Miller once again does it again!

[Russ Smith]

What more could Miller have done? As soon as the staff found out, he was suspended and never played again. The investigation was inconclusive, but the team moved forward with pulling his scholarship. It's not like they let him play while the investigation was ongoing. Miller never made the situation known to the public, but media is naturally going to ask why Pitts is sitting on the bench in a polo shirt instead of playing.

Pitts may sue the university for defamation of character, but beyond that, I'm not much more that could happen with the exception of unmerited public scrutiny.

Yeah I tend to agree although I guess one of the points in dispute is the family is saying Pitts wasn't actually suspended he just wasn't playing in games. Seems like a technicality but that's apparently a point they've raised that because he wasn't really suspended he was allowed to be with the team and that put the victim and family in a difficult situation. The big issue in the letter seems to be 17 days from when the school revealed their results including 4 violations by Pitts, and when he was removed permanently from the team.

It also sounds like there was some altercation between Pitts and a family member and that caused problems for the family but again it's not clear if Miller even knew then who the alleged victim was.

Based on what I've seen and read it's not clear to me Miller did anything wrong, about the only thing he might regret so far is saying he wished him well but again at that point it's not clear he was allowed to say anything more.

I'm assuming the letter is real but since I haven't seen anything that says it's absolutely authentic I don't want to post it.

 

[TJ]

Peace out, Ferg.

 

[DWKB]

Peace out, Ferg.

Man, I'm not a UofA fan, but that sucks for you guys.

 

[TJ]

Man, I'm not a UofA fan, but that sucks for you guys.

Not the end of the world as the team still has a ton of talent, but certainly not a net gain. The unique element he would've brought was three-and-D. That said, this team is not devoid of scoring. IMO, there are at least 4 guys who can average double-digits in scoring (Trier, Alkins, Markk, Kobi), maybe more if Ray Smith is fully recovered from his knee surgeries.

 

[Russ Smith]

It sucks but as Snow and Daniels said weeks ago everyone knew that Ferguson was going to be an issue to get qualified.

I actually think the odds on Alkins go up now, first just opinion but I suspect the NCAA will be more receptive to the argument to clear him now that they're not also dealing with Ferguson.

And I think Alkins actually has a somewhat reasonable argument. He was notified he was NBA draft eligible but chose to try to get into Arizona. That means the NBA concluded his year at Word of God was post graduate and as such he was 19 and one year removed from HS. The NCAA has apparently already said he didn't have enough core classes to qualify in 4 years, he passed too many in his 5th year so they don't count. That's because years ago people like Floyd and calipari were using prepschools and online classes to wipe out years of F's for kids to qualify them at USC and Memphis so the NCAA set a limit on how many core classes you can do after 4 years. Essentially I think Alkins argument has to be he was a post graduate student, he could have gone to the NBA but chose to go to college and the NCAA should give him some sort of waiver on that rule and count the extra core classes and qualify him. At this point I'd have a hard time arguing against it, they have created a system where everyone knows the goal is to qualify not get a degree for many of these kids, the NCAA should stop pretending otherwise and let a kid like Alkins in who's actually choosing to go to college.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I only know what I read about these players obviously, but losing the 11th ranked kid and a projected lottery pick hurts the program. That sucks.

 

[GatorAZ]

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[Russ Smith]

I only know what I read about these players obviously, but losing the 11th ranked kid and a projected lottery pick hurts the program. That sucks.

Obviously it does but there's also the argument that if you get Alkins in, and Smith is healthy, it might be better chemistry wise.

Clearly Trier is going to play lots of minutes. If Alkins is in and Smith is healthy they're both 20-30 MPG type talents too. Clearly Kobi Simmons didn't commit to sit on the bench he fully expects to play. Add in PJC and Allen and that's 5 kids for 3 spots. So the minutes are easier to allocate you just have one less elite wing athlete.

I actually think with this group PJC is going to look much better, seems to me he was often ahead of the pack the last 2 years either out of control or waiting for guys to fill the lane. I think the big loss with Ferguson is shooting, right now Trier would appear to be the best shooter of that group and he was not as good a shooter as I expected last year.

