Noel says NCAA hasn’t contacted him yet
Nerlens Noel has not been contacted by NCAA investigators, he told Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog Thursday night.
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Atlanta to host 3 divisions of NCAA title games (Yahoo! Sports)
ATLANTA (AP) All three divisions of NCAA men’s basketball will see their 2013 national champions crowned during Final Four weekend in Atlanta.
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John Calipari Is the Most Underrated Coach in the NCAA
Think fast: which NCAA head coach receives more negative press than any other?
I know that your first thought was John Calipari, and that is regardless of whether you are a fan of his or the biggest hater outside of Pete Thamel. No college coach gets the presses burning more than the leader of the Bluegrass’ team, and there is not any other coach who comes close.
When Calipari began his speech at the 2011 Big Blue Madness event, he explained to 23,000 adoring fans that Kentucky was at the center of college basketball and had this effect on the sport:
“We do more than move the needle. We are the needle. We are UK.”
This quote could not be more true, especially of John Calipari himself. Nearly every other major college coach is praised and respected by the national media, with the possible exception of Connecticut head coach Jim Calhoun.
However, even Calhoun receives less negative attention than Coach Cal, which is ironic given that Calhoun’s Huskies will have to sit out the 2012-13 NCAA postseason because of low academic standards and recruiting violations.
Now with the NCAA reportedly investigating into the recruitment of the nation’s top prep star, Nerlens Noel, expect more national writers to bash Calipari in their never-ending pursuit to take down his “evil empire” and prove to the world that the rumors that have dogged him for years are true.
However, nothing major has come from this investigation and until anything does, John Calipari is in charge of the hottest program in college athletics and is fresh off of winning the 2012 NCAA National Championship. Despite proving himself to some of his most vocal ”haters,” Calipari is still heavily criticized and will never live down his two vacated Final Fours that occurred at Memphis and Massachusetts.
With that being said, John Calipari is the nation’s most underrated head coach in NCAA basketball and should be receiving much more praise than he does from the national press and media members alike.
- PLAYER DEVELOPMENT
The most incredible skill that Calipari possesses and yet receives the smallest amount of praise for is his player development. No college coach improves a player more over a shorter period of time. In fact, John Calipari can develop more positive traits in one season with a player than some coaches can do in three seasons.
This has been proven time and time again throughout his career, but especially so during Cal’s tenure with the Wildcats.
The best example of this can be illustrated with the development of all three of Calipari’s point guards. John Wall, Brandon Knight and Marquis Teague each came to Lexington as a five-star, top overall guard prospect who were each the top dog on their high school teams.
John Wall was a phenom who seemed destined to enter college as an immediate superstar. He hit a game-winning jump shot in his first collegiate contest against Miami (Ohio) and became an overnight sensation. However, Wall often tried to make the flashy play over the correct decision, and he struggled at balancing his duties as a playmaker versus his duties as the floor general for the Cats.
As the season progressed, Wall grew more into the point guard that Calipari envisioned and turned himself into a first-team All-American selection. Wall finished the season averaging over six assists per game and entered the NBA as a premier ball distributor with excellent court vision. This growth as a point guard came as a result of working with John Calipari and learning the right way to play the position.
Brandon Knight went through a similar progression as Wall. He entered college as more of a scoring point guard than a true distributor of the basketball. Knight’s strength was outside shooting, so that was different from Wall’s game. Also different was that Knight did not turn over the ball as often. However, Wall had better court vision than Knight and racked up more assists.
As the season progressed, Brandon settled into his point guard role in order to improve his team play and his draft stock. He kept his turnover count low but increased his ball distribution, especially when Josh Harrellson emerged as an offensive weapon in the post. By the end of the season, Brandon Knight flourished and became a true combo guard who could hit a big jump shot and set up his teammates for successful plays. Again, this development came from working under Calipari.
