Bradley to give up Schollie (ESPN)

[gars44]

Without JC's comments we'll never know. Certainly JC takes in players that aren't ready to play immediately, or that remain as role players. Sometimes he has no choice in what players are available and so he is forced to take in a recruit that is a questionable BE caliber. Sometimes these players develop into more than scrimmage players, such as Hilton. And maybe JC sees something in Bradley that he believes has potential. I'm not eliminating this from JC's decision. But I believe he chose Bradley as opposed to other bigs available to help the kid out. I believe it factored into his decision of who he was choosing even if the factor was down the list of factors.

The most cynical viewpoint regarding JC is that he only cares about winning and that he will do anything to win including not considering what happens to his players. Certainly his on court demeanor contributes to this impression. The most gracious opinion is that he is very caring about his players. I think he falls somewhere in the middle but leans towards the personality of a having a greater than average loyalty with people or things he cares about. This is why he was hurt by Andrew's decision not to come to UConn or JH's actions not to support him. So JC's decision to remove Bradley's scholarship wasn't taken capriciously imo. It wasn't as simple as some people are implying - that he took the scholarship from an unimportant player to make way for an important player.

 

[gars44]

fleud, I love JC perhaps more than the next guy, more than most, but I'm not buying some of what your selling. JC has a burning desire to win, he's like the head cave man leading the band of hunters to the wholly mammoth, and bringing it home for the women and children to eat and survive. Yes he's loyal, but to his fellow hunters. Me, I'm good with that but let's keep this in perspective. Bradley has to take one for the team here. The more silver lining there is for Bradley down the road, the more this starts to look like a conspiracy to circumvent the scholarship sanctions. And that leads inevitably to more sanctions. I hope nothing has been promised to Bradley, not grad school, not 5 more years of scholarship, nothing. Because any promise of anything is a violation. If Bradley was asked and he agreed without any promises, then maybe we're ok. I'm sure it is that. Anything else would be just plain dumb.

 

[Huskymaniac]

I think you are forgetting something very important in this story of Bradley. This kid was dirt poor and homeless. I think he was helped by a coach and taken off the streets. He is a very good student and wanted to go to pharmacy school. UConn has one of the best pharmacy schools. Bradley was probably not a high major basketball player never mind a UConn bb player. So why did JC offer the kid a scholarship? People will argue it is only because of future potential. There might be some truth to future potential. But there were other raw bigs available that JC did not bother with. I think the tipping point was the story behind the kid and the desire to help him out with a degree in pharmacy at UConn. So he burns a scholarship on a kid who is a big bb question mark.

As upstater has pointed out, pharmacy is a six year program. Bradley will still maximize his free tuition towards his degree, but he was going to have to pay at least one year of his tuition without the bb schollie. This was a win, win, win situation for everyone. JC gets Andre, Bradley will get tuition paid for in his fifth and sixth season as a pharmacy major, which are the most expensive years of his degree, and the school gets to demonstrate how things work when cooperation takes place as opposed to trying to make an example of someone. I expect the amount of donations to increase significantly because a lot of donors will learn first hand about Bradley's story.

Certainly there are people who will only look at the cynical side of this situation. The people with distaste for JC will never give him credit for helping Bradley in the first place. They will never consider the possibility that the only reason Bradley is on the team was to help him in his academic pursuit. The people who are angry with JH's removal will never consider how much JH might have enjoyed taking action just to spite JC and then he would hide behind a badge of phony propriety. They will argue that he had high standards and kept JC in check.

I'm not so sure JH's standards were impeccable. His supporters have the luxury of stating this because the report that came out of the independent examination of Jeff will never be revealed. They will underplay the monies Jeff left on the table as a condition for the report being sealed. They will over state that Jeff left the 2.5 million he was contractually owed based on a report of incompetence. They will under play the argument incompetence is refutable. Jeff could have argued against the report in his future job interviews if incompetence was the issue. There are schools with leadership who would ignore a UConn finding if only because there is rivalry or worse amongst top echelon people. Something was in that report that had to be more damaging to make his decision so quick and decisive. Something had to be in that report that would have made any future hire unlikely and incompetence is not a strong enough condemnation.

