Interesting article on Graduate transfer, coach will not be confused with Homer

[IndyValpo]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/basketball/ncaa/12/19/todd.obrien/index.html

[valpotx]

If these facts are correct, I hope that the expected negative reaction towards St. Joe's gets this guy eligible.  I assume many recruits may see this article, which could be really bad for that school when they see the type of coach he is.  He is doing the exact opposite of Wood, in pursuing the degree option first, rather that just picking a solid basketball program that might have a degree that the previous one did not.  Kudos to Homer for realizing that turning down Wood's request probably would lead to negative publicity such as this...

[valpopal]

I understand this coach is beloved at St. Joe's, and he could be described as "old school." Interestingly, he has authored a book, Don't Call Me Coach: A Lesson Plan for Life, described as follows with interesting tidbits considering the portrayal in the article:

"At last, those of us not lucky enough to hear Phil Martelli in person can now draw inspiration from his book.   Don t Call Me Coach presents him at his compelling and captivating best, as he finally puts into print the mantra of his memorable speeches. In fact one of America s most colorful, outspoken, and successful coaches, Martelli compresses his three decades of experience into a ten-point  lesson plan for life that will benefit anyone, no matter what the challenges may be.     We are all coaches,  he insists, and each of us represents a book of unique experiences others can learn from. We are defined not by what we do, but by who we are. Yet we should not take ourselves seriously, but, rather, what we do. And so, even though he was named college basketball s Coach of the Year in 2004, this quintessentially regular Philly guy prefers not to be addressed as Coach Martelli.  If you will, just call me Phil. . . . This book is my conversation with you.      This unpretentious tone pervades Don t Call Me Coach  as distinctively different from most life-lessons books as Phil Martelli s spontaneous HawkTalk is from other coaches  tightly scripted TV shows. Martelli s experiences within his own extended family often funny, sometimes poignant, and always instructive form a warmly personal background to everything he spells out in his book. Having turned down far more lucrative offers to coach at mega-universities, Martelli enters another new season at the helm of the storied men s basketball program at Philadelphia s Saint Joseph s University. As he puts it,  You have to know where your heart is.      These expressions of his heart and mind will resonate in yours, no matter where you went to school, and whether you re an avid sports fan or not. As Phil concludes,  The Hawk will never die!  is more than the slogan of one specific university. It represents the will to excel, to never give in an approach to life we can all share."

http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Call-Me-Coach-Lesson/dp/1933822066/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1324327822&sr=8-1

[covufan]

If these facts are correct, I hope that the expected negative reaction towards St. Joe's gets this guy eligible.  I assume many recruits may see this article, which could be really bad for that school when they see the type of coach he is.  He is doing the exact opposite of Wood, in pursuing the degree option first, rather that just picking a solid basketball program that might have a degree that the previous one did not.  Kudos to Homer for realizing that turning down Wood's request probably would lead to negative publicity such as this...

My guess is that Homer worked with Wood because of all that Wood gave during his two years at VU.  Wood was a model student and player.  I hope that Homer didn't give the negative publicity too much thought.  Although, after seeing this, I'm sure more coaches will look at the negative side. 

It appears that most of the players that use the rule would not have factored in the mix of things at their former school, except for Wood.  If I'm a coach, I'd release the player so that I could use the scholarship on a HS or JC kid.

[valpo04]

The college sports media community responds...

http://deadspin.com/5869649/right-now-the-college-basketball-world-hates-phil-martelli

[valpopal]

Here is an update with the response by administration at St. Joe:

http://eye-on-college-basketball.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/26283066/33967871?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB

[valpofan56]

I had heard about that too. The more I hear about this kid the more I side with St. Joe's. Sounds like this kid was implicated in a stolen laptop enough to warrant a suspension last season. I also hear that the coach wanted to kick him off the team but decided since he was going to graduate soon he wanted to let him continue.  To thank the coach for giving him a second chance this kid quickly finishes his coursework over the summer on the school's dime and then bolts very late in the game, when it is likely too late to get a new recruit in to replace him.

