Joe Burton Suspended

[agibson]

Hasn't the semester started?  Have we had dialogues with such possible players?  They don't grow on trees.

Classes start tomorrow. You could probably enroll within the first week or so without too much pain.

[bigmosmithfan1]

I can't imagine how that would work mid-season. I'd think it'd almost have to be a kid sitting out somewhere - but is still eligible - or a juco (unless you could find a quality D-2 or D-3 guy looking to make a move up for their final season, a la Max Strus, who transferred to DePaul from Lewis for his final year and is competing well in the Big East).

[Just Sayin]

Look, without speculating on this individual situation, all I know is that many more academically prestigious schools than Valpo manage to keep all their guys eligible, even on the players who are considered "chances." So yes, given how critical Joe was seen to this year's team and that this issue was not unknown, anything short of an all-hands-on-deck effort to keep him above water academically falls at least partially on the program/university. That's just reality if we want to be competitive in this sport.

I'm sure the staff did all that they could. Ultimately it is Joe Burton's responsibility, and his alone to succeed academically. Perhaps he just wasn't cut out to be a student at a university.

[bbtds]

Enough is enough!!  He is gone! Let's move on!

Maybe we should start a new thread about filling the now available scholarship and this thread about "you-know-who" getting himself suspended academically, leaving school and returning to Texas, could be closed.

[VU2014]

https://twitter.com/NWIOren/status/951252065984110593

NWIU NOTES: Burton's exit brings back memories of former Valparaiso washout Tony Falu
By Paul Oren Times Correspondent 8 min ago

http://www.nwitimes.com/sports/basketball/college/nwiu-notes-burton-s-exit-brings-back-memories-of-former/article_f9241807-b7eb-5748-aa54-662729bc4d24.html

[valpo84]

Agree with Paul that there are some similarities between Tony and Joe.  Tony, however, had not spent a year at Valpo and been part of the team in practices.  That may be part of the reason for the let down (plus Tevonn's mono).  Falu was perceived to be a high risk recruit coming in.  We had not heard that Joe had had many issues and that he was a similar transfer to others we have had over time, like Bakari.  Talent-wise, Falu could fill it up.  The Arizona and Kansas games that year were both possible upsets because of Falu, and that team would have been dangerous in March had he been on it and his mind straight. There were some high risk recruits during that early 2000 era as Scott was a primary recruiter and scouring the globe for talent (Jimmy Miles and Oumar Sylla come to mind as well as the Puerto Rican recruits with the one assistant (name escapes me although I can picture him) -- Nieves, Falu, Ali). Falu had more of Rob Harden in him

http://m.kusports.com/news/2010/nov/15/valpo-coach-drew-fond-fieldhouse/

http://valpofans.proboards.com/thread/419

[usc4valpo]

I will never forget the collapse of that sad 1983-1984 season with Rob Harden. He never attended classes and thought he was the savior to Valpo basketball, and unfortunately the coaching staff felt the same. Let's just say it was fortuitous that Homer Drew became head coach.

[bigmosmithfan1]

That season was such a waste. That really could have been the team that started to flip the script, as we had a lot of promising talent on that team along with Harden (John Meyne, Rick Pickren, Tony Asberry). That was the team that blew out a pretty good Bradley squad and was coming off a road win at Cleveland State when Rob decided to throw some f-bombs at the coaching staff during a frustrating home loss to Eastern Kentucky. Coach Smith suspended Harden after the game and the team unraveled pretty quickly (if I recall, we had another key player get hurt and miss the rest of the season a few games later and and Pickren left VU at the end of the semester).

That was the last year at Hilltop Gym, and with the ARC under construction, Smith was finding it easier to compete for good recruits. It felt like we were going to open the new arena with a lot of momentum.

(One angle related to this year's team: that was the last time we played Samford prior to this year. We lost by six in the holiday tourney at UAB).

[Just Sayin]

Faluee!

[usc4valpo]

I was a 12984 graduate, and I was at the last game at Hilltop in a win against a weak Butler team, and I thought Smith wanted to duke it out with Butler coach Joe Sexson, the refs  and some of the Butler fans. That was an eerie game - the start of spring break, one dollar admission for fan appreciation day, no band and a lot of Valpo locals who probably bought season tickets because Harden. Smith was one interesting cat of a coach. That was a really pathetic, underachieving season.

[Just Sayin]

https://twitter.com/NWIOren/status/951252065984110593

NWIU NOTES: Burton's exit brings back memories of former Valparaiso washout Tony Falu
By Paul Oren Times Correspondent 8 min ago

http://www.nwitimes.com/sports/basketball/college/nwiu-notes-burton-s-exit-brings-back-memories-of-former/article_f9241807-b7eb-5748-aa54-662729bc4d24.html

Falu after Valpo:

http://stmarytx_ftp.sidearmsports.com/custompages/stats/mbball/2002-03/teamhigh.htm

[covufan]

Did we just fill one of the open spots?

https://twitter.com/jbuckets25/status/996105425136312321?s=21


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[VUBBFan]

Did we just fill one of the open spots? https://twitter.com/jbuckets25/status/996105425136312321?s=21 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I seriously doubt it, but verbal commits still lists him as an active scholarship while Parker and Marty are dropped.

