OT: ESPN Article on Duke Handling of Eligibility Concerns
It sickens me to see how many coaches are this dishonest and straight up liars and how devious our higher education governing bodies are. I can't believe that as fans our allegiance to a particular school even matters when it comes demanding honorable behavior.
On a more sarcastic note, I'm amazed at how thorough these investigations are and how seriously each and every coach is taking these allegations.
"Krzyzewski laid out in considerable detail how Duke University handled Carter's clearance to play on Saturday, even while other schools chose to hold out other players named in the FBI documents. He said he was out walking his dog, Blue, when he received an anxious phone call from the player's mother, Kylia Carter. She recalled a dinner with an agent, as listed in the report, whom she described as "a friend of a friend" but told Krzyzewski that her husband immediately didn't like the dinner company and left, while she stayed behind to be polite. But she also left before any food was ordered.
With that information in hand, Krzyzewski and Carter's parents met with Duke's NCAA compliance officials and then held a conference call to share the same details with NCAA compliance officers. Both the university and the governing body agreed that there was no reason for Wendell Jr. to miss Saturday's game."
February 25th, 2018 at 11:08 AM ^
the mother's explanation, if true, is enough to keep him from getting suspended. If an investigation uncovers it's false, coach K knows they can also find enough other dirt to nuke the season. It's either nothing to lose or nothing more to lose.
February 25th, 2018 at 11:16 AM ^
February 25th, 2018 at 12:03 PM ^
but by itself it's not incriminating.
It's easy to give an innocent explanation for most of it. The "friend" was a coach or parent of a teammate. Of course, you don't want the name made public. The reason for the meeting would be to get advice about going through the recruiting process as Dawkins had helped others. You had no idea he worked for an agent. The father walked out when he learned that. Staying after he left, but leaving before the food arrived? That's tougher to explain.
I'll allow for the possibility that Carter and family are honest, unlike Coach K..
February 25th, 2018 at 12:28 PM ^
Read carefully what the Mom is stating.....
She only states that Hubby left early because he did not like the company and that she stayed for a little bit "to be polite" but left before the food arrived.....
Well, what in the hell does the food have anything to do with the converstation they had.....?
The mother's statement is very true, she is not lying, BUT it is what she is NOT saying that is speaking volumes.
As a poster noted above, I could very much see the scenario where both Mom and Dad arrived, Dad did not like the offer and stormed out (Whether planned or not does not matter), but Mom hung around to close the deal. She did not stay for dinner cause she A) Could care less for the company, just wanted the paycheck; or B) Didn't want to stay cause Dad left; or C) a multitude of other reasons.
The point being is that Mom's statement is most likely very true, but does NOT address the point of WHY they were meeting for dinner and what was the conversation....
So Mom cannot get pinged for lying case she gets dragged in for questioning and is betting on no follow up questions as to why they were meeting for dinner and what were they talking about at dinner......
February 25th, 2018 at 12:55 PM ^
also possible that dad left as soon as he found out who Dawkins was. He wanted nothing to do with an agent. Mom stayed around out of respect for the friend that set up the meeting. She left as soon as it was clear he was trying to recruit them as clients. They were both just expecting advice on handling the recruiting process.
I'm not saying that's the truth, but it is one somewhat plausible explanation she could give.
February 25th, 2018 at 1:30 PM ^
One would think that - assuming his parents have a stable relationship - that the father would want the mother to leave with him, rather than stay at the table with a man the father apparently despises.
OTOH, he is a "friend of a friend" so I guess it's strange that the father would have such an intensely negative reaction in the first place? He must have never asked their mutual friend what this man did for a living?
February 25th, 2018 at 10:25 PM ^
Both scenarios are plausible. This is what this shady business is able to work this way and unfortunately not much will come from it unless there is further evidence / documentation.
February 25th, 2018 at 12:28 PM ^
February 25th, 2018 at 9:27 AM ^
Coach K just reassured everyone that nothing was improper.
Case closed.
February 25th, 2018 at 9:41 AM ^
February 25th, 2018 at 9:57 AM ^
February 25th, 2018 at 9:44 AM ^
I think what we're seeing with many of the longstanding "blue blood" programs is they've passed the "he does things the right way" phase and are in the "act like it's no big deal and accept any explanation that passes the smell test with my toady fans" phase.
They'll keep the "outright denial, this is a witch hunt" phase in their back pocket if things really blow up. Like at Michigan State.
If it doesn't blow up, they'll swing back into the mythical "he does things the right way" when everyone's memories are too dull to call BS.
Dirty sport with big name coaches presiding over dirty well oiled systems of player procurement. All protected by a fire wall of sports addicted fans.
February 25th, 2018 at 10:00 AM ^
February 25th, 2018 at 12:07 PM ^
I heard him yesterday. lol. Coaches are never accountable in his world.
