Noel.....

[Tim_T]

I disagree. I think that the NCAA makes these little trips to talk about players fairly often. The issue is that it only makes news when it's a Kentucky player.

Oh really...I have never heard of the NCAA making these trips to question a high school about grades and relationships unless they were investigating something. I seriously have a hard time believing this is common practice. And despite the paranoia of big blue nation, it is not the only time it makes news is if it involves Kentucky players. It is just that too many Kentucky fans only follow Kentucky and not sports in general so they only know about it if it is a Kentucky player. Besides, it helps many of them justify the tin foil hats and the deep feeling of paranoia that everyone is out to get them

[Fishin is life]

You all can chit chat and talk about this all you want, and being a UK fan but also a fan of college basketball in general, I wish the NCAA would set some kind of precedent....If this were going on at Western KY or Loyola it would probably never be seen by the NCAA...If a guy breaks the rules that are set forth by the NCAA by all means rule him ineligible...If not, then let him play...They ruled Enes Kanter ineligible a couple years ago and I had no problem with it...He obviously accepted money, in which you lose your amatuer status...Ineligible...Didn't the Boatright kid from UConn do the same thing last year and get like 5 or 6 games....If the break the rules sit their ass out...After enough "student" athletes aren't allowed to play it should change the landscape of the college game

The bottom line is the NCAA is about as consitent as the weather in Kentucky...They need someone who is willing to do what Roger Goodell is doing in the NFL and absolutely lay the hammer down...You shoot em the first time they step in your yard and they probably wont be back again

[Tim_T]

You all can chit chat and talk about this all you want, and being a UK fan but also a fan of college basketball in general, I wish the NCAA would set some kind of precedent....If this were going on at Western KY or Loyola it would probably never be seen by the NCAA...If a guy breaks the rules that are set forth by the NCAA by all means rule him ineligible...If not, then let him play...They ruled Enes Kanter ineligible a couple years ago and I had no problem with it...He obviously accepted money, in which you lose your amatuer status...Ineligible...Didn't the Boatright kid from UConn do the same thing last year and get like 5 or 6 games....If the break the rules sit their ass out...After enough "student" athletes aren't allowed to play it should change the landscape of the college game

The bottom line is the NCAA is about as consitent as the weather in Kentucky...They need someone who is willing to do what Roger Goodell is doing in the NFL and absolutely lay the hammer down...You shoot em the first time they step in your yard and they probably wont be back again

I agree 100%!

[know1]

Oh really...I have never heard of the NCAA making these trips to question a high school about grades and relationships unless they were investigating something. I seriously have a hard time believing this is common practice. And despite the paranoia of big blue nation, it is not the only time it makes news is if it involves Kentucky players. It is just that too many Kentucky fans only follow Kentucky and not sports in general so they only know about it if it is a Kentucky player. Besides, it helps many of them justify the tin foil hats and the deep feeling of paranoia that everyone is out to get them

Your response basically supports my position. You don't hear about them until this one reporter with a vendetta against Cal writes about them because it's UK. It's a non-story anywhere else.

In fact, I think it's the reporter's digging and contacting the NCAA that likely made them go up there to talk to the school.

Plus, he reclassified to this class, so I'm sure they want to look pretty closely at his grades.

I think the NCAA is a joke and UK and other schools should sever their membership and start again.

[Tim_T]

Your response basically supports my position. You don't hear about them until this one reporter with a vendetta against Cal writes about them because it's UK. It's a non-story anywhere else.

In fact, I think it's the reporter's digging and contacting the NCAA that likely made them go up there to talk to the school.

Plus, he reclassified to this class, so I'm sure they want to look pretty closely at his grades.

I think the NCAA is a joke and UK and other schools should sever their membership and start again.

Uh, you might want to read my response again. I said I never heard of it except DURING AN INVESTIGATION. My response actually supports my position, not yours.

Do you realize you just contradicted yourself? First you say the reporter got the NCAA involved, but then in the next sentence you say it is because he reclassified. You just argued for and against something in the same post LOL.

This has nothing to do with a reporter digging, it has to do with the type of players Cal recruits. He takes a chance on borderline kids and it usually pay huge dividends for him.

As for the NCAA being a joke, I agree. As for these schools pulling out and starting again, who do you think the NCAA is? It is the same universities you speak of.

