John Calipari Alleged To Have Violated "Bump" Rule
by Glenn Logan on Sep 16, 2011 3:57 PM EDT
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PrintYahoo! sports is reporting that John Calipari violated the so-called "Bump Rule" at a basketball tournament in July with a prospect he wasn't even recruiting:
Well, if Calipari was trying to make light of Krzyzewski's teflon reputation, such criticisms will seem even more withering this week after it emerged that Calipari appears to be guilty of an even more egregious contact violation just weeks earlier in July. What makes the near-certain violation all the more shocking is the recipient of Calipari's adoration: A rising junior prospect who almost certainly won't reach the pinnacle of recruits who are likely to attend Kentucky.
...
"After the game, Calipari shook his hand and said, 'Great game,'" Dr. Kyles told Prep Rally. "I think he was just acknowledging, 'Hey, this kid is holding down my senior.'"
There is no doubt that if the circumstances are true exactly as reported in this story, Calipari committed a deliberate "bump rule" violation, which would be secondary in nature but is nonetheless troubling for all that. This is a rule that every single coach in America knows by heart, which is probably one of the reasons for my skepticism about this report. It isn't as if Calipari has the luxury of thinking nobody is paying attention.
I see no reason for either the young man or his father to lie, although I am very skeptical of the anonymous snitch referenced later:
Austin Kyles also confirmed that the handshake occurred to a Prep Rally source who could only comment on the condition of anonymity. Calipari's handshake and brief conversation with Kyles was first reported by the Aiken Standard, though the newspaper misattributed the tournament at which it occurred (the Standard said that it came at the Peach State Summer Showcase, though Kyles or Calipari was not in attendance at that event, which occurred at the same time as the Super 60 Showcase).
Anonymous sources remind me too much of the Anthony Davis "non-scandal," and I am highly suspicious of this report. Nevertheless, we have to take it seriously, and UK is taking it seriously, just as they should. We'll be keeping a weather eye out for more, and breaking down the particulars later.
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After reading the NCAA piece in the FanPosts by uklawdog
I just want the NCAA to just go away…..soon. Even if true, these rules are trivial and should be invalidated.
Don't take life too seriously; no one gets out alive.
I just read that piece
And it is eye-opening. However, if the NCAA cannot administer a system that allows a level playing field for intercollegiate athletics, then I believe some replacement organization needs to be instituted to do so.
You are right that the “bump” rule is trivial in the context of the far bigger issues.
What the hell?
If he did it, it’s monumentally stupid – by I can kind of understand his logic. The kid wasn’t a “recruit” in Calipari’s world, so it would be the same thing as saying that to a guy after a pick-up game. But still, you gotta think about the letter of the law and how it looks.
We need, of course, to figure out it it’s true, or all of this is just another smear job. Would love to hear Cal’s version of events. He and the Kentucky program are held to a higher standard, as I think they should be.
I completely agree with all this.
No matter what we think of the rules, rules they are. And you and I were thinking the same thing — it was just Calipari being nice to a kid that he had no interest in at all, as if he were a pedestrian who helped an old lady across the street.
Still, Calipari knows these rules. He knows he’s on “probation” every time he steps into an AAU gym. This would be a brainfart of galactic proportions.
A Sea of Blue -- Kentucky Sports for the Discerning Fan
And also
I fully agree that the “anonymous source” stuff is bogus. We’re not talking about matters of life and death, here – if you want to impugn a man’s character, have the nuggets to put your reputation on it.
by NYCCats on Sep 16, 2011 4:38 PM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
Here is what I think
If it is a rule, and Cal broke it, than punish him accordingly. Rules should be enforced all of the time, not some of the time. So either do away with the stupid rule, or punish who ever breaks the rule.
That's right.
We are no exception, and Calipari is not perfect. If he broke the rule, then he did. But it is surely a secondary violation. Learn from it and move on.
A Sea of Blue -- Kentucky Sports for the Discerning Fan
I agree with NYC
in that if the kid is not a “contact”, then what is the problem? I am pretty sure Cal knows the rules for actual “contacts”.
On the other hand…. would some of you guys like the chance to re-vote on whether or not you approve of Cal going off to South America and around the world to coach the DR team?
It might be safer keeping him out of the country :-)
.
"I watch (UK) every night... I am going to support them for the rest of my life. I'm a Wildcat for the rest of my life." -- JWall, 2/8/11
by HSLex on Sep 16, 2011 4:27 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Heh.
Good point there. He doesn’t need to recruit in July, anyway. :-)
A Sea of Blue -- Kentucky Sports for the Discerning Fan
I don't know
Part of me says Cal is way too smart to have committed such a contact with all those witnesses, media, other coaches, reporters, etc.