This is all pure speculation on my part. But a lot of people are speculating that something underhanded was done in getting AD into school, including the removal of JH and taking away of Bradley's scholarship. So in a court of law my arguments would be inadmissible. But in a public forum where speculation runs rampant and we argue against actions based on unsubstantiated opinions, I felt the need to offer counter arguments people may want to consider.

Will ANY major media outlet pick up on this or will they ignore it to keep the more compelling "Calhoun is evil" angle?

 

[intlzncster]

fleud, I love JC perhaps more than the next guy, more than most, but I'm not buying some of what your selling. JC has a burning desire to win, he's like the head cave man leading the band of hunters to the wholly mammoth, and bringing it home for the women and children to eat and survive. Yes he's loyal, but to his fellow hunters.

If Bradley was asked and he agreed without any promises, then maybe we're ok. I'm sure it is that. Anything else would be just plain dumb.

Pretty sure JC is treading inside the lines here, given the current climate. Apparently, Herbst, Paul P, JC, and Hobbs were all involved in this process. That's as good as you can ask for.

As far as loyalty goes, JC is one of the most loyal HC's in college basketball imo. The only thing he asks is that you buy in completely. If you are not a player who buys in, he will not be loyal to you.

 

[Huskymaniac]

fleud, I love JC perhaps more than the next guy, more than most, but I'm not buying some of what your selling. JC has a burning desire to win, he's like the head cave man leading the band of hunters to the wholly mammoth, and bringing it home for the women and children to eat and survive. Yes he's loyal, but to his fellow hunters. Me, I'm good with that but let's keep this in perspective. Bradley has to take one for the team here. The more silver lining there is for Bradley down the road, the more this starts to look like a conspiracy to circumvent the scholarship sanctions. And that leads inevitably to more sanctions. I hope nothing has been promised to Bradley, not grad school, not 5 more years of scholarship, nothing. Because any promise of anything is a violation. If Bradley was asked and he agreed without any promises, then maybe we're ok. I'm sure it is that. Anything else would be just plain dumb.

Can you post a link to the NCAA rule that says a coach can't verbally promise a scholarship to a kid for next season or even for the next 4 seasons? If it exists, fine. I would just like to see it.

 

[gars44]

I'm thinking that you can, except if it is part of a scheme to duck present scholarship limitations imposed as a sanction. But in a vacuum, not a problem.

 

[coloradohusky]

Question on this. Does Bradley need to take this year off from the team? I know that you only get 5 years to play 4, so wouldn't this mean that he now has to pay for 2 years instead of 1 if he plays this year? Or does his walkon status (and not playing) preserve a year? I'm trying to wrap my head around this and how it benefits the kid.

 

[gars44]

That's a good question. He only has 4 scholly years left. He has 4 playing years left. If he walks on this year, he will have three playing years left, and 4 scholly years. I guess it would mean that he gets one year of grad school paid for during his last playing year? Anyone know?

 

[3rdbass]

Question on this. Does Bradley need to take this year off from the team? I know that you only get 5 years to play 4, so wouldn't this mean that he now has to pay for 2 years instead of 1 if he plays this year? Or does his walkon status (and not playing) preserve a year? I'm trying to wrap my head around this and how it benefits the kid.

Yeah, good question. Not sure how this helps him as he is going to use 2nd of his 5 years(4 playing years and one redshirt year). He now has a loan for this year instead of a free scholarship. How does this help him? He would have been on Scholarship for 5 years straight if this event didn't happen.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

That's a good question. He only has 4 scholly years left. He has 4 playing years left. If he walks on this year, he will have three playing years left, and 4 scholly years. I guess it would mean that he gets one year of grad school paid for during his last playing year? Anyone know?

Yes, I believe that's the rub.

 

[Huskymaniac]

Since we discussing legalities here, can people use the freedom of information act to obtain the transcript of a student on a full scholarship at a public university? I would love to see exactly what classes and how many classes the Kentucky players are taking to "stay on track" for their degree so the squid can avoid APR probems with all these one-and-done players.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

Since we discussing legalities here, can people use the freedom of information act to obtain the transcript of a student on a full scholarship at a public university? I would love to see exactly what classes and how many classes the Kentucky players are taking to "stay on track" for their degree so the squid can avoid APR probems with all these one-and-done players.

