UConn's alleged violations worse than Sampson

2009-03-30T22:21:37-04:00

2009-03-25T14:21:01-04:00

2009-03-30T22:21:37-04:00

bobby p

Charlotte 638246

10 Calhoun, is great coach but if every school was prosecuted for recruiting volation would we have a final four. 4875028

2009-03-25T23:36:45-04:00

sargentroad

584120

9 That this story was run today is a testament to college basketball's evolution into a professional sport as reflected in the media. I feel terribly for the current UConn student-players who must now deal with this situation that none of them were involved with, just one day before the biggest game of all their lives in a sport to which they have dedicated their entire lives. The media is at fault for blowing this out of proportion - Kevin Armstrong is ridiculous to claim that these violations are worse than Samson's. The author does not even provide a legitimate argument for WHY they are worse. Sure, there is an agent involved, but Samson did this with 17 players, was put on probation, then DID IT AGAIN! I would appreciate some subjective journalism on this subject that simply analyzes the facts known about the case, with perhaps some history or NCAA rules that would provide a reasonable guess as to a possible punishment, as opposed to articles like the one above and the many on ESPN with blanket statement headlines and ZERO content of any value. But hey, I guess I have read pretty much every article on the situation on ESPN.com and SI.com, which is in the end all that matters, right? 4819034

2009-03-25T22:55:18-04:00

MBanks

Southington 41500

8 Yahoo Sports is a bunch of jerks for releasing the story the day before Uconn plays in the Sweet 16 so they can make a big splash. Trying to ruin the season for the Uconn college players for a cheap headline. So much for integrity of journalism. These guys are the ones who should be catching the flack. 4818649

2009-03-25T18:51:27-04:00

lbijake

Manahawkin 482878

7 Calhoun is going to make Tarkanian look like a choir master by comparison. Too bad he did not win his 3rd NCAA before he got caught. 4816065

2009-03-25T17:58:45-04:00

yonge3309

No City 744128

6 No wonder Calhoun "won't give one dime back",he has to pay for all those cell phone bills. 4815262

2009-03-25T16:36:00-04:00

ODog

Hartford 380132

5 @viao123: Why don't you read the article again. It says Calhoun made 16 calls to the agent/shady guy, which isn't against NCAA rules. It makes no mention of him calling Miles or texting him. It was all Moore. Now you can make the case about Calhoun knowing or not knowing but that's not in the story. What the story presents is an assistant coach overstepping his recruiting bounds by making too many phone calls. Wow, who cares? That's a slap on the wrist infraction at most. And if UConn already reported the violations, as their statement suggests...then the NCAA already knows about it and clearly didn't think enough of it to make it known. So if the NCAA hasn't done anything about it...what's the hook? Too many phone calls? Oooohhh, good scoop Yahoo!...please. 4813828

2009-03-25T15:51:39-04:00

McGruff713

358160

4 First of all, the assistant coach IS part of the program, or he wouldn't be working under Calhoun. Secondly, whether anyone admits or not, Calhoun has an idea of whats going on. No coach running the program he runs, isn't going to know about this kind of stuff. He may turn a blind eye and act like he saw nothing b/c he was told nothing...but that isn't ignorance of whats going on. Any coach with the power and control over the school that he has (or similar coaches like Coach K, Boeheim, etc.) can claim they have absoultely NO CLUE that type of behavior was going on. Thirdly the agent WAS involved in the program, hinting that there could've been an association or a behind-the-scenes deal, with the player coming to UConn and receiving the agent's services later. What easier way to try to hide this kind of behavior but with someone who's familiar with your program and no longer attached. I agree it wasn't in the ballpark of Bush and the Fab Five, but if the player would've signed with UConn it very well could've been. We can't know that for sure, but you can see how it could've gone in that direction with everyone as closely tied to the program as they were, especially the agent. Not good at all for UConn's program right now. 4813018

2009-03-25T15:48:58-04:00

http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/950/69/thumb/713097.jpg 46 IN

PurdueMatt

Fishers 95369

3 What Sampson did was much worse. He made too many phone calls at Oklahoma. Came to IU under probation, intentionally circumvented those sanctions with 3 way calls, and then lied about it to school and NCAA investigators. And to top it off, there was rampant drug use among his players that he ignored in the interest of winning. 4812926

2009-03-25T15:40:15-04:00

viao123

Beverly Hills 588180

2 LoL. Why don't you go to Yahoo to read the article ? Even Calhoun made enough phone calls to violate NCAA rules... but maybe all those phone calls were not about Miles, but about the weather, politics and how to save the economy.. lol 4812794

2009-03-25T14:58:27-04:00

ODog

Hartford 380132

1 How in the world is this worse than Sampson? Sampson comitted violations at Oklahoma...went to Indiana under probation....and comitted the same violations, only worse. AND there were rampant allegations of drug use on the team brought to light by Eric Gordon. AND, Sampson was the head coach committing the violations. AND to say they were working with an agent is disingenious since he was a former member of the UConn program. Is it shady? Absolutely. But to say this is as bad as Sampson is ridiculous. And it's not even in the same ballpark as paying players (hello Reggie Bush & the Fab Five) or committing widespread academic fraud (hello Florida State). Unless more allegations come out about Calhoun's involvement....I think it's a little much to ask fans to get too riled up about 3 people (the player, the assisant coach and the agent) who are not involved in the UConn program. 4812112

<div class="photo_container image_right" style="width: 300px;"> <div class="photo"><img src="http://img.fannation.com/upload/si_blog_post_images/30243/jc.jpg" alt="Jc" /></div> <div class="photo_attributes" style="text-align:right;">Jim Calhoun has more on his plate than the Sweet 16.</div> <div class="photo_attributes" style="text-align:right;">AP<br /></div> </div> <p>What is shocking about the <a href="http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/news?slug=ys-uconnphone032509&prov=yhoo&type=lgns"><strong>Yahoo! Sports</strong> report</a> regarding UConn's recruitment of <strong>Nate Miles</strong> is not that the Huskies' coaches allegedly traded at least 1,565 phone and text messages with former UConn team manager and NBA player agent <strong>Josh Nochimson</strong>. Rather, it's the level of documentation that the report offers. In a world where many recruiters have one cell phone registered with the school they work for and at least one other to make an excessive number of calls from, UConn was not only caught, but the phone records show just how chatty they were.</p> <p>Since <strong>Kelvin Sampson</strong>'s text-happy ways were revealed in Bloomington last year, coaches have continued to find ways to circumvent the rules, but UConn's foibles -- if all of the reported violations stand up -- will make Sampson's sins seem small. Not only were the coaches in touch with Miles and his inner circle, but they show that the coaches were willing to work with an agent -- granted, one that had worked in their program as a manager -- to procure a top prospect's commitment.</p> <p>The NCAA has dedicated more of its efforts to preventing agent-recruit relationships from driving the current landscape, but as long as anonymous runners are able to enjoy the easy access of the prep scene and AAU circuit, they will be hard to stop.</p> <p>Brought to light in the middle of March Madness, the UConn alleged violations offer a reminder as to why hoop heads need bicameral minds. By compartmentalizing the on-court aesthetics in one section and the off-court shenanigans in another, one can enjoy the game without dwelling on the mischief that brings plenty of top teams together.</p> <p><a href="http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/news?slug=ys-uconnphone032509&prov=yhoo&type=lgns">Probe: UConn violated NCAA rules</a> [Yahoo! Sports]</p> http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/233/29/thumb/head.jpg 0 NY

Kevin Armstrong

Nanuet 23369 59401