But a rule is a rule. If Cal admits this, we take whatever is appropriate punishment and move on. Problem is, what is punishment for Duke is light compared to what is punishment for UK.
UK will institute self punishment of....
helping Pitino get some players. (After all, the NCAA now is just in the business of approving self punishment then just carrying it up a notch or two.) We’ll offer to help them get one players and the NCAA will say we have to find two players for UL.
Don't take life too seriously; no one gets out alive.
Maybe Cal will introduce Pitino
to the boy he “bumped” into now that they know each other so well.
I woke up feeling BLUE this morning. It's gonna be a great day.
Deja Bill Vu Self all over again..........
I feel like I’ve seen this all before. Will things be any different this time. I’m thinking probably not. Certainly our very dear friends in Indianapolis have bigger fish to fry.
No one is perfect not even Coach Cal.
I guess the NCAA could require him to stop recruiting the guy he wasn’t recruiting in the first place.
I woke up feeling BLUE this morning. It's gonna be a great day.
NCAA rule on contact
Contact.
Previous Cite: 13.02.3 Competition Site. Next Cite: 13.02.4.1 Evaluation Activities During Contact Period — Football.
A contact is any face-to-face encounter between a prospective student-athlete or the prospective student-athlete’s parents, relatives or legal guardians and an institutional staff member or athletics representative during which any dialogue occurs in excess of an exchange of a greeting. Any such face-to-face encounter that is prearranged (e.g., staff member positions himself or herself in a location where contact is possible) or that takes place on the grounds of the prospective student-athlete’s educational institution or at the site of organized competition or practice involving the prospective student-athlete or the prospective student-athlete’s high school, preparatory school, two-year college or all-star team shall be considered a contact, regardless of whether any conversation occurs. However, an institutional staff member or athletics representative who is approached by a prospective student-athlete or the prospective student-athlete’s parents, relatives or legal guardians at any location shall not use a contact, provided the encounter was not prearranged and the staff member or athletics representative does not engage in any dialogue in excess of a greeting and takes appropriate steps to immediately terminate the encounter. (Revised: 1/11/94 effective 8/1/94)
I guess this means if Coack Cal
approached the prospect than he is guilty but if the prospect approached him he wouldn’t necessarily be.
Saw
this thing as soon as it broke and was immediately suspicious about the details. I find it hard to believe Cal would make such a huge slip with such a non-UK recruit, but stranger things have happened. We’ll see how it pans out I guess but I suspect not much will come of it.
maybe I missed it
but what’s the punishment if he did violate this “bump” rule? Btw, “bump” rule all on it’s own without any context to go along with it sounds pretty terrible.
The first thing
that would happen is that he would probably be told he can’t recruit this kid. After that, it’s all about the details and which crooked jerk from the NCAA is in on making the ruling. It’s a secondary violation anyway so it will be miniscule. This will go away in a few days and eventually we’ll hear the ruling but won’t care because we’ll be deciding where to hang our banner for this coming season.
by Clint Phelps on Sep 16, 2011 8:27 PM EDT up reply actions
Arkansas
Fired Pelfrey for posing in a photo with Archie Goodwin and another guy. They said the picture broke the camels back. They were looking for something to break it though.
Blue... there is no other color to Bleed !!!
Yeah.
They were going to fire him anyway, that just gave them an excuse to do it sooner.
A Sea of Blue -- Kentucky Sports for the Discerning Fan
I agree with NYC,
let’s wait until we hear it from Cal. Too many inconsistencies/mistakes in that story.
God Bless Our Troops............Especially Our Snipers!
on the other hand,
just read yet another story over at Allkyhoops that the kid, his dad and another witness have confirmed it. Makes me wonder how Cal could be so sloppy.
God Bless Our Troops............Especially Our Snipers!
by bigbill992001 on Sep 16, 2011 8:12 PM EDT up reply actions
So they say.
But the so-called “witness” is simply confirming the same conversation, and is anonymous. I’m a bit skeptical about that.
A Sea of Blue -- Kentucky Sports for the Discerning Fan
Glenn,
they did identify the witness
God Bless Our Troops............Especially Our Snipers!
by bigbill992001 on Sep 18, 2011 9:40 AM EDT up reply actions
Not unless they have done so recently.
He wasn’t so much a witness as he heard the same story from the father. He has not been identified.
A Sea of Blue -- Kentucky Sports for the Discerning Fan
by Glenn Logan on Sep 18, 2011 11:18 AM EDT up reply actions
My Bad, Glenn,
I misread it. They DID NOT name the witness.
