HBO's Real Sports on prepschools?

[Russ Smith]

Anybody see this? Apparently Real Sports did an expose on prepschools and basketball recruits that featured as one of its stars USC freshman big Taj Gibson? I've read all about the story but apparently they claim on this show that both Stoneridge Prep and Calvary Christian were giving out grades to players so that their required SAT scores for D1 come down(it's a sliding scale higher GPA requires lower SAT or ACT score). Gibson still had to do summer school at a local JC and take online courses to get into SC but apparently HBO's show said his entire time at those 2 schools was academic fraud.

I don't have HBO so I haven't seen it but if it's true they have evidence of grade impropriety it will be very interesting to see if Gibson is allowed back at USC next year.

 

[Southpaw]

It seems that David Stern's barring of HS players from going directly to draft eligibility has created some creative manipulation of eligibility for these potential players. I agree 100 % with the restriction, but what has taken its place is embarassing. Prep schools babysitting non students. Colleges renting non student players for a year. Maybe that rule should be stretched out to 2 years. The colleges with sports machines will find every and any loophole to get that one year out of these functionally illiterate prep stars and the prep schools are just one more trick. As soon as the rule makers try to cut the deficient student some slack by adjusting the entrance rules , the manipulators seem to use it as a way to cheat the rules. IMHO.

 

[Russ Smith]

It seems that David Stern's barring of HS players from going directly to draft eligibility has created some creative manipulation of eligibility for these potential players. I agree 100 % with the restriction, but what has taken its place is embarassing. Prep schools babysitting non students. Colleges renting non student players for a year. Maybe that rule should be stretched out to 2 years. The colleges with sports machines will find every and any loophole to get that one year out of these functionally illiterate prep stars and the prep schools are just one more trick. As soon as the rule makers try to cut the deficient student some slack by adjusting the entrance rules , the manipulators seem to use it as a way to cheat the rules. IMHO.

One of the worst at that is Memphis and Calipari. I posted a story last year that Gregg Doyel did on them, they had a prepschool, think it was the Patterson School, that had babysat like 6 of their players on last years
roster. All of them showed up there ineligible for D1, and a year later qualified for Memphis. They were on the first list of schools the NCAA cited as being diploma mills but of course they didn't retroactively go after players who'd already got their grades up there so it had no impact on Memphis. IIRC 3 of their starters this year are from the same prepschool, they recruit kids, they don't qualify, so they stash them there.

Of course USC has a kid coming in next year, Davon Jefferson, who's so bad he got KICKED OUT of that same prepschool.

I'm still waiting to hear the fallout on Gibson, a USC fan on a message board told me in a PM yesterday there's a rumor Gibson won't play tonight, and possibly has played his last game at SC, I'll believe it when I see it but he said he heard a rumor SC was so concerned by the allegations in the HBO special they might suspend Gibson. They play Stanford tonight, will be interesting but I'm guessing he'll play. Not much to lose at this point if he's later ruled ineligible they'll forfeit games anyways.

 

[Southpaw]

So what do you think of my idea about waiting 2 years to go pro? Might that circumvent the one year prep schools and situations like Kevin Durant? I would like to think the JUCOs are a beter idea than Prep Schools. They might actually require class attendance.

Interesting that USC might react to that.

 

[Russ Smith]

So what do you think of my idea about waiting 2 years to go pro? Might that circumvent the one year prep schools and situations like Kevin Durant? I would like to think the JUCOs are a beter idea than Prep Schools. They might actually require class attendance.

Interesting that USC might react to that.

Well it would certainly force the kids to go to class. My problem is I think it's still a sham in many ways some of these kids just are never going to be real students.

Interestingly Gibson supposedly had a 3 or 3.2 GPA first semester at USC in communications, so all the news articles said he was taking advantage of his chance, and now if HBO really says they had evidence his transcripts were not legit, it blows it all up. He is 21 1/2 and he did do homeschooling, and online classes prior to SC so the idea that his transcripts were iffy is no surprise, but when he passed the Clearinghouse you sort of took for granted the NCAA had really looked at that stuff and cleared it, if the reports of what HBO said are true, apparently it was outright fraud, that what the NCAA got from those schools was fabricated. If true, I'd think USC would have some level of hey you saw the same transcripts we did and cleared him too, you can't blame us?

 

[Southpaw]

Well it would certainly force the kids to go to class. My problem is I think it's still a sham in many ways some of these kids just are never going to be real students.

I agree. It is the hypocrisy that just grates on me. They don't have to be students, IMO, but why even bother to go to some college, if they aren't. Sit on your butt for one or 2 years, play overseas, or NBDL.

 

[Russ Smith]

I agree. It is the hypocrisy that just grates on me. They don't have to be students, IMO, but why even bother to go to some college, if they aren't. Sit on your butt for one or 2 years, play overseas, or NBDL.

I still say that's what will happen to Mayo. I think he'll fail the amateur status ruling this summer and wind up overseas or playing for And 1 or something like that. Although he did pass the initial amateur status review last year when he registered with the Clearinghouse (all juniors who want to play D1 sports have to register). But everyone passes that, Lebron did, Telfair did etc.

I keep reading the NCAA has rules in place to punish schools for low grad rates by reducing scholarships, so we'll see how long before Calipari and Floyd are forced to change their recruiting because they lose scholarships.

Floyd had a kid named Venoy Overton verballed, terrible grades, he just reneged on USC and verballed to UW. Said he'd play more right away(PG) at UW than at USC. UW had a PG who failed to qualify so they are giving Overton his scholly assuming he qualifies at UW. So you think great USC doesn't have to blow the kid off, now they get a free scholarship, let's see who they go after with it. And of course Floyd is now offering a 7 foot kid from Senegal named Diarra who plays at the same prepschool(Stoneridge) Gibson came from. Before Stoneridge, Diarra was at Florida Prep, the school you probably remember that got busted when they found out they weren't even a real accredited school, had no real campus, no real classes etc. So Floyd replaces one academic problem with another.

 

[Southpaw]

I still say that's what will happen to Mayo. I think he'll fail the amateur status ruling this summer and wind up overseas or playing for And 1 or something like that. Although he did pass the initial amateur status review last year when he registered with the Clearinghouse (all juniors who want to play D1 sports have to register). But everyone passes that, Lebron did, Telfair did etc.

I keep reading the NCAA has rules in place to punish schools for low grad rates by reducing scholarships, so we'll see how long before Calipari and Floyd are forced to change their recruiting because they lose scholarships.

Floyd had a kid named Venoy Overton verballed, terrible grades, he just reneged on USC and verballed to UW. Said he'd play more right away(PG) at UW than at USC. UW had a PG who failed to qualify so they are giving Overton his scholly assuming he qualifies at UW. So you think great USC doesn't have to blow the kid off, now they get a free scholarship, let's see who they go after with it. And of course Floyd is now offering a 7 foot kid from Senegal named Diarra who plays at the same prepschool(Stoneridge) Gibson came from. Before Stoneridge, Diarra was at Florida Prep, the school you probably remember that got busted when they found out they weren't even a real accredited school, had no real campus, no real classes etc. So Floyd replaces one academic problem with another.

Every rule the NCAA comes up with gets the end run treatment, no matter the intent. That is sad. The coaches you mention will just pack their bags and go to a school without imposed schollie limitations a la Bob Huggins. It caught up with Calhoun at U Conn. The cupboard is bare this year. That is a Teflon school, in my imagination. I have to think it is up to the schools President. They are the ones who may need firing. The coaches can just transfer to the next school that doesn't give a crap.