SB Nation User Blog: Truzenzuzex

U of L receiver Guy shot | courier-journal | The Courier-Journal

Truzenzuzex — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 12:45:29 -0000

U of L receiver Guy shot | courier-journal | The Courier-Journal

I truly hope this young man will be OK. I have taken the liberty of a little joy in some of the recent struggles of U of L football, but this is tragic for the young man.

I hope he will be OK, and I wish him a speedy, full recovery. Kragthorpe should warn players to stay away from that club, it apparently attracts a bad element, and I don't mean the U of L players.

Media to Billy Donovan: "We know you had to, so its OK"

Truzenzuzex — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 11:04:19 -0000

I admit, this does anger me. In my earlier article about Florida coach Billy Donovan's acceptance of Austin Rivers' commitment to the Gators in apparent disdain of the recent NABC strong discouragement of such a practice, I asked if we would hear Donovan similarly criticized, or silence. That question has been emphatically answered, at least as of 3 days into the affair. Not one article has appeared as of this writing anywhere that is the least bit critical of Donovan. But articles have appeared apparently casting Donovan as a victim of Gillispie's actions.

I wish to direct your attention to that bane of all Wildcat fans, the Original Sin of the Lexington Herald-Leader himself, Jerry Tipton (please note tongue firmly in cheek). It seems that Jerry got a few emails along the line of my earlier missive:

“So Clyde (Gillispie) stated he would no longer accept commitments unless they are in their junior year, yet BD (Florida Coach Billy Donovan) accepts this commitment,” wrote one fan in an e-mail. “That's not playing on a level field, in my opinion. BD, in other words, tells the NABC to stick it. I hope you mention this in your blog. I will be disappointed if you do not. Not Right.”

It does seem passing strange that after all the hubbub surrounding Avery's commitment to Kentucky and the subsequent media circus surrounding the NABC "strong discouragement" of accepting commitments prior to June 15th following their sophomore year that we have not one story containing even a mild reproof of Donovan for his acceptance of a commitment from a 15 year-old, much less the kind of blanket, finger-wagging disapproval Billy Gillispie was subjected to on an almost daily basis over the last 60 days for doing exactly the same. Maybe they are just waiting 'till Monday. Yeah, that's it.

Tipton goes on to paraphrase some of Donovan's defenders:

Those who defend Donovan note that not all recruiting scenarios are the same. The Florida coach has a longstanding relationship with Rivers and his family.

Well. That makes it OK, then. I mean, if you have a relationship with the recruit's father, the "rules" don't apply to you. But let me take that a little further. Donovan's relationship with the Rivers' provides him a recruiting advantage over everyone. You see, unlike Gillispie who had to wait until Avery's father called him, Donovan could call on Doc and Austin anytime because of an existing relationship with the family. So that makes it all OK for Billy D -- pay no attention to that man behind the curtain. Move along.

But that isn't quite enough for the Florida media. They would have us to believe that Donovan is just responding to the threat of the Evil Billy Gillispie, he simply had to do this or be left behind:

Florida basketball coach Billy Donovan just secured an oral commitment from 15-year-old Winter Park guard Austin Rivers, the youngest commitment in his 12 seasons at UF. Austin is the son of Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers. This is either a case of Donovan outworking other programs or an effort to keep up with Kentucky's Billy Gillispie and his Junior High Kids 'R Us recruiting strategy. ...

Oh, yeah, man. Absolutely right. We can't have Kentucky getting away with something Florida can't. The fact that Donovan has already obtained verbal commitments previously from three players younger than the NABC recommended limit, including current player Nick Calathes, doesn't matter at all. In fact, the only thing that matters is Gillispie is wrong, and Donovan is ... perfect. Clean cut, never a hint of impropriety. This just had to be on the up-and-up, you gotta look at all the facts of the case, and the fact is Donovan is good and Gillispie is bad. That's all you need to know.

For all you Florida fans that think I'm ragging on Billy D, I'm not. I agree with him, and frankly think that what he did was just fine, all four times. I think the NABC is full of it on this issue, and the NCAA as well. You want to establish a limit? Fine, place accepting scholarship offers off limits prior to a kid's 15th birthday. But 15 is plenty old enough to make a decision about college, especially with the large amount of family involvement at that point in a young person's life. I was making decisions at 15 that make a college choice pale into insignificance, and I have news for you -- most other 15 year-olds today are as well. Stop with this whole "sophomore year" deal. When we offer the franchise to vote in elections to everyone at 18 years of age or the right to imbibe alcohol at 21, we don't include a caveat about what grade level they have achieved in high school.

But what about the "academic profile" of younger players that garners all the hand-wringing from Miles Brand, the NABC et. al.? Let's take the case of young Mr. Avery, the commitment that started this firestorm:

Avery has been astute enough to turn his intensity on his studies, too. He graduated from eighth grade with a grade-point average of 3.54.

"I realize that if I don't do well in the classroom, I don't play basketball," he said.