I'm a huge Alkins fan I do hope the NCAA clears him. Maybe make him sit 9 games or something but really a good player and just a tremendous personality.

 

[Russ Smith]

latest speculation is Miller will try and get Andrew White III the transfer from Nebraska. DWKB may have some thoughts he was at Kansas two years then Nebraska then tried for the draft and pulled out announcing he was going back to college, but didn't say Nebraska. And then this week he confirmed he's leaving which clearly ticked off the Nebraska coaches he waited so long.

had a good junior year, talented, but has apparently been "difficult" at 2 different schools and is clearly looking to audition for the NBA wherever he goes.

 

[TJ]

latest speculation is Miller will try and get Andrew White III the transfer from Nebraska. DWKB may have some thoughts he was at Kansas two years then Nebraska then tried for the draft and pulled out announcing he was going back to college, but didn't say Nebraska. And then this week he confirmed he's leaving which clearly ticked off the Nebraska coaches he waited so long.

had a good junior year, talented, but has apparently been "difficult" at 2 different schools and is clearly looking to audition for the NBA wherever he goes.

Where's he getting playing time? Dude is high maintenance and isn't coming to a place in which he's not guaranteed 20-30 mpg

 

[Russ Smith]

Where's he getting playing time? Dude is high maintenance and isn't coming to a place in which he's not guaranteed 20-30 mpg

Agreed would be an iffy gamble to take him but that's being discussed elsewhere.

FYI not really consolation for not getting Ferguson in but apparently API the school is no more. It's in the process of closing down is the rumor.

 

[Russ Smith]

yeah I don't know for sure if the rumor is true but I would say if it is it sure makes me suspect Miller's not all that confident about Alkins qualifying.

I looked on the free KU board this morning on Scout they had a 4 page thread on White leaving Nebraska and they all had the same opinion very difficult kid. this is a kid who during his redshirt year at Nebraska his dad asked a reporter, who then printed the whole story, who would be a good PR person for the dad to hire to promote his son. The kid had averaged like 3 PPG at Kansas for 2 years, hadn't played a game at Nebraska, and the dad was planning on hiring a PR person?

Stats last year look very good but apparently lots of baggage. I would add Pitino has already contacted him at Louisville after publicly stating he was going to not use his 2 open rides this year as part of the self imposed sanctions UNLESS a really special transfer came open. So he apparently considers White to be pretty good.

 

[TJ]

yeah I don't know for sure if the rumor is true but I would say if it is it sure makes me suspect Miller's not all that confident about Alkins qualifying.

I looked on the free KU board this morning on Scout they had a 4 page thread on White leaving Nebraska and they all had the same opinion very difficult kid. this is a kid who during his redshirt year at Nebraska his dad asked a reporter, who then printed the whole story, who would be a good PR person for the dad to hire to promote his son. The kid had averaged like 3 PPG at Kansas for 2 years, hadn't played a game at Nebraska, and the dad was planning on hiring a PR person?

Stats last year look very good but apparently lots of baggage. I would add Pitino has already contacted him at Louisville after publicly stating he was going to not use his 2 open rides this year as part of the self imposed sanctions UNLESS a really special transfer came open. So he apparently considers White to be pretty good.

As of today, Arizona is moving forward with the current roster and won't use the vacated scholarship. Adkins is on campus and taking classes.

 

[Russ Smith]

As of today, Arizona is moving forward with the current roster and won't use the vacated scholarship. Adkins is on campus and taking classes.

Yep Alkins is enrolled but not NCAA cleared. Here's a story about White, i guess from what people are saying it's not the kid it's the dad who is the problem. Been there done that UCLA has a couple of interesting dads this year with LaVar Ball and Brad Leaf.

http://m.omaha.com/huskers/barfknec...a92-3bd4-11e6-b8bc-a324f88488e7.html?mode=jqm

 

[DWKB]

latest speculation is Miller will try and get Andrew White III the transfer from Nebraska. DWKB may have some thoughts he was at Kansas two years then Nebraska then tried for the draft and pulled out announcing he was going back to college, but didn't say Nebraska. And then this week he confirmed he's leaving which clearly ticked off the Nebraska coaches he waited so long.

had a good junior year, talented, but has apparently been "difficult" at 2 different schools and is clearly looking to audition for the NBA wherever he goes.