God Bless Our Troops............Especially Our Snipers!
by bigbill992001 on Sep 18, 2011 9:44 PM EDT up reply actions
Just makes me wonder
how Cal could be so human.
I woke up feeling BLUE this morning. It's gonna be a great day.
by kywineman on Sep 16, 2011 10:38 PM EDT reply actions 2 recs
If its true
Cal should just come out immediately and say, “I violated the rule. Since I am not even recruiting the kid I gave him a compliment without thinking. It was a mistake, but it wasn’t done to get any kind of recruiting advantage.” End of news cycle, end of story.
ALS
by Alex Scutchfield on Sep 17, 2011 8:25 AM EDT reply actions
Remember Cal it's the "bump and run" not the "bump and shake" rule
A little FB analogy thrown in for A2
A man is nothing more than a summation of his scars!
Who approached whom
is the critical question. And what do we have on that?
“After the game, Calipari shook his hand and said, ‘Great game,’” Dr. Kyles told Prep Rally. “I think he was just acknowledging, ‘Hey, this kid is holding down my senior.’” Austin Kyles also confirmed that the handshake occurred to a Prep Rally source who could only comment on the condition of anonymity.
From this, we have a handshake and a brief congratulation by Calipari. But nothing directly addressing the question of who approached whom. It’s the Yahoo! columnist who makes the critical leap by inferring from these statements that it was Calipari who approached the prospect. Confirming that he is making an assumption, the columnist states it would “seem unlikely” that Calipari could claim that Kyles had approached him. Seem unlikely? This highlights the lack of evidence the columnist has on the single most important aspect of his story.
He might end up being correct. But let’s not jump to conclusions ourselves.
What we have, as far as I know ...
… is the father’s word, and the word of an anonymous person who was told the same story by the father, i.e. that Calipari approached them.
The Yahoo! author, to his credit, specifically addresses who is alleged to have approached whom. You have to read the piece closely, but it’s there.
A Sea of Blue -- Kentucky Sports for the Discerning Fan
by Glenn Logan on Sep 17, 2011 10:06 AM EDT up reply actions
He says
“As both Dr. Kyles and Austin Kyles indicated that Calipari was the one who sought out the prospect”
But is he basing this solely on the the father’s quote and Austin’s confirmation that a handshake occurred? That’s how I read it. If there’s something else the author has on who approached whom, he doesn’t say.
First of all folks, we're talking about hallways and the areas around a court.
Consider this scenario, …Cal is on his way somewhere the path to which takes him down the same corridor where the Kyles are standing. They make eye contact, Calipari takes a couple of steps to close the very short distance, says, “Good game,” and moves on. The contact wasn’t ‘pre-arranged’ and the words spoken don’t constitute more than a dialogue “in excess of an exchange of a greeting.” This short story seems to fit all the facts we know and yet wouldn’t constitute a violation in my view.
I think we need to wait for more information before drawing any conclusions.
Not at all.
The reality is, if Calipari approached him in the July evaluation period at a certified event and spoke or shook his hand, that’s a violation of the bump rule. Period.
Now, if they approached Calipari and Calipari was in a defensible place (i.e. not positioned so that contact was inevitable), this is a close call, but a case can be made that it isn’t a bump rule violation.
Make no mistake. If the events are as reported, Calipari violated the bump rule. I spent 2 hours reading the NCAA bylaws today, and that’s just how it is.
A Sea of Blue -- Kentucky Sports for the Discerning Fan
Well, he said ...
… that the Kyles’ also confirmed it to an anonymous source.
A Sea of Blue -- Kentucky Sports for the Discerning Fan
The bump heard around the Bluegrass
By the time this ‘story’ gets picked up by everyone, it will have been a full on make out session. Lol
Slower Traffic Keep Right!
by SevenRings on Sep 17, 2011 10:43 AM EDT via iPhone app reply actions
If this is all there is to the incident
UK will, upon confirming it with Coach Cal, self impose appropriate punishment and the Cal haters will no longer be able to say he cheats and doesn’t get caught. That puts him right there with Coach K in number of infractions.
I woke up feeling BLUE this morning. It's gonna be a great day.
Of course
Coach K’s was far more egregious.
I woke up feeling BLUE this morning. It's gonna be a great day.
I don't think so.
In fact, I think Calipari’s was more egregious. K’s was more technical.
A Sea of Blue -- Kentucky Sports for the Discerning Fan
But it was someone
he was actually recruiting.
I woke up feeling BLUE this morning. It's gonna be a great day.
I seen your comment about the KFC bucket hats Wineman - but you forgot to say they were the used original recipe ones
A man is nothing more than a summation of his scars!
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