2010 might set our program back 20 years

[Tenspro2002]

I mean that with only the slightest jest. This APR situation is making a national laughingstock of our program and accelerating the retirement of the only coach who's ever brought us success. One way or another, recruiting is going to suffer severely. And this can all be traced back to participants in the most disappointing season this program has experienced.

We have our senior class presiding over their second non-NCAAT season (more than any other senior class since the 80's) and then failing to graduate.

And we have our freshman class, who were never good enough to play for UConn (contributing to that dreadful season) nor academically inclined enough to leave in good standing when they realized they didn't belong on our basketball court.

The Nate Miles situation we could overcome, a disappointing season here or there doesn't kill us, but the confluence of events perpetrated by the misfits and malcontents from that season could have serious, long-term, negative ramifications for our program.

 

[Rico444]

I blame Jerome Dyson.

 

[Tenspro2002]

See, that's what I was trying to avoid. To his credit, Dyson might have been the only one to actually graduate.

 

[johnhuskies95]

Dyson did graduate. Sticks missed a semester during his junior year, so I doubt he graduated. Graduating in 7 semesters is tough for any student, let alone an athlete.

Edwards was a screw-up for everyone involved. That cannot be forgiven. He should've graduated, and the staff should've tried to do the best they could to get him to graduate. Maybe the staff did, and Gavin was just too lazy to graduate.

Darius Smith was a freshman who seemed to be overwhelmed acadmically. I think he got an 0-2 in the APR during his second semester, which killed us.

Mandeldove is another disaster. He was basically suspended for the year because he wasn't motivated to get in shape or stop partying. Yet he was still on scholarship and he hurt our APR. He was out for the year anyway, and he probably knew he wasn't going to play again. He basically had no motive for caring anymore about school.

 

[orangehomer]

i really think that somehow uconn will end up eligible for the tourney next year, based on the improvements in your scores and the reports that they may change the reporting dates in a meeting later this month. i'm thinking this is a stunt for the ncaa to prove publically that they really do care about academics, but they will ultimately back off.

 

[bobbygt]

Again, I don't see how this is worse than Nate Miles or laptopgate OR results on the field.

As I wrote in another thread, OSU and USC are doing just fine in recruiting in football. Granted, those two schools are sorta like UK and KU, in that they have the cache and tradition to get over soemthing like this.

Maybe we're about to find out what uconn's made of. Remember though, uconn won the TITLE last year, with an amazingly charismatic star. Recruits are attracted to teams and programs like that because of guys like Kemba.

Throw in Ray Allen and Rudy Gay, etc coming for visits. Throw in a new practive facility. Heck, throw in Auriemma and the girls.

Uconn should be able to get over this if the worst case scenario holds up.

 

[FeedTheDove]

Cant see AD or JL staying after this

 

[Edward Sargent]

They really need Ted Taigen. Great guy and an Evolutionary Biologist to boot!! Who knew. I was invited to give a talk at UCONN a few years back along with a meeting with undergrad bio students in a career day setting. A ticket to the UCONN Johnnies and a tour of Gampel settled the deal. I met of all people Johnnie Selvie on my tour - but I digress. What impressed me was that Ted knew where every UCONN bball player was both physically and academically. "Oh yeah so and so is in Australia but he is taking a course and only needs X credits to graduate". Did you know that one of the UCONN players ended up doing police work and has brought a number of others into the fold (notice the names remain nameless) Ted worked really worked hard at staying with each of the guys. One of our potential NBA HOFers graduated many years after leaving for the NBA. Now here is the offer. I'm serious! They need Ted Taigen back! Now I am a UCONN Bio grad- know little to nothing about evolutionary bio but love hoops. I said I would coach the team in a prior thread but am willing to take the position of academic advisor. Susan (Herbst) if you are reading this (and you should) hire me or someone like me.

 

[NHUConnfan]

There is no reason for AD and JL to stay next year regardless. Both of them are going to have high draft stocks and make their money. They'll be in the D-league for a year or two, but they'll be paid.