[valporun]

This sounds like a story that just needs to be dropped. Apparently, Martelli didn't feel he had a future in basketball, and might be doing him a favor in telling him, "Get your masters, and go into the real estate world"? The way his letter reads to me, he started out at Bucknell, transferred to St. Joe's, because he felt that he was a better fit in the A-10 over the Patroit League, and now he feels that he can make it for a year in Conference USA, while Phil Martelli found that he wasn't as good as O'Brien thought he was. In some cases, the coach does have a better grasp, and this is one where I side with Martelli. There are too many leaks in the story to really side with O'Brien anyway. Sure, he might have been accused in the stolen laptop matters, and found innocent, but if he can't be honest about this affecting his time at St. Joseph's, then how will he be man enough to honestly make it in the real estate world, if honesty is a personal flaw? Martelli is teaching him a major life lesson, but O'Brien doesn't want to learn the hard way that he's not entitled to everything because he's an adult now.

[valpo04]

The way his letter reads to me, he started out at Bucknell, transferred to St. Joe's, because he felt that he was a better fit in the A-10 over the Patroit League, and now he feels that he can make it for a year in Conference USA, while Phil Martelli found that he wasn't as good as O'Brien thought he was. In some cases, the coach does have a better grasp, and this is one where I side with Martelli.  In some cases, the coach does have a better grasp, and this is one where I side with Martelli. There are too many leaks in the story to really side with O'Brien anyway. Sure, he might have been accused in the stolen laptop matters, and found innocent, but if he can't be honest about this affecting his time at St. Joseph's, then how will he be man enough to honestly make it in the real estate world, if honesty is a personal flaw? Martelli is teaching him a major life lesson, but O'Brien doesn't want to learn the hard way that he's not entitled to everything because he's an adult now.

Apparently Mike Davis (his would be coach at his CURRENT school) believes he can play for them.  I'd side with him over bitter Martelli.

You can't possibly believe that this is some ex-coach "teaching him a life lesson" as opposed to some bitter grudge.  That's really not Martelli's job anymore, since you know the kid graduated... after Mr. "Life Lesson" told him he didn't fit into his team's plans.  He enrolled at UAB following the NCAA rules and now Martelli won't sign the waiver?  Please...

[valpotx]

He was found innocent of the laptop matter, so how can Martelli say he was disloyal to him?  Martelli told O'Brien he didn't factor into his plans as you also mentioned, so why should O'Brien be punished if he wants to use his full eligibility as is his right?  Based on all the stories out there, and the ESPN writers/broadcasters weighing in on what they know of the matter, Martelli is being childish.

[valporun]

How often do you hear some of the top athletes saying their former coach is still teaching them life lessons even after they were doing playing for them? Besides Bill Walton, who was still learning from John Wooden when Walton was broadcasting games, you commonly hear this from others, like Coach K says it about Bobby Knight, any of the former Duke players that moved on to the NBA or overseas say it about Coach K, former Hoosiers still learn from Coach Knight. It's not uncommon to hear this happen.

Martelli may have found O'Brien "disloyal" because he was mentioned as an accomplice. Even though O'Brien was found innocent, he was still showing moralistic disloyalty to a program that was giving him a chance to further his career in basketball or any sport. Just because Martelli found that O'Brien's career wasn't going anywhere doesn't mean his teaching him valuable life lessons has to end with graduation, or the end of his scholarship "contract".

valpotx, how often do you find yourself learning things about life that Coach Twenge told you, even after you graduated, and he was relieved at Valpo?

[valpotx]

While there are instances when life lessons must be taught, this does not seem to be one of them.  The kid transferred to a school so he could pursue a degree, and then also finish his athletic eligibility.  If he was trying to make a career out of sports, I could understand a little more about the decision to reject athletic transfer.  Martelli is paid to coach his team, not to tell someone they won't factor into his plans, and make sure no one else benefits from having a 7'0" player on their team. 

