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The definitive early season rankings.

Yep. Back in the early 90s. He committed to Iowa, then switched to IL because they bought him a car. Deon Thomas from Chicago.
Thanks Deon Thomas wiki page explains it.

Pearl/Thomas incident[edit]
Prior to playing basketball at Illinois, Thomas was a central figure in a recruiting scandal. Regarded as one of the top prospects in high school basketball, Thomas was recruited by, among others, Illinois and the University of Iowa. An assistant coach at Iowa, Bruce Pearl, recorded a phone conversation with Thomas during which Thomas allegedly admitted to have been offered a Chevy Blazer and cash from Illinois assistant coach Jimmy Collins. Pearl later turned the recording in to the NCAA, accompanied by a memo describing the events.[5]

Thomas denied having received such an offer from Illinois, and no proof of an offer or of improper benefits given to Thomas was found. On the other hand, while the NCAA never formally charged Thomas with any wrongdoing, the resulting investigation uncovered a few minor NCAA violations. The NCAA charged Illinois with a major infraction on November 7, 1990. Since it was Illinois' third violation in six years, the NCAA cited Illinois with a "lack of institutional control" charge and implemented several recruiting restrictions and a one-year postseason ban.

Deon Thomas has become a symbol of the intense Big Ten Conference rivalry between the universities of Illinois and Iowa. His recruitment and the resulting NCAA investigation and punishment is naturally interpreted differently by many Illinois supporters and many Iowa supporters, and the incident remains a catalyst for the heightened rivalry between Iowa and Illinois, years after his college career has ended.[6] In 2006, when asked in an interview about forgiving Pearl, Thomas said "it's hard to forgive a snake".

...

On 13 November 2006, in an interview for Bulgarian newspaper Tema Sport and Bulgarian television "Channel 3", Deon Thomas denied any wrongdoing and swore that he didn't receive anything from University of Illinois, as Bruce Pearl had claimed. He said the decision to play for Illinois was made by his grandmother.
 
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Deon Thomas did get a car from IL. He is on tape that Pearl recorded
The tape that they wouldn't even use as evidence because Pearl doctored?

Pearl admitted to making shit up, and Thomas claimed he was just trying to get him of the phone because he was getting harassed. Not sure why you Iowa fans try to protect that piece of shit.

Grandma is on record that Iowa promised to move her and give the family jobs and money.

The prosecutor even said they found no evidence that any of those claims were true.


And Thomas never committed to Iowa. Pearl thought he was going to, but that never happened.
 
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Thanks Deon Thomas wiki page explains it.

Pearl/Thomas incident[edit]
Prior to playing basketball at Illinois, Thomas was a central figure in a recruiting scandal. Regarded as one of the top prospects in high school basketball, Thomas was recruited by, among others, Illinois and the University of Iowa. An assistant coach at Iowa, Bruce Pearl, recorded a phone conversation with Thomas during which Thomas allegedly admitted to have been offered a Chevy Blazer and cash from Illinois assistant coach Jimmy Collins. Pearl later turned the recording in to the NCAA, accompanied by a memo describing the events.[5]

Thomas denied having received such an offer from Illinois, and no proof of an offer or of improper benefits given to Thomas was found. On the other hand, while the NCAA never formally charged Thomas with any wrongdoing, the resulting investigation uncovered a few minor NCAA violations. The NCAA charged Illinois with a major infraction on November 7, 1990. Since it was Illinois' third violation in six years, the NCAA cited Illinois with a "lack of institutional control" charge and implemented several recruiting restrictions and a one-year postseason ban.

Deon Thomas has become a symbol of the intense Big Ten Conference rivalry between the universities of Illinois and Iowa. His recruitment and the resulting NCAA investigation and punishment is naturally interpreted differently by many Illinois supporters and many Iowa supporters, and the incident remains a catalyst for the heightened rivalry between Iowa and Illinois, years after his college career has ended.[6] In 2006, when asked in an interview about forgiving Pearl, Thomas said "it's hard to forgive a snake".

...

On 13 November 2006, in an interview for Bulgarian newspaper Tema Sport and Bulgarian television "Channel 3", Deon Thomas denied any wrongdoing and swore that he didn't receive anything from University of Illinois, as Bruce Pearl had claimed. He said the decision to play for Illinois was made by his grandmother.
And a few years ago, Pearl apologized to Collins and Thomas for his part in the lie.
 
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The tape that they wouldn't even use as evidence because Pearl doctored?

Pearl admitted to making shit up, and Thomas claimed he was just trying to get him of the phone because he was getting harassed. Not sure why you Iowa fans try to protect that piece of shit.

Grandma is on record that Iowa promised to move her and give the family jobs and money.

The prosecutor even said they found no evidence that any of those claims were true.


And Thomas never committed to Iowa. Pearl thought he was going to, but that never happened.


Wrong. IL was dirty as hell
 
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Wrong. IL was dirty as hell
I don't see any Illinois staff or players apologizing for anything in this, but I do see the Iowa parties involved apologizing. Weird. Do innocent people apologize?

What part was wrong? It's all verifiable in articles with quotes from both parties.
 
I don't see any Illinois staff or players apologizing for anything in this, but I do see the Iowa parties involved apologizing. Weird. Do innocent people apologize?

What part was wrong? It's all verifiable in articles with quotes from both parties.


He apologized because he wanted to continue to coach at a high level
 
He apologized because he wanted to continue to coach at a high level
...Gil? Is that you?

Hawkit is a jerk sometimes, but he's not dumb enough to believe what was just written. Who hacked your account?

In today's game, you honestly think that not apologizing for what he did thirty years ago and multiple jobs later was going to keep him from getting another job? Wow.
 
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I remember when forums used to be infested with Illinois homers.

Nowadays, this guy is the only proof I have that they’re not extinct.
It won't take long to get us off the endangered species list if we make the tournament this year.
 
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Yes very old news that seems to come up every once in awhile between internet bots and jealous losers. Oh well water under the bridge now as Bruce has AU atop the cbb world. Excited to see this topic extend into a new week.


Aside from you clowns who's talking about Auburn? FWIW you have to win something to be on top and the last time I checked you have 0 titles.
 
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I did chief, 0 titles in MBB. Reality sucks huh?
Your internet must be broken as Auburn has stacked quite a few chips recently.

Anyway, what a world we live in where UNC fans desperately try to live in the past relative to Auburn hoops. Oh well, the experts still expect UNC to be good next year just not Auburn good.
 
Your internet must be broken as Auburn has stacked quite a few chips recently.

Anyway, what a world we live in where UNC fans desperately try to live in the past relative to Auburn hoops. Oh well, the experts still expect UNC to be good next year just not Auburn good.


Auburn hoops are the second coming of South Carolina. You gotta do something more than once chief and when your boys shit the bed next year you’ll come up missing, just like the Cocks. Laughing
 
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Auburn hoops are the second coming of South Carolina. You gotta do something more than once chief and when your boys shit the bed next year you’ll come up missing, just like the Cocks. Laughing

Auburn continues its ownership over north Carolina
 
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