[elnutsmalljaws]

The NCAA Infractions Committee is a JOKE. They are so inconsistent it is not even funny. Kanter took money and had to sit for the year and the kid from Kansas got to pay the money back and sit for a few games. What is the difference? If you steal a new Camry or a new Mercedes, do you get more time because one is worth more than the other? Until those that break the rules are busted and the punishments are EQUAL AND SEVERE, then nothing will change. This goes for Coaches as well. If Calipari is dirty then bust him and suspend him from College Coaching forever. None of us here are apart of the NCAA and we all can put a spin on every story printed. One side says banners were removed at UMASS and Memphis under his reign so he is at fault. The other side can say the NCAA cleared him of any violations in both cases. Would Kentucky hire him if they thought he was dirty and would get them on probation? Is Cal the best cheater in the game or the beat recruiter in the game? He wasn't suspended or had any violations found to be his fault at Memphis for however many years plus his tenure at Kentucky. I seem to remember a coach at Kentucky in the 90's that started getting NBA player one right after another. The 1996 team was as talented a team that has came along in a while. Kids knew he would get them to the next level and they kept coming, Mashburn, McCarty, Delk, Walker, Anderson, Magloire, Mohammed, Mercer ..... They kept coming. Either Pitino had the best checkbook or the snowball kept rolling downhill for he was the best recruiter or the best cheater.

[DJD]

Well he isn't to good at cheating because his sex scandal proved that!!! Lol

[know1]

Uh, you might want to read my response again. I said I never heard of it except DURING AN INVESTIGATION. My response actually supports my position, not yours.

Do you realize you just contradicted yourself? First you say the reporter got the NCAA involved, but then in the next sentence you say it is because he reclassified. You just argued for and against something in the same post LOL.

This has nothing to do with a reporter digging, it has to do with the type of players Cal recruits. He takes a chance on borderline kids and it usually pay huge dividends for him.

As for the NCAA being a joke, I agree. As for these schools pulling out and starting again, who do you think the NCAA is? It is the same universities you speak of.

Doesn't the NCAA basically have to check into and verify or clear every athlete? Why is it always a story when it's a UK player?

Do you think the UK recruits are really the only ones being looked at? If so,I think that's pretty naive. This reporter just keeps writing stories about nothing so that there's at least some out there who think he's dirty.

He's never been found guilty of any infractions. And with all the extra scrutiny you think he's getting from the NCAA, that's pretty amazing.

[Tim_T]

Doesn't the NCAA basically have to check into and verify or clear every athlete? Why is it always a story when it's a UK player?

Do you think the UK recruits are really the only ones being looked at? If so,I think that's pretty naive. This reporter just keeps writing stories about nothing so that there's at least some out there who think he's dirty.

He's never been found guilty of any infractions. And with all the extra scrutiny you think he's getting from the NCAA, that's pretty amazing.

The NCAA doesn't normally go to a former high school asking questions about the player and they certainly don't go to ask about his relationships with "others" (i.e. AAU coaches, hangers-on, street agents).

Its not always a story with a UK player, it is a story at any big time basketball program when there may be some POSSIBLE indiscretions.

The bottom line is this: it will not be a problem for UK, other than he is ruled ineligible or suspended for a few games. If there is any punishment it will be missing the first 3-to-5 games anyway and the way Cal is scheduling it won't matter anyway.

In your BBN paranoia, you are ignoring the reality that this is not a normal "check the grades" investigation and that is why it is news. Like I said, these things happen AND ARE REPORTED ON when they happen to other big time programs, you just never notice unless it is UK.

And his other two stories were not about nothing, they were big news in the college basketball world and at least one didn't turn out to be nothing.

[Tim_T]

Just curious, what were the other two articles Thamel wrote? I belive he was the one about Bledsoe's changed grades, but what was the other one?

[know1]

I thought he wrote one about Davis taking money to come to UK, but maybe that was another one of those sports "writers".

[Tim_T]

I thought he wrote one about Davis taking money to come to UK, but maybe that was another one of those sports "writers".

I did a Google search on this and it was the Chicago Sun-Times (Davis' hometown paper) that wrote that piece and they never said he took money, they had three other SEC coaches that said his dad was asking for money. Big difference there, but most people struggle with reading comprehension and only catch and 1/4th of what is actually written.

Thamel did write the piece about Bledsoe's grades, which based on the evidence certainly appears to be true.