Jalen Rose tells all - recruiting

Submitted by DennisFithian on
http://www.freep.com/story/sports/college/university-michigan/wolverine…
"I want to paint a picture," Rose said. "What you see at a bachelor or bachelorette party is what happens on a recruiting visit."


And if you're not familiar with such parties? "Yes, there is drinking," Rose said. "Yes, there is members of the opposite sex that are present. Remember, they're trying to woo me to the campus.


"And as a 17-year-old kid, first off, if I'm not getting laid, I'm not coming. I'm not signing. I'm not coming."

TheLastHarbaugh

October 22nd, 2015 at 9:10 AM ^

When I was 16-17, having a bonfire on the beach, getting drunk off some alcohol somebody's older sibling bought us and hooking up with girls was the pinnacle of existence. Hell, it still is, except the women are a lot older, the booze is legally purchased and the bonfires are much more well organized in advance.

somewittyname

October 22nd, 2015 at 11:20 AM ^

I am always glad he represents our University. John Beilein runs a clean program and never would have recruited Jalen, or certainly Jalen would have never come here, and as much as I love Beilein, he recruits the easy kids. He doesn't recruit the kids that grew up bouncing around crackhouses in the ghetto and try to turn their lives around.

I fault Jalen and a lesser degree DCDS Webber 0% for taking advantages of their position as 17 year olds. The fact that Webber could never own up to anything is what differentiates my opinion on them now. Jalen has stood by the university when it didn't stand by him.

If you want to blame someone, blame Ed Martin, blame Steve Fisher, blame the NCAA, blame the NBA, but don't blame the kid.

M-Dog

October 22nd, 2015 at 9:12 AM ^

Yes, I know.  I saw some of those guys hanging around back then and they looked like bad news.  Fisher probably cleaned some of that up when he came on, but he was still too willing to look the other way.  

When the Fab 5 were recruited, I'm sure there was still some heavy '80s influence going on.

The '89 Championship team players are our golden heros while the Fab Five are outcasts.  But I would not want to take too close a microscope to the '89 team.  You would not likely see much difference.

Mr Miggle

October 22nd, 2015 at 9:23 AM ^

the Fab 5 as outcasts. I think that's very far from the truth within our fanbase. Webber is a controversial figure to be sure. He's not the Fab 5. We criticize Jalen only when he says something we don't like. The rest of the time we love him, just like Howard, King and Jackson.

 

CRISPed in the DIAG

October 22nd, 2015 at 9:36 AM ^

Mid-late 80's.....There were football players a few of us probaly met from that era who weren't exactly boy scouts.  But MBB might have been another category.  I had a friend who dabbled in *retail* and claimed there was "too much business" on the Frieder basketball teams for him to operate safely in AA.    

True Blue Grit

October 22nd, 2015 at 11:19 AM ^

so I'd guess it was same old-same old when he took over in '89.  The same sleazy, hangers-on were still hovering around the program.  Looking the other way was institutionalized at that point.  What makes the Louisville situation different is a coach was (allegedly) directly involved in the process instead of just the shady satellite people with no official connection to the program. 

jmblue

October 22nd, 2015 at 9:42 AM ^

I think this is mostly a separate issue from Ed Martin, bagmen and whatnot.

It's pretty common for athletes to go to parties on recruiting visits.  That's not just a basketball thing.  I read recently that this even is commonplace at BYU of all places (even though the hosting athletes are risking serious violations of the school's honor code).  

Rabbit21

October 22nd, 2015 at 9:49 AM ^

Mormon teenagers and young adults are still teenagers and young adults.  This kind of thing is certainly muted there, but it still goes on.  Hell, the wildest kids at my high school were "Jack" mormons and a couple of them somehow still made it past the wickets to get into BYU.

 

Hail Harbo

October 22nd, 2015 at 10:57 AM ^

Separate from "Bagmen", no, I don't think so.  It is part and parcel with bagmen.  The money to provide after hours amenities comes from somewhere.  Unless the university is providing funds for the champagne and campaign, to include date nights, then it is quite likely bagmen are responsible for the funding.  Yes, even at Michigan, as Rose so ineloquently tried not to say.

That isn't to say it still goes on.  Devin Gardner suggests that he missed out on all the extras and extra-curricular activities by taking only one official visit.  That visit being to Michigan.

jmblue

October 22nd, 2015 at 11:32 AM ^

Certainly the bagmen can try to "enhance the experience" by providing some extra cash.  But on a college campus on a Saturday night, recruits don't necessarily need a FBI-wanted numbers runner to get free drinks and the attention of girls.

 

atticusb

October 22nd, 2015 at 8:46 AM ^

Wow.... ummm... I guess good that Michigan was able to hang with the big boys and compete on the good time scale???  In any case, what do we take away from this for Michigan today?  Is this why we don't get the one-and-dones, because Beilein doesn't play these games?  Or do we try to play this game and lose?  Is this what really is necessary today in basketball?  If it is, do we *want* to play like that?  ...also, just wondering, anybody know if there's a statute of limitation on NCAA investigation of past... indiscretion?

M-Dog

October 22nd, 2015 at 8:53 AM ^

I think that is true.  Beilein does not play these games, and in some cases it hurts him (because if you have not been paying attention, there are many major programs that still do).

I would not worry about the NCAA investigating rumors and innuendos from 20 years ago, they have much worse going on right now under their noses and they will still ignore it.

 

ak47

October 22nd, 2015 at 9:08 AM ^

If you think that basektball recruits aren't going to parties and getting drunk because Beilein is the coach I don't know what to tell you.  We may not have boosters offering bags of cash for every win but we don't follow every single rule in the book either.

TheLastHarbaugh

October 22nd, 2015 at 8:52 AM ^

Did anyone honestly believe things to be different?

No one remembers the block party for Terrelle Pryor--err, I mean, spontaneous block party in celebration of Michigan football that just so happened to coincide with his visit and if he happened to be shepherded there, cool?

CorkyCole

October 22nd, 2015 at 10:17 AM ^

I'm saying this with a complete lack of judgment as I've learned that my mistakes are just as poorly made as anyone else's, so I hope that comes across here.... ... That being said, "And I still turned out OK" does not condone an action. For one, some people don't turn out OK. For two, if things like this are always swept under the rug, it leaves opportunities out there like the Louisville situation. I absolutely despise this side of high-end collegiate sports.

M-Dog

October 22nd, 2015 at 10:21 AM ^

We all have our different standards I suppose.  I don't get all bent out of shape about the drinking and sex stuff for athletes because it's what the "regular" students also do, and have done for 100 years.

Where I do get on my moral high horse is that I want these atheletes to actually be going to school when they go to school.  I hate the idea of universities brining in hired guns for a year or two with no connection to the school.

What happens at Kentucky, what happens with guys like Cardale Jones, Adolphus Washington, and Andy Katzenmoyer at Ohio State, appalls me.  That's when I get all preachy.

I'd rather have the athletes participate in parties with students that have booze and sex because they are students too, than have them have no connection to the university at all because they are just passing through on a fake "scholarship".