[Broken Parachute]

Sterling Gibbs was on campus today and three players have tweeted "welcome to the family!" at him. Jesus, that would be huge...

PG: Sterling Gibbs/Tom Maayan/Freddie Wilson
SG: Brian Oliver/Aaron Cosby/Haralds Karlis
SF: Fuquan Edwin
PF: Brandon Mobley/Patrik Auda
C: Gene Teague/Kevin Johnson

This team would do some serious damage with a point guard like Gibbs in there.

[xbrokendownx]

transfers that are looking at Nova include Tony Chennault (Wake Forest), Dylan Ennis (Rice, would be huge to potentially help land his brother), and Michael Gbinije (Duke)

[Drew Beringer]

oh well, I'm on Bo Ryan's side obviously. He was just doing what was allowed in the rules. It's not his fault that this jerk off kid complained to the media. Whatever school he goes to, I hope he burns out and never amounts to anything.

[Drew Beringer]

Originally Posted by chiefjordo

The sad part is that he's basically right; it does happen (usually to a lesser extent), basically everywhere. That's a huge, huge problem.

It's also funny for him to use the analogy of getting a new job since he landed the Wisconsin job whilst he was still under contract at his prior job...

Also, look up how Ben Brust ended up at Wisconsin. Hint: he transferred in from Iowa.

But seriously, this isn't that much of a different thing from what happens everywhere, sadly. It's just that he's taken it a bit further and was dumb enough to dig his grave by going on national radio. College athletics are basically a joke like this... I can get restricting schools in-conference (not sure I think it's fair, but at least I can see some logic to it) and even schools you'll play the very next year (that's definitely very common practice, which again, I'm not sure I think is fair...), but adding an entire other conference is excessive.

Brust backed out of his letter of intent to Iowa and reopened his recruiting I thought. He never participating in any Hawkeye practices/games/etc. This dude is transferring after a full season. It's slightly different.

[chiefjordo]

Originally Posted by Drew Beringer

Brust backed out of his letter of intent to Iowa and reopened his recruiting I thought. He never participating in any Hawkeye practices/games/etc. This dude is transferring after a full season. It's slightly different.

It is different, but my understanding was that the conference rules still state that he wasn't allowed to transfer within the Big Ten and so Wisconsin had to appeal multiple times. Could be wrong there, though.

I'm glad this situation got resolved a bit. I also find it pretty odd and unfair that Bo and Wisconsin took the rap for this when I think Danny Manning at Tulsa took it much further. It's clearly a case of finding a specific example and using them as a scapegoat when it's really an institutional problem.

[Broken Parachute]

Looks like Sterling Gibbs' transfer from Texas to Seton Hall is going to be official. If he gets his hardship waiver granted and can play next year, I'll be the happiest person on earth.

[bigmike]

Just because it's in the rules for Bo Ryan (and Phil Martelli) to be dick heads doesn't mean that they have to be. To blame the kid for going to the media because their totalitarian coaches -- like all college coaches are -- is wrong. The school and coaches do not own these players -- the ones that the coaches make their millions upon millions of dollars on the backs of -- no matter how "readable the fine print" is.

[jbaseball44]

well said bigmike

[preppyak]

Originally Posted by Drew Beringer

oh well, I'm on Bo Ryan's side obviously. He was just doing what was allowed in the rules. It's not his fault that this jerk off kid complained to the media. Whatever school he goes to, I hope he burns out and never amounts to anything.

Doesn't make it right. Why would Bo Ryan even want to limit him from going to ACC schools? Because there is a less than 10% chance he might have to play the team he might be on 2 years from now? That's fucking insane.

Likewise, the bullshit excuse he came up with was the kid wouldn't tell him why he was transferring. Well, blocking his ability to go anywhere probably makes it pretty clear why he's leaving; he thinks your a controlling dick.

I like Bo Ryan, but to put any restriction on his movement beyond the conference is wrong. I have problems restricting movement in conference, but, at least it makes a little sense

Originally Posted by bigmike

The school and coaches do not own these players -- the ones that the coaches make their millions upon millions of dollars on the backs of -- no matter how "readable the fine print" is.

It's equally hilarious when a coach just up and leaves for another school for better money. He doesn't have to sit out a year of coaching; he doesn't have limitations on where he can go. Half the time they don't even need permission to talk to other schools. Happens all the time. But the player who went to player for a specific coach, who then leaves, well, that kid gets restrictions put on his transfer that he can't go play for that coach.