That's why you know things are bad at Michigan State. When a few weeks ago during a game in EL, he didn't jump to Izzo's defense and then called for a "full investigation".
When Vitale won't go to bat for you as a coach no evidence needed, you are in uncharted territory of corruption.
February 25th, 2018 at 4:27 PM ^
i mentioned this in another thread, but during the game yesterday he did talk about the shoe companies, agents and sleazy recruiting and how things have to change.
then about a half hour later he is cheering Duke's incoming class: #1, #2, #3 and another top 10 ranked recruit, as if no agents or shoe companies had no interest and made no overtures to those guys.
it's laughable.
February 25th, 2018 at 4:48 PM ^
Master-level mental compartmentalization, or he just doesn't remember what he said half an hour ago?
February 25th, 2018 at 9:52 AM ^
February 25th, 2018 at 1:53 PM ^
To the NCAA, smoking pot while stretching = death penalty.
February 25th, 2018 at 9:51 AM ^
February 25th, 2018 at 9:54 AM ^
February 25th, 2018 at 10:01 AM ^
February 25th, 2018 at 10:08 AM ^
Signed,
Sparty
February 25th, 2018 at 10:55 AM ^
February 25th, 2018 at 10:28 AM ^
Nice little story...wonder how long it took them to come up with it
February 25th, 2018 at 10:28 AM ^
February 25th, 2018 at 10:59 AM ^
February 25th, 2018 at 11:25 AM ^
February 25th, 2018 at 1:08 PM ^
February 25th, 2018 at 10:46 AM ^
a lot of the documents seem to indicate "loans" or "advances."
Could these companies/people/bagmen set up backended repayment plans so that the kids or families would have to repay the loan much later? Wouldn't this be somewhat similar to them taking out a private student loan?
February 25th, 2018 at 10:55 AM ^
February 25th, 2018 at 10:51 AM ^
February 25th, 2018 at 10:57 AM ^
February 25th, 2018 at 11:38 AM ^
February 25th, 2018 at 12:42 PM ^
But, wait.....My dog is named "Blue". Does that alone make me a compulsive liar, or would I have to take him for a walk? I kid.
Being a parent, my lie-o-meter does go up as more detail comes from the childs mouth....so, I suspect you are onto something here.
February 25th, 2018 at 10:51 AM ^
We Know Coach K is a player in this for a very long time. Ask Boozer.
February 25th, 2018 at 11:10 AM ^
February 25th, 2018 at 11:45 AM ^
IIRC, Carlos Boozer had a relationship with his AAU coach that was basically the same as Jamal Crawford's with his benefactor, but somehow this was ruled to be on the up and up.
There were some other guys (Corey Maggette was one) around that time who had dealings with agents as well but again, somehow Duke explained it away.
February 25th, 2018 at 11:43 AM ^
Meanwhile, off the court, after leaving Duke in 2000, one-and-done star Corey Maggette admitted to accepting thousands of dollars from summer-league coach Myron Piggie. The NCAA not only didn’t strip Duke of its Final Four appearance despite the freshman’s presumed ineligibility as a result, they didn’t punish the university in any way. In 2003, point guard Chris Duhon’s mother was revealed to have been given a job working for a Duke booster that was never posted and for which she was unqualified and overpaid, and star forward Carlos Boozer’s father earned a job at a company run by close friend of Coach K only to be laid off just six months after his son left the university for the NBA in 2002. The league’s response? Silence.
February 25th, 2018 at 1:06 PM ^
Myron Piggie? Thats amazing
February 25th, 2018 at 4:50 PM ^
February 25th, 2018 at 11:02 AM ^
February 25th, 2018 at 11:04 AM ^
cheats
February 25th, 2018 at 11:12 AM ^
I am glad to see some of the programs named in these reports as potentially going down for paying these players. MSU, Duke, Kentucky, UNC, Kansas.... Fuck them
However I don’t look down upon those programs as being sleazy. We did the exact same thing. We just got caught 20 years before everybody else. It has put us on an unlevel playing field for the last 20 years.
I think we should take pride in what we have accomplished under Beilein considering the circumstances. Big ten championships and a runner up in the national championship are remarkable accomplishments in hindsight considering what we were up against.
February 25th, 2018 at 11:13 AM ^
February 25th, 2018 at 12:21 PM ^
His mommy says he's clean.
So it's gotta be true.
Nothing to see here.
February 25th, 2018 at 1:06 PM ^
February 25th, 2018 at 1:06 PM ^
I HATE DUKE , Id bet they have cheated somehwere along the line ,Way too many top end recruits that have to get accepted into the Duke school,not to have some rule bending going on.
No way on earth all their recruits have had the grades for Duke
February 25th, 2018 at 2:26 PM ^