There was no difficulty with him at KU, he just didn't have the playing time behind Wiggins, Oubre, and the other wings we had on the team. He's got a good shot, but his athleticism was always in question. Good season at NEB, this dad stuff is just now coming to light. Hear he's going to Cuse.

 

[GatorAZ]

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[TJ]

If Markk can defend the 4 at the collegiate level, he's going to be awesome.

 

[Russ Smith]

He's the one kid in the class I haven't seen yet tv or anything but short clips so I'm looking forward to seeing him play. There were rumors that the Warriors really liked him and had him on their draft radar had he entered the draft this year since he's a stretch 4 that fits their style of play.

Looks bigger in that video so he appears to have gotten stronger, still will need to get stronger in the lower body but you can see his arms and chest have gotten some work in.

It'll be interesting a friend is a big UA fan and said had Ferguson qualified Miller was seriously contemplating major minutes with a lineup with Markkanen, Smith, Ferguson, Trier and a PG as UA's version of a death lineup. They may still do it with Alkins for Ferguson. I assume much depends on how healthy Smith is, the one knock on Markkanen seems to be he's not a great rebounder so if you play that lineup the 4 and the 3 have to be able to rebound so I guess that's why Smith is a big key.

He's got really good form on his shot you can see why people think he's going to be a real 3 point threat right away

 

[TJ]

Alkins is cleared by the NCAA.

 

[Russ Smith]

Alkins is cleared by the NCAA.

Yep been talking about that on BRO for a few days a guy I talk to regularly said that was the rumor. I think it is the right decision the kid didn't do the shortcut and load up on online classes he went to HS one more year graduated and the NCAA accepted it. If you've seen any interviews with the kid he's so engaging you can't help but root for him

 

[overseascardfan]

A little off topic but looks like UCLA is going to have to lean on ex-UA commit TJ Leaf a lot this season because they just lost Jonah Bolden who decided to turn pro the other day? Why didn't he just declare for the draft? Did he feel Leaf was going to force him to the bench?

 

[Russ Smith]

A little off topic but looks like UCLA is going to have to lean on ex-UA commit TJ Leaf a lot this season because they just lost Jonah Bolden who decided to turn pro the other day? Why didn't he just declare for the draft? Did he feel Leaf was going to force him to the bench?

Teh rumor is that Bolden was probably going to be ineligible due to grades. He had a slight chance of saving himself over the summer and being eligible but simply chose to take the easy route and turn pro, presumably in Australia. Not sure what happened he was one of the kids rumored to be unhappy and leaving after last year but he chose to stay and then winds up in academic peril. I've heard tell that he was not a good student at UCLA but that's completely contrary to what the staff said when he committed. No excuse the kid didn't even play as a freshman he had plenty of time and opportunity to get his academics in order.

Big blow to the team with Ali out until possibly January with a knee surgery. They have 4 guys for the 1-3 spot now and the backup 4 is either Goloman or Olesinski.

The timing is almost comical they're literally practicing now before going on a summer tour of Australia, so Bolden was literally choosing do I go home now and turn pro, or skip the summer tour to my home land to hit the books. Alford needs to figure out academics at UCLA you can't recruit kids who can't do the work.

 

[GatorAZ]

Better shot at Trent Jr, Sexton or Brown? I see all of them have AZ in their top options...

 

[TJ]

Better shot at Trent Jr, Sexton or Brown? I see all of them have AZ in their top options...

Trent = Duke
Sexton = Bama
Brown = not being actively recruited by Zona anymore

 

[Russ Smith]

Trent = Duke
Sexton = Bama
Brown = not being actively recruited by Zona anymore

Better shot at Trent Jr, Sexton or Brown? I see all of them have AZ in their top options...

From what I hear Sexton. he's friends with Kobi Simmons and Kobi is trying to recruit him to UA. Brown is allegedly going to Cal although I hear UNLV is making a big run at him too. Trent is going to Duke, most people think the final makeup of his list is so he can show he doesn't care about shoe companies at all, it's really Duke and that's it.