In regards to Twenge, yes, he did tell me things that later came true.  Even though we butt heads a few times during my career, he did give us good discipline, which has helped me a lot in my career.  However, I would never envision him rejecting a kid's transfer request, regardless of circumstance. 

[valpopal]

When I read stories like this, I am always reminded that the student or former student can say anything he or she wants, but the coach, professor, or administrator involved is prohibited from speaking about much of the matter by the university for fear of violating the Family Education Right to Privacy Act (FERPA). Therefore, sometimes what we hear publicly becomes skewed. As a result, I withhold judgment.

[valpo95]

When I read stories like this, I am always reminded that the student or former student can say anything he or she wants, but the coach, professor, or administrator involved is prohibited from speaking about much of the matter by the university for fear of violating the Family Education Right to Privacy Act (FERPA). Therefore, sometimes what we hear publicly becomes skewed. As a result, I withhold judgment.

Valpopal, you are free to your own opinion.  However, the single most important fact is that Martelli (and his "boss" the AD) have refused so sign his transfer paper.  Whatever the reason might be, this seems unfair to a young person transferring to a lower school.  If this guy was transferring to a conference rival, that would be one thing, but get past it.  This reminds be of divorce proceedings, where one party just wants to make things as difficult and painful as possible.  In the end, it doesn't help either party, and does longer term damage to the coach and program for no discernable benefit.

I have my own opinions about the transfer rule, but as it is currently written it seems like this transfer is reasonable. 

If I were writing the rules about scholarships in general, I'd set it up a bit more equitably on both sides.  For example, any player leaving an athletic scholarship with more than one year of eligibilty remaining to be a professional athlete (making more than $300,000 / year or some limit) owes the school one year's value in dollars of that scholarship to the general scholarship fund.  This might reduce the one and done way of thinking, or at minimum get some benefits for the school long term.    Second, I'd set it up that schools who "recruit" a graduated player have to offer one additional year of scholarship support for a transferred player after that player's last year of eligibility.  So for example, Brandon Wood is on scholarship this year at MSU while playing, but get another year of scholarship next year when he's not playing.  That would reduce the likelhood of a coach "recruiting" a graduating player because the school would have to pay for another year, and you'd see if that player ends up with the graduate degree of interest -- if the program doesn't end up graduating them, then they could be subject to APR penalties over the the long term. 

[valpopal]

When I read stories like this, I am always reminded that the student or former student can say anything he or she wants, but the coach, professor, or administrator involved is prohibited from speaking about much of the matter by the university for fear of violating the Family Education Right to Privacy Act (FERPA). Therefore, sometimes what we hear publicly becomes skewed. As a result, I withhold judgment.

Valpopal, you are free to your own opinion.  However, the single most important fact is that Martelli (and his "boss" the AD) have refused so sign his transfer paper.  Whatever the reason might be, this seems unfair to a young person transferring to a lower school. 

Actually, the point is that I am offering no opinion since, like everyone else, I don't know all the facts, and "whatever the reason might be" includes many possibilities, some legitimate. I believe there could possibly be a valid reason that he is being denied signature of the transfer paper, but educational policies do not permit the university to speak about it publicly. I have seen such situations in academics regarding failing grades, honor code violations, refusal to provide letters of recommendation, denial of scholarships or fellowships, granting faculty promotions or raises, etc. Therefore, as I said, I withhold judgment.

[StlVUFan]

There's one thing I'm certain of in this: Whatever Martelli has on O'Brien had better be worth all the negative publicity he is buying for himself and his school.  If it's nothing more than a grudge, I don't care how justified he feels, he should suck it up and let it go, because he's going to have to explain this crap to every recruit he goes after, and sooner or later he's going to ask himself if it was all worth it.