I'm pretty sure you can't. There may be some privacy laws that protect the individual (in this case the student-athlete). At least I hope there is.

 

[tcf15]

Since we discussing legalities here, can people use the freedom of information act to obtain the transcript of a student on a full scholarship at a public university? I would love to see exactly what classes and how many classes the Kentucky players are taking to "stay on track" for their degree so the squid can avoid APR probems with all these one-and-done players.

Transcripts cannot be made public due to FERPA, a federal act that basically makes all transcripts exclusive to the student and their family. The student would have to make it Public in order for us to see it.

 

[ctchamps]

fleud, I love JC perhaps more than the next guy, more than most, but I'm not buying some of what your selling. JC has a burning desire to win, he's like the head cave man leading the band of hunters to the wholly mammoth, and bringing it home for the women and children to eat and survive. Yes he's loyal, but to his fellow hunters. Me, I'm good with that but let's keep this in perspective. Bradley has to take one for the team here. The more silver lining there is for Bradley down the road, the more this starts to look like a conspiracy to circumvent the scholarship sanctions. And that leads inevitably to more sanctions. I hope nothing has been promised to Bradley, not grad school, not 5 more years of scholarship, nothing. Because any promise of anything is a violation. If Bradley was asked and he agreed without any promises, then maybe we're ok. I'm sure it is that. Anything else would be just plain dumb.

JC is a survivor. He will do what it takes to win. I agree with your analogy of his being a hunter. He'll bring the meat home for the UConn family. I just don't think he tries to kill off one of his fellow hunters because the meat is slim. He'll divide it up differently.

I'm with you, I hope they never promised Bradley anything outside of attempting to help him get financial aid this semester. The NCAA clearinghouse will be specifically asked by UConn to review this situation about Bradley and AD and make sure the school has complied. If it hasn't the NCAA will rule otherwise. And UConn will have done nothing wrong. They are following due process.

This is certainly about Bradley willing to do this. The future is uncertain for him should he go this route and give up his scholarship. He may not make grades for his degree. He may not get his bb scholarship reinstated. There is no way he has not been informed of this, if not by UConn but by his support group. So he can force the situation and insist that JC pull his scholarship. Maybe he wanted to do this, but was afraid to, because he believed he would face retaliation by the school. That would be nonsense of course but who knows if Bradley understands this. My hope is Bradley has a great relationship with JC, that he understands that there is a possibility things can work out even better for him if he chooses this path and makes grades and develops his bb abilities. My hope is that the relationship is mutual with JC and Bradley and not parasitic. And I have offered examples where JC is not this inhuman beast that is so caught up in winning he has become a callous beast that some make him out to be.

 

[ctchamps]

Will ANY major media outlet pick up on this or will they ignore it to keep the more compelling "Calhoun is evil" angle?

I think there are some reporters who have and will defend JC and they most certainly will consider something like what I wrote as part of their arguments. And there are other reporters with different agendas who won't. And in this category you have those reporters who believe it is a better story (in the sense of more viewers and hence monies) to only present the negative and the category of reporters who just can't stand JC and have a personal vendetta against the man.

 

[NHUConnfan]

Transcripts cannot be made public due to FERPA, a federal act that basically makes all transcripts exclusive to the student and their family. The student would have to make it Public in order for us to see it.

Yes and no. Yes, transcripts cannot be made public due to FERPA. No, the transcripts are not exclusive to the student and their family. It is exclusive ONLY to the student. Family may only view the transcripts through student approval.

 

[sledog]

One now needs a doctorate to do pharma - like physical therapy. How long does that take at UConn?

 

[WhatTheDunk]

One now needs a doctorate to do pharma - like physical therapy. How long does that take at UConn?

It's 6 years total. 2 pre-pharm and 4 pharmacy professional years.

 

[milards]

I thought bradley was in the fostercare system, how is he going to pay for college

I'm not sure how it works in Tennessee (if I remember correctly that's where Bradley's from), but kids in the CT foster care system or in DCF custody have college paid for by the state. If they go to an out of state school the state will pay equal to what UConn cost.