We now take you to USC, UA, Okie Lite, Auburn, Da U, KANSAS, & NC State

[dwyermj]

Bruce Bowen's dad took the stand and didn't hide anything. Here's the ESPN story on it.

Details included:

• Arizona offered $50K
• Oklahoma State offered $150K in cash, $8K for a car, and additional money to buy a house
• Texas offered to "help with housing"
• Creighton offered $100K and a "good job, a lucrative job"
• Louisville paid $100K in 4 installments, up from their original offer of $60-80K, because of an alleged payment to Billy Preston of $100K to play at KU.
• Detailed high school payments including:
  • $2K per month for Bowen to attend La Lumiere School in Indiana
  • $25K from Adidas to play for Michigan Mustangs AAU team
  • Left Mustangs for Nike AAU league to play for Mean Streets ($5-8K)
  • Turned down offer of $18K from another Nike AAU team
• Says he didn't recall Oregon offer of an "astronomical amount of money" that the defense brought up in opening statements

 

[Not Sure]

This is just one player. Good Lord, this is going to kill some programs. UA is probably one of them.

I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not.

 

[SuperiorBuff]

When Arizona and Oregon come to play, the student section needs to use Monopoly money as confetti.

 

[Jello Bear]

Creighton offered $100K and a "good job, a lucrative job"

Gives a whole new meaning to #rollingjays

Somebody better tell Waylon that his love for lying cheaters doesn't stop with politics.

 

[MtnBuff]

This is just one player. Good Lord, this is going to kill some programs. UA is probably one of them.

I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not.

As long as you have kids in high school who are seeing NBA players making millions it is going to be hard to get them to play for tuition and living cost on some campus.
As long as millions can be made from basketball that is not at the NBA level then there will be those who will pay to get the better players.
The shoe companies who's financial viability relies on these players who will eventually be in the NBA aren't going to leave it alone.

If the fallout from this is hard enough though we may end up seeing a huge change that addresses all of these perspectives.

In recent years the ratings for things like the NBA summer leagues have shown that people will watch and that sponsors will pay for it. When do we see the shoe companies set up their own developmental leagues. In these leagues the top HS players will have the option of instead of committing to a college for a one and done or two and done going into a league where they will be competing against other top young players along with some of the best young foreign players along with a limited number of fringe veterans hoping to get back into the NBA.

They will get paid, they will get exposure, and they won't have to pretend to care about being students or pretend like they aren't receiving money.

This league will probably still only take the top 50-70 HS players each year so there will be plenty of players left to keep college basketball going. In the long run it may be better for college basketball because the best players are much more likely to still be around for 3-4 years instead of turning over every year. Those fans who love college basketball in part because of the ties to "their" school will still be supportive.

And we will still have schools who cheat to get an advantage but it won't be as closely tied to the shoe companies and the players "agents" and the rest of that lower world.

 

[Buffnik]

And people wonder why CU is trying to find and develop the Top 100-150 range guys instead of being able to regularly compete for the Top 50 types ever year. This is the business of college basketball. Programs like CU that actually worry about committing secondary violations (like an improper contact during a quiet or dead period) are competing against programs that are offering $100k to sign. I'm not going to assume that CU has been total white knights of purity in all this because I don't think it is possible to be that with as filthy as CBB is, but I feel extremely confident that we wouldn't have this scandal if everyone conducted its business the way that CU and Tad do.

 

[MCskid]

This is just one player. Good Lord, this is going to kill some programs. UA is probably one of them.

I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not.

At the beginning of this thread I posted some naive BS that I said this would bring it all down, BB and FB. Now I'm not so dumb, the money men will all get off 'cause it ain't a federal crime. The NCAA will sweep it under the rug, all the blue bloods are doing it, not gonna ruin the money train in order to do what's right. Cleveland State on the other hand is absolutely effed!

 

[MCskid]

And people wonder why CU is trying to find and develop the Top 100-150 range guys instead of being able to regularly compete for the Top 50 types ever year. This is the business of college basketball. Programs like CU that actually worry about committing secondary violations (like an improper contact during a quiet or dead period) are competing against programs that are offering $100k to sign. I'm not going to assume that CU has been total white knights of purity in all this because I don't think it is possible to be that with as filthy as CBB is, but I feel extremely confident that we wouldn't have this scandal if everyone conducted its business the way that CU and Tad do.

Glad CU does the right thing but kinda hard to do anything other than make the occasional tournament appearance with the way things are currently set up.

