a moral--decision----and hence not arbitrary.  In contrast, while it was a rule, McGary's punishment was arbitrary and almost entirely unrelated to his "job" performance.

Ghost of BCook…

May 12th, 2014 at 7:52 PM ^

 Not at all job based or production based.  My employer has no issue with employees using news based, even sports based, websites.  If my director saw me on MGoBlog, there would be no issue, just like the many times I've had gamecast of a Tigers game running when my boss has come to my cube.  If I had porntube open, the response would be a ltitle different. 

Ghost of BCook…

May 12th, 2014 at 3:09 PM ^

I don't think Mitch cost himself a dime unless you believed he was going to come back next year had he not been suspended.  But all the things I've seen pointed to him leaving regardless...so no harm, no foul. 

In fact, the great "own-it" response probably helped his stock in the eyes of some....

Fab and Fresh

May 12th, 2014 at 3:58 PM ^

Simply not true. I recall hearing a presser in which he stated that they appealed the suspension (only one reason to do that). He also said that if the suspension would have been a few games he probably would have come back.

Not sure what you're reading or where you're getting the idea that he was leaving regardless.

Ghost of BCook…

May 12th, 2014 at 4:48 PM ^

Do you have any link or reference to him saying "if the suspension would have been a few games he probably would have come back?"  That would be news to me....

Most if not all of the quotes I've read from McGary are of the "Michigan's been amazing, I love Ann Arbor, I'll always be a Wolverine, but I'm ready for the next step" ilk. 

And appealing the suspension is just common sense if there is even a shred of possibility he'll come back.  Nothing is lost by the appeal regardless of what decision the NCAA or Mitch makes. 

 

 

Fab and Fresh

May 12th, 2014 at 5:48 PM ^

"If it had been a Michigan test, I would've been suspended three games and possibly thought about coming back," McGary said. "I don't have the greatest circumstances to leave right now [due to the injury]. I feel I'm ready, but this pushed it overboard."

Ok he doesn't say "probably" would have been back if it were a 3 game suspension. He used the term "possibly". My apologies. But nowhere in that excerpt does it indicate that he was "gone regardless" either. I just think that the appeal, coupled with this quote, makes for some decent "tea leaves" that he was on track to stay.

There is no right or wrong here I suppose. Just two different interpretations of the information available.

Fab and Fresh

May 12th, 2014 at 5:51 PM ^

While nothing is lost by appealing the NCAA decision, there certainly was a great deal to be gained. Sure, the appeal is no guarantee he was coming back. But it indicates that was not "gone regardless". I guess that's my main point.

Arlo Pear

May 12th, 2014 at 2:49 PM ^

I think it's a smarter move for Mitch to only do individual workouts for teams. It gives him more time to prepare and it's more controlled than the pre-draft combine. I also expect GRIII to come out of the combine as a draft riser. If you haven't seen his workout on Umhoops you should. If he can shoot that consistently in front of GM's, with his athleticism he will be difficult to pass up in the 1st round.

LSAClassOf2000

May 12th, 2014 at 2:52 PM ^

If I can find the link, I will post the comprehensive dates and times, but I remember reading that the Combine this year will rotate between ESPNU and ESPN2, with ESPNU taking on the first half of coverage on a given day and then handing it to ESPN2 around lunchtime. Those on the blog who intend to watch on Thursday and Friday might find themselves switching stations each time if they watch the whole event.