And right on Cue.... ESPN blog on Calhoun suspension

[Letsgohuskies11]

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebask...807/schedule-favorable-to-calhouns-suspension

its like clock work... these writers really search for anyway to spin articles against Calhoun

 

[tykurez]

It's just Eamonn Brennan ... consummate loser of the ESPN blogging world.

 

[HuskyBballFan]

I'm usually as sensitive as anyone when it comes to anti-Uconn reporting, but I didn't have much of a problem with this one. There's no denying that Uconn caught a break here with the schedule during Calhoun's suspension.

As far as the people complaining that the recruiting sanctions aren't actually hurting our recruiting, they are failing to acknowledge that there is no bigger recruiting ADVANTAGE than being the last team standing in April. There is no way we get DeAndre Daniels without the National Championship and who knows about Omar Calhoun as well. The Championship, combined with Kemba's development and magical season, were enough to at least partially offset the challenges that the recruiting sanctions brought to the program. Most schools in our situation wouldn't have been so lucky. But we happen to have Jim Calhoun.

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

That should be 3 W's. This guy is a former YAHOO blogger. UConn is the hunted on all fronts. Just goes to show how successful the program has become over the years. I have been on a few other message boards specifically Baylor and Memphis (because I believe these 2 teams are under the radar and VERY VERY dangerous) but the Boneyard is unique with regards to the traffic and knowledge base. It is a good forum to counter some of the misrepresentations promulgated by those with prejudice against the program in general.

 

[RS9999X]

I'm sure his sentiments are shared.

Expect some rule changes.

 

[babysheep]

I'm usually as sensitive as anyone when it comes to anti-Uconn reporting, but I didn't have much of a problem with this one. There's no denying that Uconn caught a break here with the schedule during Calhoun's suspension.

I just read the article, and while Brennan starts off neutral by saying the BE uses a formula, which is the fairest way to do it, then he starts complaining (like all the others) that the NCAA didn't give out harsh enough penalties; that other coaches now may feel "emboldened" to commit violations to get a recruit after seeing how this panned out, which is completely ridiculous, because for all we know, the computer could have given us Pitt, Cuse and Louisville.

Then by the end of the article he completely contradicts himself and his faux neutrality by acting like it's not fair that UConn only got USF St John's and Seton Hall.

 

[babysheep]

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebask...807/schedule-favorable-to-calhouns-suspension

its like clock work... these writers really search for anyway to spin articles against Calhoun

They want to get people to read their crappy, once-looked-over articles by giving them what they want to read. What does everyone from every other conference want to read about? How Jim Calhoun is the scum of the earth.

 

[Scot-e]

Another blogging something that everyone-including us already knows. Who get one little rat's about this kinda blog.
HEY- we do not need to see very thing every POS hater posts about us right now.
Can we just enjoy were we are and what has happened to us in the last few months? This is the place for UCONN fans to talk about all things UCONN but that does not include every single tool bag in the world that wants to take a crap on us right now because they are bored and do not have jack to write about.

Ok- I feel better now.

WE ARE SO DOOOOMMMEEDDD!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[4UConn]

What bothers me most about this campaign against Calhoun is the utter lack of facts that are presented to "prove" he is unethical. It's taken as "gospel". The lie that Calhoun is unethical is repeated ad nauseum without supporting evidence. The mistakes made in the recruitment of Nate Miles does not make Calhoun unethical, it makes him human. I think JC's balance sheet is strongly weighted to the asset side; he has made a huge difference in his players live and has been very philanthropic. The contribution that the success of the basketball team has made to UConn and the State of Connecticut is off the charts. This smear campaign against one of college basketball's greatest coaches is very, very ugly.

 

[Yonick]

It's funny, these "bloggers" have taken far more shots at Calhoun, than they have at coaches from Miami, Ohio State, Auburn, and USC. Especially considering that what Calhoun did is far less then what any of the other coaches did

 

[ctchamps]

What bothers me most about this campaign against Calhoun is the utter lack of facts that are presented to "prove" he is unethical. It's taken as "gospel". The lie that Calhoun is unethical is repeated ad nauseum without supporting evidence. The mistakes made in the recruitment of Nate Miles does not make Calhoun unethical, it makes him human. I think JC's balance sheet is strongly weighted to the asset side; he has made a huge difference in his players live and has been very philanthropic. The contribution that the success of the basketball team has made to UConn and the State of Connecticut is off the charts. This smear campaign against one of college basketball's greatest coaches is very, very ugly.

I guess its easy to take pot shots at someone's ethics and not concern oneself if our own ethics are questionable. This is the beauty and danger of free speech. JC has two things that make him a target more than many other coaches. He's one of the top coaches in men's bb and he isn't charismatic. In this respect he emulates the coach he greatly admires, Bobby Knight.

 

[EricLA]

i dont' even click on stuff like that. don't want to add to the view count. but i'm glad some of you post the stuff on here. it's good to know what they are saying out there, but ultimately, it means zippo as JC continues to win, win NC's, and rake in the recruits. 2 consecutive years of stellar classes. and a NC and BET championship to boot. not too shabby.

 

[huskiesnyc]

Brennan said, "What happened? A little-used player named Michael Bradley forfeited his scholarship to make room for Drummond."

Is this official? I thought UConn was looking at other options and nothing has been finalized??

 

[ctchamps]

They sound like it is a done deal. I'm not sure they're jumping the gun.

 

[UConnSwag11]

response from brennan...
eabrenna
SubaruDan, I addressed this in the post. Did you miss these two paragraphs?

"Like most conferences, the Big East schedules with the help of a computer formula, which allows the league to factor in the games reserved for major TV networks like ESPN and CBS, the balance of both halves of the schedule, as well as other mitigating factors. (For example, no team may play more than four games in a row on the road.) The Big East constructed this year's schedule no differently than any other year.

