Jeff Jacobs: NCAA investigating UConn men

[KembaStepback]

Hoping for the best. I'm waiting for more details before I really get into this.

 

[Tuna]

Question for the mods, where ever you are...Why is this type of ad hominem nonsense allowed? There is no room for this. I see a like, quote and reply button, but no "report" button.

Delete please.

I also have an idea. How about we, get this, wait and see how this plays out!

You think there is a problem calling someone out who is admittingly trying to "strike a nerve"?

I'll be happy to delete the second part if so.

 

[tcf15]

1) Who is the suitman that every one is talking about?

2) Don't think anyone has mentioned Tremont Waters yet. I doubt it has to do with him, but his recruitment certainly appeared shady and is another angle to at least consider

Meet Rashan Michel, the suit-making middleman caught in college hoops scandal

Right now, any relationship with Rashan Michel raises questions. If you’re a college basketball coach who has been photographed wearing one of his suit coats with the trademark yellow stitching around the lapel buttonhole, you might have some explaining to do. (Many, but not all, of Michel’s coats have that stitching.)

“He said, ‘I really don’t know the guy, I bought a couple suits from him, that’s all I understand about the guy,’ ” Chardis related.

Still, one Instagram picture dated Aug. 7, 2014, appears to show Michel with Ollie in the UConn basketball offices, with one of the school’s national championship trophies partly visible in the background.

 

[upstater]

Honestly, recruiting violations and the $10 mil buyout vanishing may be better than having to deal with that albatross

Recruiting violations will mean players leave, no good new players come, and any viable replacement for Ollie refuses the job. In other words, a punishment means worse players, worse coaching. And UConn will be a two-time NCAA punishee in the decade, something that not even the most notorious schools have managed to accomplish (other than Louisville).

As long as you're OK with all that, then by all means celebrate Ollie's impending doom.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

One things for sure. If the NCAA makes us vacate anything, I really don't give a damn. We all know what happened and we all know the NCAA is corrupt. It doesn't change in the slightest what happened on the court.

 

[CTBasketball]

You guys are forgetting that KO runs the program.

If any wrongdoing, small or large, is found he will be axed. Can’t blame AD Dave for following the rules.

 

[blue93]

1) Who is the suitman that every one is talking about?

2) Don't think anyone has mentioned Tremont Waters yet. I doubt it has to do with him, but his recruitment certainly appeared shady and is another angle to at least consider

If anything, I think the way the Tremont Waters recruitment went down helps prove our innocence.

 

[RipCity]

Is it really about recruiting? I wouldn’t be too sure.

 

[TopDogs]

 

[Tuna]

If that is true they should revoke any credentials Jeff Jacobs has. Never grant a single interview again.

 

[KembaStepback]

This is very encouraging news.

 

[tcf15]

If that is true they should revoke any credentials Jeff Jacobs has. Never grant a single interview again.

For reporting that UConn is under investigation? Which UConn has confirmed? Huh?

 

[TopDogs]

 

[TopDogs]

 

[CTBasketball]

NCAA asked colleges to conduct internal investigations. They did and reported findings.

NCAA comes knocking on UConn’s door and says we’re investigating you further.

Is it not that obvious?

 

[Guapo]

Could it be academics related?

 

[Penfield]

If that is true they should revoke any credentials Jeff Jacobs has. Never grant a single interview again.

We might not always like Jacobs opinion pieces, but I don't think he is the type of journalist that would leave out facts to make a story more interesting. I believe he presented exactly what he knew about the situation. He may have botched the delivery a bit, but I don't think he was trying to mislead anyone.

The questions I have are who was his source, and why were the additional details that have come out this morning not told to Jacobs initially? Seems that person didn't have the whole story, or was intentionally leaving out some info.

 

[Penfield]

Could it be academics related?

All the beat writers have been making the point that it has something to do w/ recruiting.

 

[Excalibur]

Not sure why I'm engaging in dialogue with someone I've honestly thought may be suffering from the effects of a TBI or some other equally debilitating affliction (sincere apologies if you are). Like I said I was a lot happier when I didn't have to read your crap so it's probably time to add you to my ignore list. It's a short list but you're in good company with superjohn and jsm...