Imagine that. The kid has a B+ average, and realizes that if he doesn't keep it up, he won't play ball. No way a kid with a mature attitude like that is old enough to decide about college, right NCAA? NABC? And of course, those worthies just know Gillispie didn't take Avery's strong academic record into consideration when he offered his father the scholarship. No way, we all know Gillispie is evil.

Contrast that to many players who wait and make their decision in accordance with the preferences of the NABC, NCAA and others who wind up in prep school or junior college. Perhaps if they had committed earlier in their careers, they would not have found keeping up their grades to be of secondary importance, and would have had the additional mentoring of their college coach-to-be to help motivate them.

Do I really want the media to rag out Donovan? Nope. What I want is for the media, the NABC and the NCAA to stop their silly, gut-reaction posturing and actually rub those brain cells that they allegedly have together for a moment. Do we need another stupid rule from the NCAA that makes sense only to a public relations manager, or do we need them to really consider when it is too early for a commitment to a college? We don't criticize academic prodigies who wind up selecting and entering college at a young age -- we laud them. It's time to stop creating double standards due to cognitive dissonance and stubborn desire to "look good" to the public. How about leading, for a change, instead of continuing to contribute to the parochial mentality that dominates academia and the step-child attitude academics have toward athletics?

Florida basketball coach Billy Donovan just secured an oral commitment from 15-year-old Winter Pa...

Truzenzuzex — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 17:02:39 -0000

Florida basketball coach Billy Donovan just secured an oral commitment from 15-year-old Winter Park guard Austin Rivers, the youngest commitment in his 12 seasons at UF. Austin is the son of Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers. This is either a case of Donovan outworking other programs or an effort to keep up with Kentucky's Billy Gillispie and his Junior High Kids 'R Us recruiting strategy. ...

Jacksonville.com: Sports: Gene Frenette: Story: Packers can't win with Favre

Here's a guy who manages to criticize Gillispie and praise Donovan for doing the same thing.

My prediction is coming true ...

Northstar Basketball: Update on . . . DeAndre Liggins and Michael Peck

Truzenzuzex — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 11:54:13 -0000

Northstar Basketball: Update on . . . DeAndre Liggins and Michael Peck

Not really anything to hang our hats on, but we should be hearing something within the next 30-60 days.

The NCAA Clearinghouse is not known for blazing efficiency.

Did you see where Doc Rivers' 15-year-old son Austin Rivers, who isn't even yet a sophomore at Wi...

Truzenzuzex — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 11:26:06 -0000

Did you see where Doc Rivers' 15-year-old son Austin Rivers, who isn't even yet a sophomore at Winter Park High School, has orally committed to play basketball for Billy Donovan at the University of Florida? Forget Oak Hill Academy; it's only a matter of time before Billy gets a commitment from the top prospect at La Petite Academy. And remember when college boosters had to offer cars and cash to get a commitment from a recruit? These days, they just offer scooters and Chuck E. Cheese's tokens. . . .

Shame on NASCAR for changing the name of the Firecracker 400 -- OrlandoSentinel.com

I wonder if this qualifies as criticism? --Tru

Ex-Cat Burton signs with RamsEx-Cat Burton signs with Rams - UK Football - Kentucky.com

Truzenzuzex — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 13:17:30 -0000

Ex-Cat Burton signs with RamsEx-Cat Burton signs with Rams - UK Football - Kentucky.com

Congratulations to Keenan Burton for getting a contract with the Rams.

I like Steve Kragthorpe and no, not because he led Louisville to a rough season last year. I thin...

Truzenzuzex — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 13:08:39 -0000

I like Steve Kragthorpe and no, not because he led Louisville to a rough season last year. I think the guy is a great coach and great man. I have been in several settings around Coach Kragthorpe and have always come away impressed. I truly believe he was given the keys to the insane asylum last year and has had the unfortunate task of trying to clean up the character mess Bobby Petrino left behind.

courier-journal.com | Chris Diggs - UK Fan | The Courier-Journal

I think this is right.

Young Recruits: The "Billys" Are Right, the NABC -- Not So Much

Truzenzuzex — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 11:45:15 -0000

All summer long, Kentucky fans have been subjected to a constant drumbeat of criticism over Coach Gillispie's acceptance of verbal commitments from players who have not yet reached their junior year in high school. Evidently concerned about the perception that coaching was getting out of control, the NABC issued a statement which strongly opposed accepting commitments from high school players before June 15th of their sophomore year.

Billy Gillispie agreed to abide by the decision, even though he argued repeatedly that he saw nothing wrong with accepting young commitments and even managed to get UK president Dr. Lee Todd on board, at least to some degree. But even after the NABC statement, commentary has continued to appear critical of the practice in general and Gillispie in particular.

