R.J. Barrett Visit, and implications of FBI investigation into basketball elsewhere
EDIT: Since the visit is off per Sam Webb, which I completely missed, this entire post is irrelevant. Move along. Although, I think Beilein's reputation will certainly not hurt for any players considering Michigan.
Number 1 basketball player R.J. Barrett makes his official visit to Michigan this coming weekend. I don't think I have read a single report anywhere suggesting that he might actually end up at Michigan, even though he has them in his top 5 teams. What I'm curious about is whether the current (and widening) FBI investigation will have any impact on Barrett.
Beilein is well known for being a clean coach, with not a whiff of corruption. Is it possible, in light of a number of teams being charged with payouts to players, that this will help Michigan? There are at least 3 factors I can see:
- Michigan itself, and the coaching, facilities, and future. With Brazdeikis also being from Canada, with Stauskas encouraging Barrett, with Michigan having a good team, it could well be attractive on it's own merits.
- Beilein's reputation. Right now, given the uproar over payouts, could it be attractive to go to a school that has absolutely not a hint of corruptions and shenanigans? To play for a coach who is highly and universally revered?
- Looking at the other teams, you would think that Arizona is toast, given the investigation. Duke and Kentucky, while not currently charged, have always been at least a bit suspicious. Oregon? I dunno. But you might think that a player would want to avoid going to a school that could be drawn into this scandal.
I don't disagree with Brian that the whole enterprise stinks, and that basketball players should be paid in some way. This whole amateur student-athlete thing is a sham and a joke. Coaches, schools, the NCAA, agents, TV networks, are all gorged on the money. And it is because of the playersl who don't get a thing. Maybe the system will change. But right now, in the middle of everything that's going down, it certainly won't hurt Michigan.
Addendum: Man, am I glad that the events surrounding some of the Fab 5 and others are far in the rear view mirror. Glad to be well past that debacle.
September 27th, 2017 at 9:42 PM ^
September 27th, 2017 at 9:43 PM ^
September 27th, 2017 at 9:43 PM ^
September 27th, 2017 at 9:43 PM ^
September 27th, 2017 at 9:43 PM ^
September 27th, 2017 at 10:49 PM ^
September 27th, 2017 at 9:46 PM ^
It will help us finish number two.
September 27th, 2017 at 9:48 PM ^
I would be perfectly fine with Michigan never being involved with 5-stars. It is just not worth the trouble in basketball. Beilein wins fine without them.
September 27th, 2017 at 9:51 PM ^
September 27th, 2017 at 10:39 PM ^
September 27th, 2017 at 11:00 PM ^
September 28th, 2017 at 12:37 AM ^
September 28th, 2017 at 12:39 AM ^
September 28th, 2017 at 11:31 PM ^
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September 27th, 2017 at 9:52 PM ^
from Nik Stauskas, after Brazdekis committed: "Any chance we can get a two for one special? R.J. Barrett, I am pretty sure you would love Ann Arbor."
Gotta love Nik - and with or without Barrett, may be fun to bust out the flag for a few more years while Brazdekis is here...
September 27th, 2017 at 10:04 PM ^
September 27th, 2017 at 10:09 PM ^
I get the desire to pay players in basketball, but there are already other paying options out there for players good enough to earn a paycheck. Foreign leagues sometimes pay good money to players. Way more than colleges will ever pay. Emmanuel Mudiay got 1.2M to play for a year in China. Of course there are drawbacks to this and I'm not really condoning it, but I'm a bit surprised more high school star players don't do this.
September 27th, 2017 at 10:10 PM ^
Is arms open to all. I think the FBI needs to visit this program.
September 27th, 2017 at 10:15 PM ^
September 27th, 2017 at 10:46 PM ^
September 27th, 2017 at 10:48 PM ^
September 27th, 2017 at 10:15 PM ^
September 28th, 2017 at 6:50 AM ^
know the game, and pretty much all of them have their hands out. Any program that lands multiple 5 stars on a regular basis can be presumed to be dirty. No school's reputation alone is going to outweigh 100K in your pocket.
September 27th, 2017 at 10:47 PM ^
September 28th, 2017 at 12:40 AM ^
September 27th, 2017 at 10:59 PM ^
Why did he cancel the visit?
September 28th, 2017 at 12:37 AM ^
September 28th, 2017 at 9:12 AM ^