Marquis Teague enrolled at Kentucky and was regarded as an elite prospect, but he was not the mind-blowing talent that Knight or Wall were. Teague seemed to be a blend of the two players, as he possessed elite speed and athleticism, had an average jump shot, and avoided turnovers. He struggled early in the year but Calipari kept pushing him and was positive that Teague was the perfect player to direct Kentucky’s potent offensive attack.
His development of Teague paid off as he finally became a true floor leader during SEC conference play. The Wildcats swept the SEC regular season in large part because of Teague’s unselfish ball distribution, improving jump shot and improving finishing skills around the rim. By the time the NCAA Tournament rolled around, Marquis Teague was in full control of his team like no other Calipari point guard before and helped lead the Wildcats to a championship.
Beyond point guards, Calipari has developed the likes of Josh Harrellson and DeAndre Liggins into college starters and NBA draft picks. Neither player was thought to have a chance at making it to the big leagues, but playing under Coach Cal has carved a spot out for them in the NBA.
Whether it is big men, point guards, perimeter shooters, lockdown defenders or athletic freaks like Anthony Davis, John Calipari takes good players and makes them great and takes great players and turns them into superstars. This is the most overlooked aspect of his coaching ability and is what separates him from the rest of the pack.
- FLEXIBLE STYLE OF PLAY
Another strength of John Calipari as a head coach is his lack of a traditional “system” that is common among other coaches. For example, Louisville coach Rick Pitino has a system that he prefers and recruits players to fit it. The same concept applies to Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, who plays a zone defense nearly every season.
The issue with running a system and fitting players into it is that not all of the players will fit perfectly into that offensive or defensive scheme. Sometimes, having a set system and style of play restricts the players on the roster and does not fully utilize their abilities.
John Calipari takes the opposite approach and it is why he has been so successful at developing players and winning games. Calipari does have a loose concept of a “dribble-drive motion” offense, but this system is molded to fit the current personnel on the roster. This approach allows each player to be placed in a role that suits their abilities, rather than forcing the team to play a certain way that does not take full advantage of their skills.
Each of Calipari’s first three Kentucky squads have played a different style and have used different methods to mold the personalities and skill sets of each respective team.
For the 2009-10 team, Kentucky had an advantage inside with big men DeMarcus Cousins, Patrick Patterson, Daniel Orton and Perry Stevenson giving the Cats a huge edge in the paint. In addition to the big men, guard John Wall was a better player finishing at the rim than he was working on the perimeter.
Therefore, Calipari replaced the dribble drive with an offense that revolved around feeding the post, crashing the boards and running pick-and-rolls. Since this suited the team better, the players developed as the season progressed and the team won 35 games as a result.
For the 2010-11 squad, the Wildcats turned into an outside shooting team. Their strength was in their backcourt, which featured long-range bombers in Brandon Knight, Doron Lamb, Darius Miller and even center Josh Harrellson on occasion. Kentucky lost center Enes Kanter because of ineligibility issues, so the Cats focused on a perimeter attack that would open up the inside for cuts to the rim.
Yet again, this was the style of offense that worked for the players on the roster and fully maximized their talents and suited their preferred style of play. As a result, the team made its mark as one of the best three-point shooting teams in Kentucky history and made a trip to the 2011 Final Four.
For the 2011-12 roster, Calipari brought in his most balanced and talented recruiting class ever. Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Marquis Teague and Kyle Wiltjer brought a unique set of skills and unselfishness to the roster and combined with returning players Terrence Jones, Doron Lamb and Darius Miller to form the core of an eventual NCAA champion.
Because of the balance of this team, Calipari was finally able to employ a traditional dribble-drive motion offense that had every player involved on both ends of the court. The Cats had long-range shooters in Miller, Lamb and Wiltjer, while Davis, Jones and Kidd-Gilchrist dominated the paint.
