1. Thank God Rick Pitino's wife decided back in 2001 that she didn't want to live in Ann Arbor. While I have been wrong about a lot of things in my life, that was not one of them--I thought Pitino was incredibly slimy then, said it, and was told by many that he would lead us back to the big time. Well, those people were probably right that he would have lead us back to the big time, as he is a great coach, and has the ability to "procure" top level talent. However, IMO, Rick Pitino is one of the sleaziest human beings in a cesspool full of them. We lost the championship game to Louisville back in 2013, and that sucks, but as Pollyannaish as it sounds, losing with John Beilein as my team's coach is infinitely preferable to winning with Pitino. If our win over Louisville in the Round of 32 last spring turns out to be his last game as a college coach, karma will be truly shown to be a thing.
2. This is going to involve, at least at the early stages, many more assistant coach names than head coach names, per a good friend of mine who spent 40+ years as a head coach and assistant coach at the DI level (now retired). That is because head coaches intentionally build layers between themselves and others when they want to break rules. However, it is clear that most/all assistants do not act without knowing clearly what the head coach wants. Eventually, as he put it, some of the assistants are going to flip, and there are going to be some big time heads rolling. He also suggested that you might see some folks "retire" before the posse rides into town. Some, like Bo Ryan, who was cheating on his wife, not the NCAA, can make that plausible, at least until the s**t hits the fan. Others, not so much.
3. Anyone who has been remotely involved with college hoops has known this was coming sooner or later. I've watched people on this board and elsewhere say that suggestions of cheating in certain instances were "excuses" and/or "sour grapes"--no, they're not. Not everyone cheats, but a lot do, and the system starts very early in hoops--read George Dohrmann's Play Their Hearts Out and then let's talk. As for the "prove it" mantra I've also read, well, now you're going to start seeing proof come out. It won't come out for everyone--the FBI wasn't tapping or investigating every college program agent, shoe company, etc (or even most of them).--but hopefully, it will convince the doubters that this is widespread.
4. For fans of college football but not hoops, don't think your sport will escape this--there's significant rule breaking there too. It's not as prevalent because, among other things, (a) one great player matters more in basketball, (b) great players are more ready to become immediate stars in basketball, and (c) there is not the AAU scene in football that there is in basketball, but it's there, and it's just a matter of time before someone investigates football as well.
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2. This is going to involve, at least at the early stages, many more assistant coach names than head coach names, per a good friend of mine who spent 40+ years as a head coach and assistant coach at the DI level (now retired). That is because head coaches intentionally build layers between themselves and others when they want to break rules. However, it is clear that most/all assistants do not act without knowing clearly what the head coach wants. Eventually, as he put it, some of the assistants are going to flip, and there are going to be some big time heads rolling. He also suggested that you might see some folks "retire" before the posse rides into town. Some, like Bo Ryan, who was cheating on his wife, not the NCAA, can make that plausible, at least until the s**t hits the fan. Others, not so much.
3. Anyone who has been remotely involved with college hoops has known this was coming sooner or later. I've watched people on this board and elsewhere say that suggestions of cheating in certain instances were "excuses" and/or "sour grapes"--no, they're not. Not everyone cheats, but a lot do, and the system starts very early in hoops--read George Dohrmann's Play Their Hearts Out and then let's talk. As for the "prove it" mantra I've also read, well, now you're going to start seeing proof come out. It won't come out for everyone--the FBI wasn't tapping or investigating every college program agent, shoe company, etc (or even most of them).--but hopefully, it will convince the doubters that this is widespread.
4. For fans of college football but not hoops, don't think your sport will escape this--there's significant rule breaking there too. It's not as prevalent because, among other things, (a) one great player matters more in basketball, (b) great players are more ready to become immediate stars in basketball, and (c) there is not the AAU scene in football that there is in basketball, but it's there, and it's just a matter of time before someone investigates football as well.
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