Baylor faces possible sanctions

[valpo04]

More or less my point:
http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/story/18425185/release-of-ncaa-violations-a-great-day-at-baylor-and-hes-not-kidding

Generally agree with all of that, even if it means agreeing with a Jersey Shore look-a-like...

[FWalum]

More or less my point:
http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/story/18425185/release-of-ncaa-violations-a-great-day-at-baylor-and-hes-not-kidding

You got that right crusaderboy!  Heck, the compliance officer at Baylor deserves a raise if a few texts and phone calls are the only things they could find after almost 3 years of investigation.

[crusaderboy]

Jason King just reported on Twitter no additional sanctions for Baylor
https://twitter.com/#!/JasonKingESPN/status/190158430521135105

[wh]

Scott receives 2-game suspension:

http://m.nwitimes.com/mobile-touch-2/?disableTNStatsTracker=1#4b9a62fd-0e18-5b19-92c9-bbd05a8b1d04

[valpopal]

Unlike the CBS article that declared the NCAA's two-year hunt at Baylor found little of consequence ("Illegal texts and phone calls for Drew's staff really are small stuff for an extensive NCAA probe."), the Post Tribune's Mike Hutton sees the NCAA report differently, almost as if it were a conviction of an act just short of a capital crime. He decides Drew was "found guilty of a major infraction," and he uses the situation as an opportunity to spew all his bottled up anti-Scott Drew venom:

http://posttrib.suntimes.com/sports/11969363-556/no-way-to-ignore-drews-flaws-now.html

[wh]

Unlike the CBS article that declared the NCAA's two-year hunt at Baylor found little of consequence ("Illegal texts and phone calls for Drew's staff really are small stuff for an extensive NCAA probe."), the Post Tribune's Mike Hutton sees the NCAA report differently, almost as if it were a conviction of an act just short of a capital crime. He decides Drew was "found guilty of a major infraction," and he uses the situation as an opportunity to spew all his bottled up anti-Scott Drew venom:

http://posttrib.suntimes.com/sports/11969363-556/no-way-to-ignore-drews-flaws-now.html

Yeah, I read the article this morning and admit to being somewhat perplexed as to why Hutton felt the need to chime in on the Scott Drew situation.

[crusaderboy]

Column was late and lazy.
And riddled with factual errors. How can anyone expect their opinion to be taken seriously when they are continually wrong on the simple facts.

[chef]

A month ago, DJ Cooper recanted his mother's statement, and Ohio University issued an apology to Baylor. Andy Katz reported it, yet somehow Hutton doesn't know anything about it. My favorite was calling Billy Gillespie - Bobby Gillespie. There's more, but why go any further.

[StlVUFan]

A month ago, DJ Cooper recanted his mother's statement, and Ohio University issued an apology to Baylor. Andy Katz reported it, yet somehow Hutton doesn't know anything about it. My favorite was calling Billy Gillespie - Bobby Gillespie. There's more, but why go any further.

Is he the Valpo version of David Haugh (who gets regularly lit up on WSCR for some of the same mistakes)?

I didn't pay close attention to the details, so I missed the boat there.  As to my reaction to it (I saw it because Mark Lazerus tweeted it), I summed it up this way: I wish I could feel angry about the column, but somehow I just can't conjure that up.  It's not that I agree with everything he wrote, it's that I just don't know how I feel anymore.  I continue to think that most of the vitriol that comes Scott's way is 90% jealousy and 10% idealism.  If I were to study the situation, I can see concluding that it would be making a mountain out of a mole-hill to call this a major violation on the level of Calipari, et. al.  At the same time, it's hard for me to see even the purest soul advancing to that level in Division I College basketball and succeeding without getting his hands a little dirty, and because of that, I give a little latitude to those who feel disappointment over it.  I also have seen Scott's ambition first hand a few times.  I would not want to be in his shoes and lose sleep over the ethical challenges of running a clean program *and* seriously contending for a national championship on an annual basis.

And I know that some of this is artificial -- that some of what the NCAA expects of its "student-athletes" defies logic.  I'm not some idealistic dreamer.

At the end of the day, I find myself applauding Scott more than scorning him (much more so probably) because he's out-gaming Rick Barnes and others, doing what they do (only better).

Furthermore, one of the things I noticed if I reflected on it a long time ago: it was often heralded that Homer Drew's staff always made certain to run a clean program.  Given that the NCAA regulations are more complex than the nations tax code (or that's the impression I get), it is not hard to deduce that running a clean program means studying the rules and making sure everything you do does not violate those rules.  If you are super-conscientious, you err on the side of caution and make sure there's no way your actions could be interpreted as violations even if it sounds okay, and I suspect Homer went that far.  However, this suggests that at best, coaches are kind of reduced to running every thought they have through the compliance office and if they get an okay, then they may well do it, regardless of whether it actually might be unsavory (in truth, conscience comes into play as well, but even that gets complicated because it may be hard to justify not doing something that's legal just because it doesn't "feel right".  That's just it: conscience may not be center stage here, which is where it should be in a perfect world.  It lurks in the background as a watchdog (and some have better consciences than others), but it's not operating front and center at all times.  I'm not blaming anyone for that, it's just evidence of how fallen the world we live in really is.

Sorry for the rambling...  I don't feel any urges to disown Scott or anything like that, don't worry

[LaPorteAveApostle]

Not to get some people all riled up again, or anything, but:

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/blog/eye-on-college-basketball/19753693/critical-coaches-who-is-the-most-overrated-coach-in-the-country

Look on the bright side: he's one spot behind nemesis Rick Barnes.