That exact scenario happened at MD in football. Danny O'Brien hated the new coach (who fucking blows), wanted to go to Vandy where his old OC was. They blocked it, basically for the reason of "he wants to go there".

Its all this background noise that makes it impossible for me to stick with NCAA sports for long. Schools have infinite power, and players have to go crying to the media just to get simple things accomplished

[preppyak]

Originally Posted by chiefjordo

It is different, but my understanding was that the conference rules still state that he wasn't allowed to transfer within the Big Ten and so Wisconsin had to appeal multiple times. Could be wrong there, though.

In that case, Iowa did the right thing and actually wrote a letter on Brust's behalf saying that he should be allowed to go wherever. The Big 10 denied that appeal, but the NCAA eventually approved a later appeal because they feared a lawsuit. Which makes the rules even crazier. They know they are probably illegal. And there's a case where both schools and coaches are cool with something happening. But the Big 10 says no. From a narrow view point, I get it from the conference perspective, you don't want coaches sniping players all year round...but its a little weak.

What's worse is the same thing happened with the NCAA. All the recruits had signing statements that said if a coach leaves, they can reopne their recruiting. Which is how they should be anyway. Instead, the NCAA cut out the ability to amend LOI's, because they saw kids having a source of power.

Crazy as it may seem, kids change in college. They commit to schools at 17 that they may not want to be at when they are 19. And since most of them aren't going pro (as the NCAA ads say), they should have as many opportunities as they need to find a school that fits them

[Janet92]

Hoosiers are #1 in the preseason rankings, let's hope they hold up to they hype

[chiefjordo]

Originally Posted by preppyak

In that case, Iowa did the right thing and actually wrote a letter on Brust's behalf saying that he should be allowed to go wherever. The Big 10 denied that appeal, but the NCAA eventually approved a later appeal because they feared a lawsuit. Which makes the rules even crazier. They know they are probably illegal. And there's a case where both schools and coaches are cool with something happening. But the Big 10 says no. From a narrow view point, I get it from the conference perspective, you don't want coaches sniping players all year round...but its a little weak.

What's worse is the same thing happened with the NCAA. All the recruits had signing statements that said if a coach leaves, they can reopne their recruiting. Which is how they should be anyway. Instead, the NCAA cut out the ability to amend LOI's, because they saw kids having a source of power.

Crazy as it may seem, kids change in college. They commit to schools at 17 that they may not want to be at when they are 19. And since most of them aren't going pro (as the NCAA ads say), they should have as many opportunities as they need to find a school that fits them

It's just kinda a joke. I mean, the ONLY college kids (assuming their grades are fine) who CANT transfer wherever they want to are athletes. I can understand and don't really care about the inter-conference rules about not being able to, but anything beyond that is a bit much. And it's absolutely not just Wisconsin- it's basically everyone.

[Talib Scottie]

Yeah he was working within the rules, but doesn't mean it's not a dumb rule. I don't think we should justify right and wrong in the frame of NCAA rules.

[bigmike]

For the record, if Tom Izzo were to do this same thing, I'd be pissed and bummed about Izzo doing it; and still think it were just as wrong.

Hell, at a smaller level, Western Michigan's head coach has had two players he got out of Detroit, MI transfer after one year to University of Detroit Mercy where the rumors are that Ray MacCullum and company were talking to the kids to "come back home" before these kids were even released from their scholarships or told WMU coach Steve Hawkins they were thinking of transferring. Now, one (Lamarcus Lowe) I believe had a sick family member which was why he went back home. The other (Juwan Howard, Jr. -- yes, that Juwan Howard) up and left for what was first reported to be family reasons. It came out later that it wasn't and he just wanted to get away.

And in each case, Steve Hawkins let them go without punishment or blocking any team (save for the MAC, I'd presume) and has never publicly commented on the transfers aside from wishing them luck.

In full disclosure: he also was rumored to tell his starting center that he didn't want him on the team and that kid now ended up at Xavier where he'll sit out a year, but the kid tweeted it wasn't his decision to leave Western Michigan. So, it's not all roses for Hawkins.

But it goes on at every level of D1 and it's pretty bullshit. Honestly, I don't even think coaches should be allowed to block any teams. If someone from MSU wanted to transfer to Ohio State, I'd be bummed but I think he should have that ability. These kids need to be allowed free will.

I also think that if the head coach is fired and/or leaves for a new school, these kids should be able to re-open their recruiting regardless of whether they signed a LOI or not.

[splitsecond]

I am not one to prognosticate but Mark Lyons is leaving Xavier with a degree and a year of elligibility and there's a school in Tucson with a need for a guard and an open schollie.