Not sure how UConn gets out of this one. That class that screwed us may have been the worst thing ever to happen to us :/

 

[imno1]

There is no reason for AD and JL to stay next year regardless. Both of them are going to have high draft stocks and make their money. They'll be in the D-league for a year or two, but they'll be paid.

Not sure how UConn gets out of this one. That class that screwed us may have been the worst thing ever to happen to us :/

This sucks but some of the blame must go on the coaching staff and administration.

 

[UConn990411]

i really think that somehow uconn will end up eligible for the tourney next year, based on the improvements in your scores and the reports that they may change the reporting dates in a meeting later this month. i'm thinking this is a stunt for the ncaa to prove publically that they really do care about academics, but they will ultimately back off.

That's what the NCAA does best.

Unfortunately for them, more and more people are starting to see right through it.

 

[uconNYC]

This sucks but some of the blame must go on the coaching staff and administration.

Correct. They were not bothered whether kids graduated or not. We have a long list of 4 year players that did not graduate on time.

 

[bobbygt]

Does this mean we get to do 1990-2010 all over again???

Awesome.

 

[Edward Sargent]

There is no reason for AD and JL to stay next year regardless. Both of them are going to have high draft stocks and make their money. They'll be in the D-league for a year or two, but they'll be paid.

Not sure how UConn gets out of this one. That class that screwed us may have been the worst thing ever to happen to us :/

You aren't making money if you are in the D league, unless you are real lucky

 

[upstater]

Correct. They were not bothered whether kids graduated or not. We have a long list of 4 year players that did not graduate on time.

What does the APR have to do with graduating on time? Have you actually read the APR criteria.

The APR creates perverse incentives that make it HARDER for these kids to graduate? How are they to graduate if the are filling up on intersession credits for visiting art galleries in NYC topped off with a compulsory summer course regimen? They fill up all their electives and then they find out they don't have the pre-reqs to enter a major. But it doesn't matter because it still means they are complying with the bogus APR. Anyone who is running academics now is a mercenary, because a faculty member who lives up to his ethical responsibilities would likely result in yet more poor APR scores, given the schedules these kids are under.

 

[RuffRuff]

If this team is to miss a post season, combining with Calhoun near exit combined with Big East dilution you can bet your ass that this program will be up for a major test - hence why it is impossible to throw a Kevin Ollie into that seat. All this brand knows right now is Calhoun - if you toss a green and raw guy in that slot just because he's in the family, you're thinking too much about your own legacy and not about the health of the program.

 

[CL82]

Cant see AD or JL staying after this

Funny. I can't see him leaving until it is resolved.

 

[uconNYC]

What does the APR have to do with graduating on time? Have you actually read the APR criteria.

The APR creates perverse incentives that make it HARDER for these kids to graduate? How are they to graduate if the are filling up on intersession credits for visiting art galleries in NYC topped off with a compulsory summer course regimen? They fill up all their electives and then they find out they don't have the pre-reqs to enter a major. But it doesn't matter because it still means they are complying with the bogus APR. Anyone who is running academics now is a mercenary, because a faculty member who lives up to his ethical responsibilities would likely result in yet more poor APR scores, given the schedules these kids are under.

In general our coaches were ambivalent about whether kids graduated. Had they graduated or been on pace to graduate we would not be in this predicament.

 

[champs99and04]

The thought that a one year tournament ban is going to destroy a program like UConn's is a bit ridiculous IMO. Yeah, it will hurt recruiting this season, but kids like Roscoe, Olander, Napier, Calhoun, Giffey, Deandre, and probably Boatright will have no choice but to stick it out. It would suck, but the kids mentioned above are good enough to at least keep UConn above sea level until the ban is lifted, at which time recruiting will hopefully be back on the right track.

Ultimately the success of the program going forward will depend on one thing and one thing only: the next head coach. Hopefully we get a good one, whether it be Ollie, Smart, Stevens or whomever.

 

[Northbound]

The potential harm it could do is significant IMO. There may be numerous thing that stack against us unfortunately and they come together at once. That cumulative impact has the potential.