 

[BuffLuke80]

I don't think it's probably ever been but this way, honestly. More money probably.

 

[CarolinaBuff]

I heard an interview with Dan Wetzel this morning and he emphasized that it's possible a top-100 player is not getting money at some point during the recruitment phase but he considered that improbable

 

[Buffnik]

I have found it fascinating through this whole process that the talking heads who have known very well what is going on don't seem to have a problem with the pay-to-play system. Their problem seems to be with the NCAA for having rules against it, the FBI for getting involved in it, and with coaches who were stupid enough to get caught & slow the gravy train.

 

[Darth Snow]

Depaul eh? I swear there was a recent run in with them on the recruiting trail...

 

[buffaholic]

I have found it fascinating through this whole process that the talking heads who have known very well what is going on don't seem to have a problem with the pay-to-play system. Their problem seems to be with the NCAA for having rules against it, the FBI for getting involved in it, and with coaches who were stupid enough to get caught & slow the gravy train.

Follow the cash transactions and we are going to see money laundering, off the books cash transactions, bribery, black mail, and tax evasion. Perhaps not to Trump Organization levels, but organized crime nonetheless.

The FBI isn't investigating eligibility but federal crimes.

 

[Darth Snow]

Hey Ayton.

 

[SuperD]

Follow the cash transactions and we are going to see money laundering, off the books cash transactions, bribery, black mail, and tax evasion. Perhaps not to Trump Organization levels, but organized crime nonetheless.

The FBI isn't investigating eligibility but federal crimes.

Yep...here's your answer for the folks that were questing why the FBI would give a rip about college basketball recruiting.

 

[Medford M.]

I have found it fascinating through this whole process that the talking heads who have known very well what is going on don't seem to have a problem with the pay-to-play system. Their problem seems to be with the NCAA for having rules against it, the FBI for getting involved in it, and with coaches who were stupid enough to get caught & slow the gravy train.

Jay Bilas is a piece of ****, pompous ass, twat.

 

[Scotch]

And people wonder why CU is trying to find and develop the Top 100-150 range guys instead of being able to regularly compete for the Top 50 types ever year. This is the business of college basketball. Programs like CU that actually worry about committing secondary violations (like an improper contact during a quiet or dead period) are competing against programs that are offering $100k to sign. I'm not going to assume that CU has been total white knights of purity in all this because I don't think it is possible to be that with as filthy as CBB is, but I feel extremely confident that we wouldn't have this scandal if everyone conducted its business the way that CU and Tad do.

a whole lotta meh. who cares. This investigation will go away eventually and it will be business as usual. UofA and USC already have top 10 classes with 4 5*'s between them(hell 247 has USC as the top ranked class), and this is a year after being outed in the national press for the FBI investigation.

Edit: Oh, and Louisville's class is #2

https://247sports.com/Season/2019-Basketball/CompositeTeamRankings/

 

[Buffnik]

a whole lotta meh. who cares. This investigation will go away eventually and it will be business as usual. UofA and USC already have top 10 classes with 4 5*'s between them(hell 247 has USC as the top ranked class), and this is a year after being outed in the national press for the FBI investigation.

Edit: Oh, and Louisville's class is #2

https://247sports.com/Season/2019-Basketball/CompositeTeamRankings/

Reality of how those inside the game look at this was captured by a football guy I heard talking about the MBB scandal. His reaction was disgust -- not at players being paid but at the idiocy of MBB folks that they're still using university employees as bag men instead of using cut outs who have no direct ties to the university to make payments to players. It's really the arrogance and over-the-top flouting of the NCAA rules that is going to cause the end to some assistant careers along with some program penalties.

 

[Scotch]

Reality of how those inside the game look at this was captured by a football guy I heard talking about the MBB scandal. His reaction was disgust -- not at players being paid but at the idiocy of MBB folks that they're still using university employees as bag men instead of using cut outs who have no direct ties to the university to make payments to players. It's really the arrogance and over-the-top flouting of the NCAA rules that is going to cause the end to some assistant careers along with some program penalties.

Further development of the G League and the USA Basketball system will help circumvent the bag men or street agents, at least for college ball.

 

[DBT]

I always wondered how Creighton could be so competitive in basketball. Oh, and who was their former coach? Although he’s been gone for 8 years.

 

[DBT]

So if a shoe company pays a player to sign with a certain school, where does that money connect to the school? Are the shoe companies doing this in their own or are they in cahoots with the schools?