This approach was also coupled with the team’s unique blocking ability, specifically referring to Anthony Davis. He set a record for blocks by a freshman in NCAA history, and the team set a record for blocks in a season by a team. This particular strength was embraced by Calipari as he played to his team’s advantages of length and athleticism over the opponent.
As you can see, John Calipari’s flexibility as a coach to mold his approach around his players’ strengths is what makes him so well-loved by his players and so successful on the court.
- CRAFTING HIGH SCHOOL STARS INTO GREAT DEFENDERS AND TEAMMATES
This might be the most impressive attribute of John Calipari’s style of coaching. Critics think that it must be easy to field a team of star players and win ball games. If that was the case, then refer to the 2011-12 Connecticut Huskies and find out what made them so bad even before and after Jim Calhoun left.
Because of the yearly departure of Calipari’s best players, he must bring in a new young crop of freshmen and sophomores nearly every season and teach them the following things:
- Unselfish team play
- Full effort on defense
- No “star” ego is allowed
These team concepts are nearly nonexistent on the AAU circuits, so the adjustment to college basketball can be great for some of these recruits. The 2011-12 squad bought into these concepts more than your average team and they won the 2012 championship because of it.
It is certainly not easy to coach a player down from his status in high school to his status in college. However, Calipari’s system gives his players a chance to play to their strengths, and along the way they learn core team concepts such as brotherhood, leadership, unselfishness and teamwork.
During John Calipari’s tenure at Kentucky, his teams have finished as one of the best defensive teams in the country every season. He has also progressed in the NCAA tournament each season, from finishing in the Elite Eight in 2010 to making the 2011 Final Four and finally winning the 2012 NCAA Championship trophy.
Calipari’s strengths as a basketball coach have propelled him to the top of the college basketball mountain, and it is his flexibility, player development and teamwork that elevate him from the rest of the crowd and make him the most underrated head coach in college basketball.
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Nerlens Noel Investigation: Kentucky Wildcats Should Tremble over NCAA Inquiry
The defending champion Kentucky Wildcats should be very fearful of the NCAA inquiring about top recruit Nerlens Noel. Should anything happen with his eligibility, the Wildcats will be in deep trouble this coming season.
According to Pete Thamel of the New York Times, two members of the NCAA enforcement staff visited Massachusetts to learn more about the people that Noel has surrounded himself with over the years.
The two officials spoke with the principal from Noel’s old high school, but he was not allowed to comment on specifics. They also inquired about some of Noel’s advisers and his finances, as the some of the schools he unofficially visited did not pay for his travels.
Another issue for Noel at this time is whether or not he will qualify academically. The report states that nation’s No. 1 recruit “is expected to take course work after graduation to help him qualify.”
Right now, John Calipari and the rest of Big Blue Nation need to fear for the worst.
Noel is very vital to the Wildcats’ success next season, and if he’s unable to play then Kentucky will have another Enes Kanter on its hands. A stud athlete sitting on the bench unable to play but highly likely to depart to the NBA after one year.
Of course, it’s a different story than Kanter, but it would still be incredibly devastating for the Wildcats to lose a dominant big man for a significant amount of time. Here the Wildcats think they’re about to embark on a quest to repeat as champs, but without Noel that will not happen.
It remains a mystery if anything will come of this inquiry, but the fact that it’s going on is certainly cause for concern.
Calipari has a history with his recruits being involved in controversy, and Kentucky was well aware of this before it hired him. The Wildcats received criticism by some for hiring him, saying that he would cheat and their wins would be tarnished.
There’s no proof of that and hopefully Calipari isn’t going against the rules. It doesn’t appear Calipari has a hand with any of this at the moment, but you never really know until all the of the truth comes out.
Even if Noel is ineligible for any games next year it’s a crushing blow for the Wildcats. It looks really bad on the program if they continue to have star players unable to play for the entire season.
This is definitely a story to keep a watch on, as Noel’s eligibility will determine whether or not Kentucky is a major threat next year.