[covufan]

Don't understand Roy Williams up there - all he has done is win.  Recruiting is a big part of coaching.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

if a quarter of your peers think you are--more than twice as many as say Scott Drew, 3rd place, is overrated--then that is definitely saying something.

the money quote is in the article:  "he's won at Kansas and North Carolina, but who couldn't do that--aside from Matt Doherty?"

ZING

[zvillehaze]

Scott makes another CBS list.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/blog/eye-on-college-basketball/19767908/critical-coaches-who-is-perceived-to-be-the-biggest-cheater-in-the-sport

[LaPorteAveApostle]

Wow...that's worse.  Much worse, and at least Calipari was on the UNDERrated list...yeesh.

[vu72]

Wow...that's worse.  Much worse, and at least Calipari was on the UNDERrated list...yeesh.

If it walks like a duck...but, at the same time I found it very interesting that no one could say WHAT he was doing that was wrong, they were just convinced that he must be doing something wrong to be able to convince top 10 recruits to move to Waco! (there really isn't must there besides Baylor).

We all know what a great recruiter Scott is and they are envious, to say the least!

[crusaderboy]

what's kind of funny to me is that Scott finished AHEAD of a busted cheater (Calhoun) while two other icons (Roy Willum and Coach K) whose programs have been at the very least linked to shady AAU figures and runners (Myron Piggie) escaped the list.

Have never been to Waco so I cannot vouch for its appeal but i HAVE been to Storrs, Conn., many, many, many times and to Lawrence, Kansas as well. I have no idea how any coach convinces a high-profile recruit to commit to those schools.

[wh]

Yellow journalism at it's finest - unnamed sources, no evidence, pseudo-scientific polling, and of course a dose of unabashed Christian bashing sprinkled on top.  Shameful.

[vu84v2]

It is really hard to imagine how Scott Drew is considered one of the worst coaches.  He took an almost impossible situation at Baylor and turned that program around.  Few coaches in the country could do that.  While his recruiting techniques get criticized in Big 12 country, I think a fair amount of that is envy for who he is able to get (though I do think there have been a few ethical issues).  He is certainly not the best game coach and has had a few social miscues, but overall I think that he rates pretty highly compared to most coaches in the country.

[wh]

Nice comment from one of the many know-nothings on the Butler board:

Taking bets on when Bryce will join his brother on the list.

It's a shame they bailed before fully passing the baton.  Three more wins over Butler will not be easy to replace.

[justducky]

If it walks like a duck...but, at the same time I found it very interesting that no one could say WHAT he was doing that was wrong, they were just convinced that he must be doing something wrong to be able to convince top 10 recruits to move to Waco! (there really isn't must there besides Baylor).

While I have always been concerned about the alleged improprieties during his stay at Baylor, I believe that I could find a way to forgive him for most of it if  he could find a way to bring his team up to the ARC someday.

[covufan]

If it walks like a duck...but, at the same time I found it very interesting that no one could say WHAT he was doing that was wrong, they were just convinced that he must be doing something wrong to be able to convince top 10 recruits to move to Waco! (there really isn't must there besides Baylor).

While I have always been concerned about the alleged improprieties during his stay at Baylor, I believe that I could find a way to forgive him for most of it if  he could find a way to bring his team up to the ARC someday.

Unless there is no Drew on the Valpo sidelines, you won't see Baylor at the ARC.

[justducky]

Unless there is no Drew on the Valpo sidelines, you won't see Baylor at the ARC.

And you have reason to believe this because......?

If it is true that the Drew brothers would both like to wait for an eventual NCAA match-up, then even if Bryce stays at Valpo (not a certainty) the chances for many of us actually living to witness such an event are  pretty remote. Even if they are both still coaching 25 years from now, the laws of probability might still have them waiting.

So I am not saying that a 2 for 1 would necessarily be the right deal for us to offer, but if they were to receive such an offer would it not be something that Baylor and Scott would need to consider? Maybe ESPN coverage (in some form) for all 3 games with Scott making a swing through Indiana maybe also catching ND or Purdue and culminating with his return to the ARC. Why not? Why not at least start talking? And while the folks are still alive would be nice.

[sectionee]

They have said they won't play each other in the past I believe.

[bbtds]

They have said they won't play each other in the past I believe.

Yes, at Bryce's introduction as Valpo's coach, which Scott attended, the question was asked and the  answer given by Bryce was "ask Scott." When Scott was asked the answer was "only in the NCAA tournament." That was also the answer given by Homer when he was asked during a press conference after a regular season game. The three have pretty much agreed the only time Valpo will play Baylor is in the NCAA tournament. 

[justducky]

They have said they won't play each other in the past I believe.

Yes, at Bryce's introduction as Valpo's coach, which Scott attended, the question was asked and the  answer given by Bryce was "ask Scott." When Scott was asked the answer was "only in the NCAA tournament." That was also the answer given by Homer when he was asked during a press conference after a regular season game. The three have pretty much agreed the only time Valpo will play Baylor is in the NCAA tournament. 

Since I am inclined to believe that Scott would have no personal objection to a series with Valpo lets give his answer a reinterpretation. "only in the NCAA tournament" might really mean " I may be a Drew but I can not give you a special deal so talk to my boss which is Baylor university."

So with Scott now removed from the equation, what kind of deal would we have to offer Baylor to have the university and its fan base interested? Once that is established the only remaining question becomes, would that deal work for us?