February 12th, 2020 at 11:29 PM ^
Isn't he technically an agent these days? Although obviously he's still a behind the scenes fixer as he's been forever. He still working with The Family too? I'm out of date on hoops recruiting.
February 12th, 2020 at 11:30 PM ^
World Wide Wes sitting courtside>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>having Pitbull on the banner
February 12th, 2020 at 11:31 PM ^
Not to mention his former team mate Dikembe Mutumbo was also there to support Juwan... Guy seems to be connected to everyone
February 12th, 2020 at 11:43 PM ^
In Cookie Monster voice: “WHO WILL SEX MUTOMBO TONIGHT?”
February 13th, 2020 at 12:15 AM ^
Ryan Mutombo 6’11” C. 3*. 91.7 class of 21
February 13th, 2020 at 8:08 AM ^
I'd take Mutumbo the Younger in a heartbeat, but it should be pointed out that "Ryan Mutumbo" sounds like his dad was struggling to come up with fake name and failing miserably.
February 13th, 2020 at 8:32 AM ^
I think it sounds good. Rolls off the tongue well
February 13th, 2020 at 8:38 AM ^
Are you old enough to remember Ernest Nzigamasabo? Played for Minnesota back in the early 90s. I remember watching a game once and the announcers kept referring to him by his last name. He went to the free throw line, his name popped up on the screen and both me and my dad were like, "Ernest!?!"
February 13th, 2020 at 9:39 AM ^
I heard there's a really underground up-and-coming shooting guard prospect - Joey Joe Joe Junior Shabadoo.
February 12th, 2020 at 11:48 PM ^
Juwan’s reach is undeniable, even to a basic basketball enthusiast...so 28.68% of MGOBLOG...
February 12th, 2020 at 11:50 PM ^
World wide Wes is good for recruiting. He’s also one of the dirtiest guys out there in terms of getting players paid. Which I’m fine with, just hope the sanctimonious shit about Michigan being above all that on this board goes away
February 13th, 2020 at 12:03 AM ^
Not saying that we for sure aren't dishing out any cash to kids with Juwan, but to think it's a joke that Michigan tries to run their program clean can only conclude with the theory that you must indeed be living under rocks. I only say that because to refer to that thought as "sanctimonious shit" is painting a picture that it was a lie to start with, which under Beilein it was most certainly not happening. And the AD has gone public on multiple occasions about not reverting to that culture. I can confidently theorize that Michigan is no Kentucky or Duke even now.
February 13th, 2020 at 1:16 AM ^
There are some posters on this board who will happily trade integrity for the illusion of unearned, unwarranted victory.
I fully support changing the rules. I do not support breaking them.
February 13th, 2020 at 6:26 AM ^
You don't support breaking or ignoring idiotic, amoral/immoral, unethical rules?
I've gotta disagree.
Following those bad rules don't make the individual a person of integrity. If anything, it makes someone a shill.
---
I mean...it's not like the power to be are going to readily allow someone to change the system of exploitation they've worked hard to build over many decades.
Change comes slowly.
February 13th, 2020 at 6:38 AM ^
I don't disagree that some rules may be on the "idiotic, amoral/immoral, unethical" side of things. But they are rules about fair play, and when you sign on to play or coach college ball, you sign on to those rules. Work your ass off to change them - which is not happening one little bit. People - players, coaches, staff, people - should be working their ass off to change them. Seriously, why is nobody doing this?
But you cannot arbitrarily break fair play rules because you think they're dumb. A lot of people do, and we bitch about them daily here...
February 13th, 2020 at 8:52 AM ^
Hello Frank.... I work for the IRS... expect to hear from us shortly.
February 13th, 2020 at 5:37 AM ^
Agree. Say what you want about chasing one and dones and associating with AAU power brokers and shoe companies but that’s how it works in hoops. Calipari and UK were genius and way ahead of the curve. UM is clearly aspiring to go same route. Kudos for finally figuring it out
February 13th, 2020 at 6:45 AM ^
Not sure I agree with this. I don't really care, either way, so not trying to start an argument about it. But Juwan didn't say anything about those guys until he was asked about it by the reporter. The reporter said 'hey, those guys are here to support you, what do you think about that?', and Juwan answered.
Those guys, WWW and Dikembe Mutumbo, are personal friends of Juwan's, and have been for a long friggen time. I don't think its fair to conflate that with support for cheating on the 'crootin trail. Yeah, name recognition helps, but I'll not draw a conclusion from decades long personal friends showing up at a game in the city they live in to show support for a personal friend.
February 13th, 2020 at 8:32 AM ^
ak47 troll along. We know who you are.
February 13th, 2020 at 12:24 PM ^
Nah Ak47 is not Maizen...he’s legit and has been posting here a while. Worldwide Wes is a Nike/Jordan brand power broker. It doesn’t hurt to have him around when it comes to recruiting.
February 19th, 2020 at 4:50 PM ^
Stop calling people trolls.
February 13th, 2020 at 1:03 AM ^
He’s a huge influence for AAU elite kids. Not a good look though tbh. Especially with a bunch of 5 stars committing this year. Either way, I’m okay with whatever in case anybody was asking.
February 13th, 2020 at 5:03 AM ^
He has his hand in a little of everything, but has never been associated with any company or agency, and as far as I know has never been accused of anything, let alone convicted or prosecuted. He knows any and everyone that needs to be known in entertainment and basketball.
February 13th, 2020 at 11:10 AM ^
All I was saying is that his past is mired in controversy and perception is 90% of reality. So, it could look bad to many people, especially in light of a monster class - which is a departure from the pattern recently. Now, that could have many confounding variables and probably has a lot to do with Juwan being the HC now.
