Jacobs Grandstanding

[Gurleyman]

Having a hard time with the collective responses of The Boneyard. Some seem to be suggesting that APR doesn't matter. And grad rate also doesn't matter. What about s e xual assualts? Sometimes it takes an outside perspective to foster some introspection. The alternative is self righteousness and defensiveness which we seem to have in excess at this time on these topics.

Don't get me wrong - in terms of grad rates and the like, I care about the big picture. But I've been to alumni games and seen how a lot of the alumni who didn't make the NBA or didn't last long have ended up in good professions - education, counseling, non-profits, etc. So I feel comfortable the program has historically done right by its players.

This current 8 percent graduation rate and the APR issues center around the same brief sample size where we did under-perform. But the eight percent Jacobs and others are talking about (1-in-12) is really 1 in 5 if you disregard people who weren't in school for eight semesters, which I frankly think is fair if you analyze the numbers and don't just recite them. So basically we're talking about four guys who should have graduated and didn't (and "should have" is just a loose expression - tough to tell Jeff Adrien he made poor life choices). Our APR went from a ghastly 820 to an almost-perfect 980 in one year. A systemic problem just isn't that easy to correct. The 820 does reflect poorly on that small sample size - but not the program. We've moved on from that brief sliver of time and it is probably time the media move on as well.

Se xual assault is a significant problem at college campuses everywhere - not restricted to athletic dorms by any means. But Wolf lost his scholarship over something which was certainly below the bar of se xual assault, so the school certainly wasn't hiding anything just recently. Historically, if anything, we've been the opposite of rug-sweepers (see: Anderson, Rashad - has any other program had a player arrested for a prank, however ill-advised it may have been?). The charges are serious in the lawsuit, but at this point, they are just charges.

 

[freescooter]

The grad rate stuff was out there and it really is a legitimate issue for an opinion piece, despite what most Boneyarders think. You can agree or disagree with his conclusions, but writing on it was hardly beyond the pale. The assault thing is also troubling, but his handling of it was utterly inappropriate. He suggests many troubling things without a single shred of backup. Is there a rapist hanging out at Gampel/Burton/some other athletic venue? Do officials know it and have ignored it? If that is the case, that is a huge story. People should be fired, and a deep and extensive investigation into what is going on at UConn and its athletic department would be appropriate. But to present no information and just a bit of inuendo, he said that she said that they said type stuff is completely irresponsible. If you suspect it is the case, do some digging, get at least a couple of facts and THEN write the column, or better still turn it over to the police.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

The simple fact is that if a kid left the school of business after 3 years without a degree and got a million dollar salary from an accounting firm, he'd be lauded.

Why is it anything difference here?

Does it really matter if a basketball guy gets some liberal arts degree? In lieu of a big time basketball contract it just sounds absurd.

The fact that Jacobs tries to tie this in with sexual assault and presents it as a UConn basketball problem is actually disgusting and a total slap in the face to coach Ollie and our players.

 

[freescooter]

The simple fact is that if a kid left the school of business after 3 years without a degree and got a million dollar salary from an accounting firm, he'd be lauded.

Why is it anything difference here?

Does it really matter if a basketball guy gets some liberal arts degree? In lieu of a big time basketball contract it just sounds absurd.

The fact that Jacobs tries to tie this in with s e xual assault and presents it as a UConn basketball problem is actually disgusting and a total slap in the face to coach Ollie and our players.

the differences are many. First and foremost, you don't need to go to college to play in the NBA. 2nd, your fictional accountant (and he most likely is fictional) most likely came to UConn to learn accounting and most likely took courses in accounting. The basketball player isn't there for anything that is in any meaningful way connected with the university. Finally college isn't a trade school. You don't go to UConn to learn a trade. If that's what you want go to one of those trade schools they advertize on late night cable. So saying that players go to learn their trade is inappropriate for the purpose of a university.

On the matter of the alleged s exual assault of a woman, she, and Jacobs for that matter, really need to either make a real complaint and present something that passes for a fact, even a direct statement that Player X assaulted me, or be quiet. some innuendo that some unidentified athlete is going around assaulting women and the UConn police have ignored it is totally out of line. Fairness would, it seems to me, require at least that. He ll, if there is a rapist on one of the teams, and he's being protected, or even if he isn't, it seems to me that both the woman and Jacobs owe it to the UConn community, for safety if no other reason, to raise the alarm. I have daughters, one at UConn in a graduate program, and I sure as hellwould like to know if I there is a known danger. to make vague accusations is not helpful and might be dangerous.

 

[Huskies4ever]

On the matter of the alleged s exual assault of a woman, she, and Jacobs for that matter, really need to either make a real complaint and present something that passes for a fact, even a direct statement that Player X assaulted me, or be quiet. some innuendo that some unidentified athlete is going around assaulting women and the UConn police have ignored it is totally out of line. Fairness would, it seems to me, require at least that. He ll, if there is a rapist on one of the teams, and he's being protected, or even if he isn't, it seems to me that both the woman and Jacobs owe it to the UConn community, for safety if no other reason, to raise the alarm. I have daughters, one at UConn in a graduate program, and I sure as hellwould like to know if I there is a known danger. to make vague accusations is not helpful and might be dangerous.

^This.

Also, as mentioned, s exual assault is a huge issue in college in general. I think Herbst and UConn know how to handle these situations better than JJ. Accusations are just that - accusations. A school goes through these situations. They know what they are dealing with, and how to follow protocol.