-no tourney option
-a year of being dragged through the S#*t nationally
-impending retirement of a hof coach/some level of coaching uncertainty
-a slowdown in recruiting - getting great players builds on itself

If we dip a bit I hope we bounce back like unc did after the Dougherty debacle versus the 20 years it took unlv to be relevant again.

 

[uconnfan68]

I mean that with only the slightest jest. This APR situation is making a national laughingstock of our program and accelerating the retirement of the only coach who's ever brought us success. One way or another, recruiting is going to suffer severely. And this can all be traced back to participants in the most disappointing season this program has experienced.

We have our senior class presiding over their second non-NCAAT season (more than any other senior class since the 80's) and then failing to graduate.

And we have our freshman class, who were never good enough to play for UConn (contributing to that dreadful season) nor academically inclined enough to leave in good standing when they realized they didn't belong on our basketball court.

The Nate Miles situation we could overcome, a disappointing season here or there doesn't kill us, but the confluence of events perpetrated by the misfits and malcontents from that season could have serious, long-term, negative ramifications for our program.

How hard could it be to bamboozle the NCAA? Kentucky kids don't graduate after their freshman year. Are we really more clueless than them?

 

[EricLA]

This sucks but some of the blame must go on the coaching staff and administration.

Some? how about most. yeah the kids are required to attend classes and what not, but were the coaches living on a different planet? did they have no idea what the credit requirements were for each semester and what grades the kids were getting? and if the kids "fell down" academically one year, then they should have been told to go to summer school to make up the classes. and if didn't, they shouldn't see the inside of Gampel until they got their academic house in order.

the players will get away with what they are allowed to get away with. most of them are 18-20 years old. the athletic department has coaches, assistants, trainers, advisers, etc. that none of these people had a clue what was going on is sad. that some fans want to place the blame on the players is a bit of a cop-out and the players are easy targets because they are gone. i'm sure if they did have a clue, we wouldn't be in this predicament.

i don't pretend to know the situation of each player. it's possible that some players took advantage or screwed over the university. but if the coaches had no idea, it's because they buried their heads in the sand and chose not to. Calhoun is apparently in this predicament because he had little control over what was going on - from recruiting to academics. now he is paying the price. and if he walks away before he cleans up his own mess, then he's not doing what's right. if you screw up, you pay the price.

 

[upstater]

In general our coaches were ambivalent about whether kids graduated. Had they graduated or been on pace to graduate we would not be in this predicament.

??? Does Calipari care about graduation?

 

[upstater]

Some? how about most. yeah the kids are required to attend classes and what not, but were the coaches living on a different planet? did they have no idea what the credit requirements were for each semester and what grades the kids were getting? and if the kids "fell down" academically one year, then they should have been told to go to summer school to make up the classes. and if didn't, they shouldn't see the inside of Gampel until they got their academic house in order.

the players will get away with what they are allowed to get away with. most of them are 18-20 years old. the athletic department has coaches, assistants, trainers, advisers, etc. that none of these people had a clue what was going on is sad. that some fans want to place the blame on the players is a bit of a cop-out and the players are easy targets because they are gone. i'm sure if they did have a clue, we wouldn't be in this predicament.

i don't pretend to know the situation of each player. it's possible that some players took advantage or screwed over the university. but if the coaches had no idea, it's because they buried their heads in the sand and chose not to. Calhoun is apparently in this predicament because he had little control over what was going on - from recruiting to academics. now he is paying the price. and if he walks away before he cleans up his own mess, then he's not doing what's right. if you screw up, you pay the price.

Way too many assumtions. If a player leaves Spring semester without finishing classes, guess what? He's not in good standing. Has nothing to do with progress. He could have an A average before leaving. The question is, what has UConn put in place to prevent that? Intersession courses to pump up credits? Compulsory summer courses? This is perverse.

 

[NHUConnfan]

You aren't making money if you are in the D league, unless you are real lucky

They're making more than if they're in college for a team that won't make the tourney.