You think there is a problem calling someone out who is admittingly trying to "strike a nerve"?

I'll be happy to delete the second part if so.

You really think what you wrote is appropriate?

 

[JeepCSC]

This is very encouraging news.

I think you are reading it wrong. There are two investigations. The initial investigation conducted (past tense) at the behest of UConn was not because of any specific allegation. The current NCAA inquiries are because of something specific. The question now is what are the specifics and then whether they have any merit.

 

[Tuna]

For reporting that UConn is under investigation? Which UConn has confirmed? Huh?

For breaking a story about a highly sensitive topic based on a leak that made headlines across the country (with obviously less than all of the facts). Sorry I have a problem with journalists motivated more by breaking a story to garner clicks and ad rev than by seeking and providing the truth.

 

[8893]

For reporting that UConn is under investigation? Which UConn has confirmed? Huh?

For purposely fanning the flames of speculation just for click bait, a la:

I’d be an irresponsible fool to try to pretend to know more than I do.

This much I do know. There has been an extraordinary amount of criticism of the team’s play under Ollie in recent months. His contract was extended through 2021 before the start of last season. At that point, after taking over for Jim Calhoun, he had coached a team ineligible for the NCAA Tournament to an admirable 20-10 season in 2013 and taken the Huskies to an unexpected national championship in 2014. And, with the help of Jalen Adams’ miracle shot, won the AAC tournament title before losing to No. 1 Kansas in the second round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament.

Ollie was a coach courted by the NBA and had one of the most ballyhooed recruiting classes in the country in 2016. If the five-year, $17.9-million deal had been announced when he signed on Nov. 10, 2016, it would have been applauded. Word of the contract extension, however, did not emerge until months later and by that time the Huskies were struggling badly. Nearly 15 months after that signing and UConn on the hook for three more guaranteed seasons, the contract, set to expire after the 2020-2021 season, has become extremely unpopular with the fan base. Much has happened rather quickly and not much of it has been good.

And then there’s Article 10, Section D in Ollie’s contract. It can be voided for “just cause.”

“The phrase ‘just cause’ shall include, in addition to the definition contained in the Collective Bargaining Agreement: 1.) a violation by the Coach of any law, rule, regulation, policy, bylaw, or official interpretation of the University, the Conference or the NCAA; 2.) a violation by a member of the basketball coaching staff, or any other person under the coach’s supervision and direction, including student-athletes in the basketball program that the coach knew as a violation, and takes no steps to address, correct and report the violation within a reasonable period of time which under no circumstance shall be longer than 10 business days.”

The wording is broad, extrem ly broad. Nothing specific about how serious a transgression something had to be or if there had to be multiple transgressions. The contract was originally structured in 2012 following the problems with the NCAA and ensuing probation under Calhoun. The university was intent on running a strict ship and pretty much having zero tolerance. The deal is generous for Ollie financially and, because AD Warde Manuel left UConn there was the elimination of a buyout Ollie would have had to pay if he left for the NBA. Yet in terms of discipline and dismissal for just cause the contract appears weighted toward the school.

Of course, if it ever came down to it, something so contentious usually ends in a negotiated buyout figure.

 

[Guapo]

All the beat writers have been making the point that it has something to do w/ recruiting.

Oh really?

I haven't seen that.

I believe you though.

 

[WrenchFan69]

Deputy AD who tweets twice a year posted this earlier. Weird? Definitely. Related? Hopefully not

 

[Tuna]

We might not always like Jacobs opinion pieces, but I don't think he is the type of journalist that would leave out facts to make a story more interesting. I believe he presented exactly what he knew about the situation. He may have botched the delivery a bit, but I don't think he was trying to mislead anyone.

The questions I have are who was his source, and why were the additional details that have come out this morning not told to Jacobs initially? Seems that person didn't have the whole story, or was intentionally leaving out some info.

I hear ya and I'm certainly no facsist trying to shut up the press. My point was exactly that; get the details before breaking the story. There are different levels of ncaa infractions, obviously everyone is going to think the worst and our competitors will use it against us. He must know that much and I personally think it's really irresponsible.