LOL, that was a REALLY long post, but a good one.
Now, you said that you have no idea if Mack has paid a player or did anything underhanded, because you think he would know better. But that's where I'm at with it. However, I'm being told that my head is in the sand when I say that, because it's blatantly obvious that everyone is cheating.
But when I ask the question "do you think your coach is cheating", I get "I don’t think so… .".
See, it's all good until the question is turned around and aimed at the people telling me my head is in the sand.
As far as Rose, I think he's a dickhead. I do think he cheated on his SAT, then refused to answer questions and let Memphis suffer the punishment.
Calipari was told on two different occasions, by the NCAA, that Rose was clear to play. Then, after the season was over, they said the found information that led them to believe Rose had his brother take the exam. Memphis refused to fight, so the NCAA took their banners away.
As far as the #1 and #2 tlrecruiting classes that UK amd Duke have had, well, there is an advantage that those schools have. Every game is on ESPN, great facilities and both coaches have proven that they have the best methods for getting kids to the pros.
If I'm a 4* or lower rated 5* kid, I'm going to UK or Duke, because they have more than proven that their methods can get me to the NBA. If you think you have the talent to make it, why would you take $30k to go play for an unproven coach at Memphis or Washington, when you can go play for a HOF coach at a blue blood program and have an excellent shot at earning a multi million dollar contract after 1 season.
Look at Zion, by going to duke and playing with other great players, he was on ESPN twice a week and built his brand and used that to become a #1 pick. If he went to Washington, I don't know if he gets that #1 pick. Maybe, maybe not, but look at Jaden McDaniels. Kid is a stud, but you wouldn't know it, because he's playing on the west coast on a horrible team and for a mediocre coach. He cost himself a lot of money by picking Washington over UK.
Lastly, you said you can't recall the last high profile recruit that was deemed academically ineligible. Well, it just happened… Quade Green. Guess where… Washington.
I meant ruled ineligible to attend college coming out of high school, not ruled academically ineligible while enrollled in college, you see that all the time. Quade isn’t a recruit anymore he’s a student athlete. I meant I can’t remember the last time a high profile HS kid was ruled ineligible to enroll/attend college and play basketball. I don’t wanna rehash the whole Bledsoe thing, but there’s no way he shoulda been eligible, with the facts we know, and had he went anywhere but UK I’m pretty positive bbn would agree.
Also markelle Fultz had no problem going to Washington and becoming the number 1 pick, just like Ben Simmons had no problem doing the same at LSU. And their coaches that “developed them into number 1 picks” aren’t even employed by the schools anymore. And James Wiseman is gonna be the next number 1 pick and he only played what 12 games at Memphis. So not sure calling out Memphis and Washington as ur example of why would Kids wanna go to unproven coaches was the smartest selection of schools on ur part. Shoulda went with Okie state or creighton or DePaul.
Also i know all about McDaniels and I’m not so sure McDaniels cost himself anything by picking Washington over UK. I have a feeling He is gonna be a higher draft pick than anyone on UKs current roster anyways, but who knows Maxey or maybe even richards may go higher. Also whose to say with the upperclassmen in UKs frontcourt that mcdaniels wouldn’t have ended up in the same boat as Whitney, not getting the playing time he coveted.
And I can play this game too and say Brooks cost himself a lot of money by not going to IU, where he would be getting unlimited PT and likely be one of their main focal points on offense, and possibly played his way into the lotto, where at UK he’s just fighting to get more mins than EJ and Sestina. (And he still may go in the lotto I have no clue if he’s on nba scouts radars or not, I’m not a big nba fan and certainly don’t trust any of the midseason or preseason mock drafts.
All you have to do is look back to last year. Ja Morant went to Murray effin State of all places and was drafted number 2 overall. Higher than anyone from UK, higher than every burger boy except 1, hell higher than anyone not named Zion. If you can play, the scouts will find you, whether it’s at Washington, Memphis, or OVC Murray State. Granted morant would have gotten more exposure at a bigger school, but it’s not like he cost himself any $$$ bc he was the number 2 overall pick, and no one was passing on Zion regardless of how the ping pong balls fell.
And I said I’d like to think Mack is smarter than that being the microscope we are under but I don’t know anything that goes on within the AD for sure, I’m just a fan same as you. And Mack was hired at UL after the fbi sting, (bc we fires our coach bc of said fbi sting) so it’s just not as good of a comparison as coaches that have been at the same schools before the FBI sting. As far as what he did as Xavier, again I have no clue, but it would not suprise me at all if Xavier was providing impermissible benefits. But again I have no clue, and even if they were I have no clue whether Mack did or didn’t know about it.
The head in the sand posts were aimed at those believeing their school hadn’t ever provided impermissible benefits/ payments before the fbi sting just bc they didn’t get caught, and that the only schools that were paying players were the ones that got caught. Had Mack been the coach at UofL before the fbi sting, (even if we hadn’t been directly named by the fbi) then yes I would have assumed Mack or someone within the program was breaking the rules.
Now that the fbi has become involved and the corruption has been “brought to light”, I think it would be extremely stupid for any program to continue to pay players, but again I have no idea if they are or aren’t but Id like to think no school would be that stupid/brazen, but again I’m sure there are exceptions.