I'm personally thrilled that Juwan and Wes are friends as it can only mean good things for UM basketball.
February 13th, 2020 at 9:29 AM ^
So is he supposed to say something derogatory about WWW or ignore the question? Howard did the right thing.
February 13th, 2020 at 5:33 AM ^
I remember the vitriol on this board for Coach Cal and UK because of Wes’s presence with them. What say you now?
February 13th, 2020 at 6:29 AM ^
Yep. Wes is/was a (power) broker. He funneled kids to select coaches on behalf of Nike for many years.
I highly recommend reading a book called Sole Influence by Dan Wetzel. It was published in 2000 and is even more relevant now.
Shoe companies basically treated HS/AAU stars as real call options (finance term). It's smart business longterm but exploitative.
February 13th, 2020 at 9:53 AM ^
Why would you consider it exploitative? How are the kids being treated unfairly, or being used for that matter?
February 13th, 2020 at 3:15 PM ^
Yeah I don’t see how adults with ulterior motives manipulating adolescents with regard to major life decisions could ever end up being exploitative.
One of the things thats actually more problematic than the payment issue in itself is that you are putting 14-16 year old kids in a position where adults are using them for commercial purposes. The shoe company, the agent, the power broker, they dont give two shits about the kids either. They do see them as income sources.
Sure, so do the colleges quite often, but at least at that point the kids have reached the age of majority. And fwiw they are peddling something that when used properly is worth more in the long run than free sneakers, bling and envelopes with a couple hundred bucks in em.
February 13th, 2020 at 8:35 AM ^
Gross. WWW is everything that is wrong with college basketball. Keep him the hell away from our program!
February 13th, 2020 at 8:44 AM ^
I've never met Wes and certainly don't know him, but from everything I've heard and read, he's one of the good guys. He actually cares about players as people.
I have met plenty of bad guys in basketball. And plenty of guys in between, those guys who don't necessarily try to exploit the kids but don't really care about them as people outside of basketball, post-injury, whatever. Or maybe they care, but they don't take the time to work with the kids on real life stuff except maybe during recruiting. Anyway, in my opinion, I think Wes is neither in the bad nor in the in-between category. Seems to me that he really is one of the good ones.
February 13th, 2020 at 8:53 AM ^
Does sean miller have WWWes in his contacts on his phone? if so, I agree he should be kept away from the program..... yet, I'll defer to Juwan. Until proven wrong, I am going to give him the benefit of the doubt.
February 13th, 2020 at 8:54 AM ^
Man. The Dynamics of what institutions think they are..... and what they really are.
February 13th, 2020 at 9:31 AM ^
Delusion. The primary driver of the 21st century.
February 13th, 2020 at 7:50 PM ^
And thank god. It's about time we realized that to get ahead in the world, to get a strong lasting bond with players, coaches, and fans, you need to be ride or die.
Go brag about how you stay true to every letter of the law somewhere else. It doesn't make you better than anyone. Most rules and laws were made to uphold existing structures and the existing structure sucks. These NCAA policies have no moral basis, and following rules doesn't automatically make you right, it makes you a follower.
February 13th, 2020 at 12:01 PM ^
Shoutout to WorldWide Wes...everywhere we go we leave a worldwide mess
February 13th, 2020 at 12:10 PM ^
I'm not okay with having WWW hanging around. The guy is well known to be dirty. If he were sitting on the sideline of another Big Ten team, we'd be having a fit. I thought we were thrilled Beilein did it the right way. Do you think Beilein would have him sitting there? No, and Beilein had plenty of success. I'm not for bagmen, and I'll never be happy with them around the program. Obviously, some of us did not learn our lesson.
February 13th, 2020 at 12:27 PM ^
If WWWes is around semi regularly, your team is cheating, period.
February 13th, 2020 at 7:45 PM ^
Luckily, 1 time is not semi regularly.
Also, do people not remember that Jalen Rose said he coined World Wide Wes' nickname? These guys obviously all go way back.
Why do Michigan fans insist on knocking our own team all the time?
No wonder we lose recruiting battles. You're all snitches and snakes.
February 14th, 2020 at 12:12 AM ^
WWW was at UM games when Beilein was the coach too.
February 13th, 2020 at 12:28 PM ^
But the Beilein way isn’t the only way! If Wes is Juwan’s friend, what’s wrong with him sitting courtside at a game? You’re jumping the gun a bit here. Nobody said Wes was passing out duffle bags of cash last night.
February 13th, 2020 at 12:51 PM ^
Interesting takes by quite a few in this thread.
Unless it was a show, Juwan referenced World Wide Wes as being like an Uncle just after referencing Dikembe Mutumbo as being like a brother. Based on this, I wouldn't read too much into it.
For those who apparently are now assuming Michigan is cheating, please consider:
- Juwan was never implicated in the initial illegal pay issues at Michigan, even though, of all of the Fab Five, he probably needed the money the most.
- Juwan has not been involved in college basketball since he left Michigan.
- Juwan has been involved in high school and AAU basketball because his sons play.
- From all accounts, Juwan is a role model and solid citizen.
- Juwan has met and knows a lot of people thanks to his chosen field.
For every theory as to why WWW was at the game, it could simply be that he and Juwan are friends. Juwan may not agree with everything he does or has done. In the past, what WWW did probably mattered little to Juwan as it did not apply as much in the NBA where his attention was focused.
I could make just as plausible, and ridiculous claim, that Juwan is using his relationship with WWW to help identify the recruits he has a legit chance of recruiting without breaking the rules which would save him time and investment. A quick call to your friend to ask, is this guy making his choice only on bag or do I have a chance to get him to Michigan is not dumb even if you don't like all of the aspects of the person you have to ask.