[78crusader]

I wouldn't take this guy back. He let down his teammates, the coaches, and the University, all of whom were counting on him. He had his chance here and he failed to take advantage.

Paul

[justducky]

I wouldn't take this guy back. He let down his teammates, the coaches, and the University, all of whom were counting on him. He had his chance here and he failed to take advantage.

Paul

I don't completely agree with your conclusion but I am glad someone stepped forward to say what you did. He was a slight disappointment as a player, a big disappointment to the team, and a bust as a student. Still, if his grade issues were corrected a spot on the bench for him would be hard to deny.

[vu72]

I wouldn't take this guy back. He let down his teammates, the coaches, and the University, all of whom were counting on him. He had his chance here and he failed to take advantage.

Paul

I don't completely agree with your conclusion but I am glad someone stepped forward to say what you did. He was a slight disappointment as a player, a big disappointment to the team, and a bust as a student. Still, if his grade issues were corrected a spot on the bench for him would be hard to deny.

[/b]

Now that is funny!  Look, we don't know what Joe's academic issues were nor do we understand whether or not he has a learning disability.  We should know that being a D1 athlete, which combines the same academic issues that all students at Valpo have with a difficult training and travel schedule, can be very challenging.  No doubt it was just as disappointing to Joe as it was to his teammates and us fans, some of which take pot shots without full knowledge of the issues at hand.

[usc4valpo]

Even at Valpo, scholarship athletes are majoring in fairly low workload majors. However, I do think its great Valpo still has concerns about academic integrity with their athletes, unlike many Division 1 schools.

[valpopal]

I'm not sure what to make of Burton's post, but if he were to return to Valparaiso, he would have an opportunity to turn a sour situation into one of redemption and reward. A successful comeback, on the court and in the classroom, would be welcomed by fans and serve to supply a compelling story for sportswriters. Done correctly, this could reflect well not only on Joe but also on the university for upholding academic standards yet at the same time offering a second chance with adequate guidance and academic advising eventually leading to a positive outcome. At least, that is the "glass half-full" version.

[crusader05]

I think it's important to remember we don't know what happened specifically. It could have been he struggled in general and had little room for error and so one class tanked him. It could be he was ineligible by .1 of a GPA point. It could be that he has changed his major  or had other issues with his semester of courses. It could also be that he was lazy, didn't work hard enough and let his team and himself down. BUT if he has shown remorse, improved work ethic and sufficient dedication I operate under the belief that we should provide him with a continued opportunity to both play again AND receive a degree from Valparaiso University. At the end of the day, struggling with classes is not the worst sin a college basketball player has committed and seems less worthy of cutting a guy loose than say, assault.

[elephtheria47]

A young man is still trying to better his life,  long after a lot of people would have stopped. We've all made mistakes when we were young (and still while im old!). Sure, he's a public face for the university and there's a higher standard to be upheld. I trust the coaching staff had these conversations with him, if he is coming back to valpo, and who are in a better situation to know what exactly happened. In any event, congrats to joe if he is still pursuing his college diploma.

(Off topic a bit, wouldn't he hurt our apr since he disqualified? By him returning to school, beyond other obvious benefits to him, wouldn't that help our apr too?)

[vu72]

Even at Valpo, scholarship athletes are majoring in fairly low workload majors. However, I do think its great Valpo still has concerns about academic integrity with their athletes, unlike many Division 1 schools.

Perhaps, but a quick look at last years roster shows the following majors:  1 Mechanical Engineering, 3 International Business, 1 Marketing with a Computer Science Minor, 1 Computer Science, 2 Sports Management, 2 Communication with a Business Minor, 1 Business Management,  1 Exercise Science and 1 Undecided.

Not a single Basket Weaving or anything prevalent among North Carolina basketball players.

[wh]

A young man is still trying to better his life,  long after a lot of people would have stopped. We've all made mistakes when we were young (and still while im old!). Sure, he's a public face for the university and there's a higher standard to be upheld. I trust the coaching staff had these conversations with him, if he is coming back to valpo, and who are in a better situation to know what exactly happened. In any event, congrats to joe if he is still pursuing his college diploma.

(Off topic a bit, wouldn't he hurt our apr since he disqualified? By him returning to school, beyond other obvious benefits to him, wouldn't that help our apr too?)

Thought #1 - well said.
Thought #2 - excellent point.

[bigmosmithfan1]

I wouldn't take this guy back. He let down his teammates, the coaches, and the University, all of whom were counting on him. He had his chance here and he failed to take advantage.

Oh, god. Good to know you're perfect and never struggled with a class or professor during your college life. We don't know what went down here and neither do you, so perhaps dial back on the moralizing a bit.

[crusadermoe]

If that tweet is legit I give Joe Burton a ton of credit for even persisting in his effort to get a VU degree and to keep a roster spot.   

He could easily have dropped to a different level such as NAIA etc and tried to go the Scottie Pippen lower division route to a NBA tryout or Euro League job.   Why mess with Valpo?  I doubt that Valpo's scintillating campus life is a help.

This tweet tells me that somewhere there is a spark in him to reunite with his Valpo teammates who obviously liked him and a desire to earn a degree from a tough university.  I can't criticize that.  The coaches and VU officials will make a good decision.

[usc4valpo]

I guess Jerry Tarkanian has been a great influence, which in these days is a good thing.