 

[Buffnik]

So if a shoe company pays a player to sign with a certain school, where does that money connect to the school? Are the shoe companies doing this in their own or are they in cahoots with the schools?

In cahoots. Especially in basketball, you'll notice that when we're discussing the coaching carousel one of the big factors is whether a candidate is a Nike coach or an Adidas coach. It matters. Oregon's not going to hire someone under contract with Adidas. Indiana'a not going to hire someone under contract with Nike.

 

[dyemeduke]

I always wondered how Creighton could be so competitive in basketball. Oh, and who was their former coach? Although he’s been gone for 8 years.

To be fair, I really don't think Kyle Korver was being paid while being recruited. He was not a top recruit, although very good. His dad is also a reverend, so not sure he'd be cool with shady coaches offering him money. Larry House, also doubt as I believe he was just a risky player via juco channels. I know many people on here hate Altman, which is justified, but you still have concede that he's not a terrible coach. I actually think he's a good coach that blurs the ethical lines regarding NCAA rules.

 

[Goose]

To be fair, I really don't think Kyle Korver was being paid while being recruited. He was not a top recruit, although very good. His dad is also a reverend, so not sure he'd be cool with shady coaches offering him money. Larry House, also doubt as I believe he was just a risky player via juco channels. I know many people on here hate Altman, which is justified, but you still have concede that he's not a terrible coach. I actually think he's a good coach that blurs the ethical lines regarding NCAA rules.

Yeah, but there are decades of evidence of Creighton's current coach providing benefits to the only national player of the year in school history.

 

[Not Sure]

How is Bailer not up to their necks in this thing? No way in Hell they manage to recruit the kinds of players they have without breaking several rules. It’s ****ing Waco, forcrissakes.

 

[Medford M.]

How is Bailer not up to their necks in this thing? No way in Hell they manage to recruit the kinds of players they have without breaking several rules. It’s ****ing Waco, forcrissakes.

That school has a lot of experience cheating. They know how to do it.

 

[AeroBuff99]

To be fair, I really don't think Kyle Korver was being paid while being recruited. He was not a top recruit, although very good. His dad is also a reverend, so not sure he'd be cool with shady coaches offering him money. Larry House, also doubt as I believe he was just a risky player via juco channels. I know many people on here hate Altman, which is justified, but you still have concede that he's not a terrible coach. I actually think he's a good coach that blurs the ethical lines regarding NCAA rules.

I would venture to say that would make him more likely to accept large untraceable stacks of cash. Heck they pass around a plate every Sunday for that purpose. It would just be another donation to the church, you know to do God's work.

 

[Buffnik]

I would venture to say that would make him more likely to accept large untraceable stacks of cash. Heck they pass around a plate every Sunday for that purpose. It would just be another donation to the church, you know to do God's work.

I didn't want to take us there, but since you opened the door I'll say that I agree. Cam Newton. Others. Being a reverend shouldn't make anyone assume anything one way or the other. But if the reverend is interested in taking advantage of a pay-to-play opportunity, it's pretty much the perfect setup for being able to take that money without anyone being able to prove anything untoward.

 

[Hoops Fan]

I believe that when all of this issue is completed ... assuming that ever happens ... that most, if not all, of the wrongdoing will be assigned to the shoe companies and some of the minor assistant coaches and hangers on in the AAU circuit. The big time programs and their head coaches that are involved will deny any knowledge of the wrongdoing. Their will be no true investigation that proves or disproves the assertion of innocence on their part. And the NCAA will have an excuse not to penalize them to any significant level. That is not the way it should be. But I believe that it is the way things are ... way to much money involved ... and way to much of a threat to powerful interests in the game.

I am just an old college basketball fan. I hope that this furor ends sooner than later. I intend to forget about it for now, and look forward to the coming season ... Go Buffs!

 

[dyemeduke]

I would venture to say that would make him more likely to accept large untraceable stacks of cash. Heck they pass around a plate every Sunday for that purpose. It would just be another donation to the church, you know to do God's work.

I didn't want to take us there, but since you opened the door I'll say that I agree. Cam Newton. Others. Being a reverend shouldn't make anyone assume anything one way or the other. But if the reverend is interested in taking advantage of a pay-to-play opportunity, it's pretty much the perfect setup for being able to take that money without anyone being able to prove anything untoward.

... .........had started what was becoming a Mtn post, but deleted... Topic is definitely not sports related really, so I'll just say that I absolutely place the average moral character of a group of nuns or pastors over the average, general population.