Stay tuned with Bleacher Report and our college basketball coverage as we update you with the news as it comes.
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NCAA looks at top preps recruit Nerlens Noel
A New York Times reported that the NCAA sent two members of its enforcement staff to to inquire about Nerlens Noel.
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Report: NCAA looking at Nerlens Noel (Yahoo! Sports)
NEW YORK (AP) The New York Times is reporting that the NCAA is looking into Nerlens Noel, a top prep recruit who has committed to play at national champion Kentucky next season.
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Kentucky Basketball: NCAA Reportedly Inquired About Prized Commit Nerlens Noel
The NCAA is snooping around one of John Calipari‘s recruits. Again.
According to the New York Times, two members of the NCAA’s enforcement team were in Massachusetts this week investigating potential eligibility issues regarding Nerlens Noel, the No. 1 college basketball recruit in the country and the gem of Kentucky’s incoming class.
Cindi Merrill and Frank Smith, the NCAA representatives involved, went to Everett High School in Boston, where Noel spent his first two years of high school and were hoping to meet with Leo Papile, Noel’s AAU coach with the Boston Amateur Basketball Club.
The report suggests that the investigators are interested in two particular individuals—Chris Driscoll and Errol Randolph.
Driscoll was at one point an assistant coach at Providence College and shared a close relationship with Noel. Driscoll was recently barred from the campus of the Tilton School in New Hampshire, where Noel has been for the last two years and from which he is currently working to graduate. Officials at the school were allegedly worried that Driscoll was attempting to take advantage of Noel.
Randolph has also been counted among Noel’s advisers. A former substitute teacher at Everett High, Randolph came into question when officials discovered a link on his LinkedIn page that led to the website of ASM Sports, a sports agency run by basketball agent Andy Miller. Randolph claims that he is not associated with Miller in any formal capacity, paid or otherwise.
The NCAA is also attempting to find out how Noel managed to pay for unofficial visits to Kentucky and Louisville last year that were not paid for by either university.
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College Basketball: Does the NCAA See Players as Students or Commodities?
By the end of the day on April 19, Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan stood knee deep in the smoldering ashes of a PR firestorm.
After a contentious interview with Mike and Mike and a social media backlash, the Wisconsin athletic department gave in and granted redshirt freshman Jared Uthoff his release to transfer to any school outside the Big Ten after previously restricting the player from 26 other schools.
The story drew national attention from both sports and non-sports related media outlets with headlines like “Bo (Ryan) Don’t Know PR” from Forbes.com. Amid the overwhelming public outcry, numerous stories of players in similar positions to Uthoff surfaced, shedding light on the twisted and hypocritical abuse of rules intended to protect both student athletes and universities.
Protection of the University
Originally written to prevent coaches from poaching players from another program (and thus creating a college version of free agency), NCAA Bylaw 14.5.5.2.10 states an athlete in baseball, football, basketball or men’s ice hockey must receive approval from his current university before he can transfer his scholarship. If the current school believes the student has been lured away before permission is given, that school can block the student from the university in question.
This rationale, however, has progressed from a tool used to prevent tampering to one that prevents a transferring player any opportunity to face his old team in the regular season. During his interview with Mike and Mike, Ryan referenced contacting several coaches for advice on how to handle Uthoff’s transfer request. These coaches, Ryan said, advised him to block the entire Big Ten and any school on Wisconsin’s schedule for the next two years. He took this a step further and blocked Iowa State (Uthoff’s an Iowa native) for apparent recruiting purposes.
Ryan, however, contends that he never intended to block Uthoff from the possibility of playing his former school (as cited in an April 20 article from SI.com), but instead force the student to go through what he called “the process”. According to Ryan, it was his intention to force Uthoff to bring his request before university administration and allow the coach an opportunity to speak with him about this decision.
Herein lies the apparent contradiction.