Comes now Florida head coach Billy Donovan to join Gillispie, USC's Tim Floyd, NC State's Sydney Lowe and North Carolina's Roy Williams (among others) to the party. Yesterday, Donovan accepted a commitment from Austin Rivers, son of Boston Celtics coach Glenn "Doc" Rivers. To Donovan's credit, he isn't being a hypocrite or an iconoclast here -- he has accepted early commits before:

Rivers, a 6-foot-3 guard from the Orlando area, has an older sister, Callie, who plays volleyball for Florida. In Donovan's 12 seasons as coach, Rivers is the fourth player to commit to Florida before completing his sophomore year.

The other three all enjoyed successful college careers: Teddy Dupay, Mike Miller and Nick Calathes.

Donovan has so far not commented on the Rivers case, but he has said before that he sees nothing wrong with the practice, and that a decision to commit to a school should be a "family decision."

I think Donovan is right. Others have argued that the pressures of living up to that commitment are more than a player should have to deal with at that tender age, and that players are simply not experienced enough to make such important decisions. They also argue that coaches simply aren't good enough to accurately evaluate talent or academic quality at such an early age.

I have discussed this at length here and here, and in this writer's opinion, accepting an early commitment has no demonstrable negative impact on the recruit -- in fact, if Donovan's three previous early commits serve as examples, one can easily dispense with the "Coaches can't accurately evaluate players that early" argument. Donovan clearly can. And while it's true that early commitments pose possible repercussions for the school should the recruit fail to develop, as long as the school is willing to honor its commitment, it is a no-lose situation for the young player. College coaches, on the other hand, get paid to take risks.

As far as decisions go, recruits deciding early are much more likely to carefully consider family input at younger ages than they are when they get their driver's license and begin to conclude they already know everything. And with respect to "academic qualifications," this is simply a red herring -- the kid either will qualify academically or he won't, and if he fails to do the work, it isn't as if he would be mindless of the consequences. His college coach will surely remind him -- that is, unless he doesn't have one. If you want a refresher course on the absurdity of the academic argument, read this post.

So now comes my next question -- will we see the media come out in force condemning Billy Donovan for violating the NABC's "moratorium" on accepting early commitments, or will we hear crickets? My bet is the latter, because what we clearly have here and have had for some time is a double standard. The media clearly knows that Gillsipie wasn't the first to do this, but they have, in general, studiously avoided mentioning coaches like Roy Williams and Billy Donovan. Why? Because it's much easier to make Gillispie the fall guy. Everybody knows Gillispie has a couple of alcohol-related incidents in his past, and painting a flawed person as an ogre is much easier than manufacturing one from clean-cut Billy Donovan or sweet Ol' Roy.

Gillispie has to accept responsibility for placing himself in the situation to be made into a bad guy, but he has done that with amazing aplomb and a lot of class. I expect Billy Donovan will handle the criticism, should any ever actually arise, with equal dexterity. But in the final analysis, the media and academicians who essentially shamed the NABC into their statement are the ones who are full of it.

These same academicians make up the NCAA, and they'll have the last word on all of this. But I'm thinking I'll have the last laugh.

UPDATE 09:55 AM: Guess how old Austin Rivers is? If you said 15, the same age as Michael Avery and Vinnie Zollo, you win 1,000 ASoB bucks.

Duke University Fans: Boldly making fun of others while having "Kick Me" imprinted on their foreheads

Truzenzuzex — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 16:42:43 -0000

Well, they have a right to, don't they? I mean, you somehow have to recover from making the undisputed case to a judge that your football team stinks so bad that their contractual representations aren't worth the paper they're written on.

Classifying Duke football, one of the two biggest college sports in the land, as an epic failure is an understatement of such magnitude that even Cardinal fans could agree with us on it. No need to discuss the faults of their highly ranked but equally underachieving basketball team, those worthies having been declared likely failures early in the NCAA tourney last year before the games were played by people who wager money on their outcome.

Yeah, I know. Duke is an easy target right now but in the doldrums of summer, sometimes it helps just to revel in a little Indigo Diablo loathing, even when only trivially provoked.

UPDATE 01:24 PM: I just found this:

Krzyzewski also insisted that his Duke team won't suffer because he will be out of Durham for a significant chunk of late summer. The Blue Devils are coming off a 28-6 season in which they ascended to No. 2 nationally, slipped late in the season and for the second straight year failed to reach the second weekend of the NCAA tournament.

Heh. Schadenfreude is so good for the soul ...

UPDATE 07:30 PM: It must be "Hate Duke" day. Seth Stogsdill at UK Wildcat Country gives us his reasons to hate Duke, and they are pretty darn good ones.

We already know that Freedom Hall will be humming with UAB, UNLV and South Alabama offering non-c...

Truzenzuzex — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 16:09:55 -0000

We already know that Freedom Hall will be humming with UAB, UNLV and South Alabama offering non-conference challenges, and an underclassed and overmatched group of Kentucky Wildcats visiting for what could be a chastening afternoon.

courier-journal.com | Tom Heiser - Cards Fan | The Courier-Journal

Keep talking, guys. The bigger the talk, the louder and more bitter the recriminations when things don't go your way.

UPDATE 07:38 PM: Cannot ... stop ... schadenfreude!