"To be clear, that's the only fair way to handle such a matter. It's not the Big East's job to try and further punish Calhoun by scheduling games against top teams. Besides, asking the Big East to predict those games is folly anyway. (Maybe St. John's ends up being dynamic. Maybe Seton Hall is better than expected. You get the point.)"

JSideranko11: I don't see your point. I'm well aware Calhoun volunteered to serve his suspension last season. The NCAA declined. It apparently preferred to control its own punishment against Calhoun, rather than allow him to choose it, even if that choice would have been theoretically stiffer than the one that will eventually be meted out. That's their prerogative. Calhoun's punishment was never much more than a symbolic gesture; after all, he has missed games for health reasons before. It was never going to be a serious thing. But thanks to coincidence, it now looks less serious than ever.

To everyone else: I have nothing against UConn. For real! The point of this post is not to criticize the Huskies. It's simply to point out that the NCAA's penalties, when all is said and done, didn't turn out to be penalties at all. The three missed games never had any teeth, punishment-wise, but they seem especially useless now. And the scholarship reductions (both for the Miles/Nochimson case and the Huskies' APR hits) clearly don't matter, because UConn was able to juggle its 10 available scholarships to provide one to one of the top prospects in the country anyway.

Would I do this if I was UConn? Sure. But in terms of NCAA punishment -- for reasons both within and outside the NCAA and Connecticut's control -- the end result wasn't much of a punishment at all. That's the argument here. No axe to grind. Promise.

Thanks to everyone for the feedback (even if some of you were kind of mean). It's always appreciated.

Eamonn

 

[UCDaveD]

Look at Eamonn go!

 

[high-post]

I actually think Eamonn is a pretty decent reporter on college hoops but...boo frigging hoo. I know he has to write a hyped-up article to get traffic to the site, but that was pretty weak. Then again, who knows...maybe it's weak because Brennan doesn't actually care that much and he's stretching to find something to gripe about. I fully expect the slobbing of UConn knob to commence after title #4, that's how Brennan is. The Brennan hate from some fans seems kind of over the top.
Incidentally, I think it's pretty naive for UConn fans to think any of this stuff is going away. Lurid tales of misconduct (however minor the transgression) get blown up when it comes to major programs. Why? Because the jealous fans throughout the rest of the country like to read that kind of stuff; it makes them feel better about the fact that their program isn't as good and it soothes their angry little souls.
Either way, it is but a barnacle on the majestic blue-whale that is Jim Calhoun's career.

these new emoticons are gay btw. even by emoticon standards.

 

[HooperScooper]

Brennan said, "What happened? A little-used player named Michael Bradley forfeited his scholarship to make room for Drummond."

Is this official? I thought UConn was looking at other options and nothing has been finalized??

On Friday, top recruit Andre Drummond decided to attend UConn despite the scholarship crunch. What happened? A little-used player named Michael Bradley forfeited his scholarship to make room for Drummond. The scholarship crunch didn't cost the Huskies a top player. It merely forced the program into some creative math. In effect, Bradley -- who voluntarily gave up his scholarship, according to the school -- was the only member of the UConn program directly hurt by the NCAA's scholarship-related penalty.

Where is he getting that it's official and that the school said Bradley voluntarily gave up his scholarship? The school hasn't released anything on this as far as I know.

 

[CL82]

response from brennan...
eabrenna
SubaruDan, I addressed this in the post. Did you miss these two paragraphs?

"Like most conferences, the Big East schedules with the help of a computer formula, which allows the league to factor in the games reserved for major TV networks like ESPN and CBS, the balance of both halves of the schedule, as well as other mitigating factors. (For example, no team may play more than four games in a row on the road.) The Big East constructed this year's schedule no differently than any other year.

"To be clear, that's the only fair way to handle such a matter. It's not the Big East's job to try and further punish Calhoun by scheduling games against top teams. Besides, asking the Big East to predict those games is folly anyway. (Maybe St. John's ends up being dynamic. Maybe Seton Hall is better than expected. You get the point.)"

JSideranko11: I don't see your point. I'm well aware Calhoun volunteered to serve his suspension last season. The NCAA declined. It apparently preferred to control its own punishment against Calhoun, rather than allow him to choose it, even if that choice would have been theoretically stiffer than the one that will eventually be meted out. That's their prerogative. Calhoun's punishment was never much more than a symbolic gesture; after all, he has missed games for health reasons before. It was never going to be a serious thing. But thanks to coincidence, it now looks less serious than ever.

To everyone else: I have nothing against UConn. For real! The point of this post is not to criticize the Huskies. It's simply to point out that the NCAA's penalties, when all is said and done, didn't turn out to be penalties at all. The three missed games never had any teeth, punishment-wise, but they seem especially useless now. And the scholarship reductions (both for the Miles/Nochimson case and the Huskies' APR hits) clearly don't matter, because UConn was able to juggle its 10 available scholarships to provide one to one of the top prospects in the country anyway.

Would I do this if I was UConn? Sure. But in terms of NCAA punishment -- for reasons both within and outside the NCAA and Connecticut's control -- the end result wasn't much of a punishment at all. That's the argument here. No axe to grind. Promise.

Thanks to everyone for the feedback (even if some of you were kind of mean). It's always appreciated.

Eamonn

He got beat up quite a bit in the comment section. Good to see.

 

[HooperScooper]

I like this article better. Based on facts rather than some conspiracy theory.

Calhoun, UConn were always going to start easy

 

[babysheep]

He really didn't get it that bad in the comments. I think only two people suggested that he has some kind of bias.