Of course, we have reason to talk basketball 24/7 with the state of our basketball program: 5 straight #1 recruiting classes and a 2012 national championship can do that. Add in the fact that the McDonalds All-America game was dubbed the "John Calipari Invitational" by the ESPN announcers due to Kentucky having an unprecedented six Kentucky recruits participating with a possible seven if Wiggins commits to UK.
As a Kentucky basketball fan, I’m interested in the Miami case because Missouri’s coach, Frank Haith, is involved in the scandal and I am especially interested because the NCAA’s and Mark Emmert’s corruption have been exposed. Remember how Emmert treated Enes Kanter? Many believed that decision was vindictive because Kanter didn’t sign with the University of Washington.
As a Kentucky football fan, I am interested in the case because of Clint Hurtt’s involvement. The fact that Louisivlle and Charlie Strong brought Hurtt into the Louisville program with open arms knowing that he was facing problems at Miami is of interest to me, especially when Hurtt brought Teddy Bridgewater with him. Only recently, Tom Jurich and Charlie Strong placed Hurtt on “administrative leave” so Hurtt could prepare for his defense against Miami related NCAA charges. One should remember that Hurtt was NOT one of the assistant coaches who filed for dismissal of charges from the NCAA. Most Kentuckians know that when there is the odor of a skunk in the air, it means one is nearby.
As a fan of the college games of football and basketball, I am interested in the Miami case because the decision coming down from the NCAA June 24th hearing will have an impact on both college football and basketball. What the impact will be is anyone’s guess, but you can expect some rule changes. Here’s the latest on Miami.
Yesterday, ESPN broke a story about the corruption within the Auburn football program. They, however, were reporting based on an article from a former NY Times writer, Sports Illustrated writer, and Auburn graduate Selena Roberts. Here’s her story that she broke on her website, Roopstigo.com . Clicking on the website will take you directly to the story by Roberts. If what she claims is true, then Auburn is in deep doo-doo….really deep doo-doo.
Here’s the ESPN report. Here’s how the Birmingham News broke the story. This version has the expected player denials. AL.com also has an interview with Roberts. Very interesting reading. She is promising a Part two follow-up. It should be juicy.
If you’ll recall, there was a big stink concerning money demanded by Cam Newton’s father in return for a signed Letter of Intent with Mississippi State. Cam Newton, himself, was exonerated. The NCAA said he wasn’t aware of his dad’s activities. Here’s Wikipedia’s account of the situation:
In October 2011, the NCAA officially closed its 13-month investigation into the recruitment of Cam Newton, unable to substantiate any allegation or speculation of illicit recruiting by Auburn,[43][44] and concluded that Cecil Newton only solicited a cash payment from Mississippi State and no other institution attempting to recruit his son.[39] The investigation, which consisted of over 50 interviews and the reviewing of numerous bank records, IRS documents, telephone records, and e-mail messages, resulted in no findings that would indicate Auburn participated in any pay-for-play scenario in signing Cam Newton.[45][46] The NCAA said that the allegations failed to "meet a burden of proof, which is a higher standard than rampant public speculation online and in the media" and that the allegations were not "based on credible and persuasive information".[44][46] The NCAA's Stacey Osburn said "We've done all we can do. We've done all the interviews. We've looked into everything and there's nothing there. Unless something new comes to light that's credible and we need to look at, it's concluded."[47]
Now these new allegations have come to light covering the same period of time, and the new allegations involve Will Muschamp, who was Auburn’s defensive coordinator at the time. You also have to also wonder about Gus Malzahn as well since he was the offensive coordinator under Chizik and is Auburn’s current head coach.
One has to ask if the NCAA will investigate these allegations? Are they too busy defending themselves and Mark Emmert with the Miami case? Why didn’t the NCAA investigators on the Cam Newton case catch wind of the other activities reported by Roberts? It seems to me inquiring minds want to know. What kind of penalty fits for Miami, Auburn, and the NCAA? What say you?