Protection of the Student
Despite blocking Uthoff from any school who could possibly be on Wisconsin’s schedule (an act of self-interest), Ryan presented his actions as simply wanting to confront a player about leaving the team. Like a father to his family, Ryan explained himself as a man in leadership concerned with the well being of a young man under his care.
This “in loco parentis” attitude is common among coaches and universities in their explanations for placing harsh restrictions on transferring players. Shortly after Wisconsin cleared Uthoff’s transfer request, former Florida International player Dominique Ferguson announced he was entering the NBA draft after Pete Garcia, FIU’s executive director of sports and entertainment, denied his request to transfer closer to his home in Indiana.
Garcia’s reason? Despite having never met Ferguson, he believed it was in the student athlete’s best interest to remain at FIU.
In a recent article from ESPN.com, Minnesota coach Tubby Smith expressed this same, caregiver sentiment when comparing the rise in transfers to coaches leaving for other positions.
“They’re kids. They’re there to get an education. We’re here to make a living. We clothe them, we feed them, we house them, we educate them. It’s apples and oranges,” Smith said, describing what sounds more like a homeless shelter than a college basketball program.
The NCAA has long romanticized the mentor role coaches have with players, and the power given to coaches over an athlete’s playing career reflects this confidence in their ability to act in a player’s best interest.
The problem, however, is college coaches are hired to win. High profile programs demand to win immediately. If players become upstanding, responsible men, then it adds to the greatness of college athletics as a pillar of higher education. If they don’t, then winning titles can cover a multitude of problems.
Nowhere has this contradiction been more apparent recently than at SMU, where newly hired coach Larry Brown immediately cut four returning players because they “weren’t good enough to play for him“.
They weren’t awarded a conversation about their future (i.e. Bo Ryan) or a decision about what’s in their best interest (i.e. FIU). And the food, clothing, housing and education provided by SMU just got much more expensive.
The transferring athlete question is just part of the tidal wave headed for the NCAA in the coming years regarding the compensation of athletes, but it goes to the heart of how college athletes are viewed by those in charge of their lives. With all the money, support, history and tradition at stake, the NCAA must decide whether athletes are students or commodities. The way it goes about implementing its rules will reveal its choice.
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NCAA denies Notre Dame forward a sixth year
The NCAA has turned down Notre Dame star Tim Abromaitis’ request for a sixth year of eligibility. The school confirmed the decision Wednesda …
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Why the NCAA Is Wrong for Denying Tim Abromaitis a Sixth Year of Eligibility
As reported by Matt Fortune of ESPN, Notre Dame’s Tim Abromaitis has been denied a sixth year of eligibility.
Abromaitis played his freshman season in 2007-08 for Notre Dame, but he wasn’t physically ready to play college basketball yet. He was redshirted following his freshman season to develop his basketball skills.
He played all of his sophomore and junior seasons for Notre Dame, and averaged over 15 points per game during both. Abromaitis was a three-point threat and a key part of Notre Dame’s offense.
Following a tremendous junior campaign in which he and Ben Hansbrough led the Irish to a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament, Abromaitis looked forward to becoming the featured player for coach Mike Brey‘s squad after Hansbrough‘s graduation.
After playing in just two games for Notre Dame in the 2011-12 season, Abromaitis tore his ACL, sidelining him for the rest of the season. It was a crushing injury for a player who would have been the leader of an eventual NCAA tournament team.
Still having only completed three years of playing basketball, Abromaitis was seeking one more year of eligibility. The possibility of this happening seemed realistic because Abromaitis still had not completed a fourth season of basketball, even though he had been at Notre Dame for six years.
His injury was similar to that of Purdue’s Robbie Hummel, who was granted a sixth year of eligibility following his ACL tear. So, it would seem fair that Abromaitis receive equal treatment.
Abromaitis had his appeal heard by the NCAA today, hoping that he would be allowed to suit up for one last season under Coach Mike Brey.
The NCAA denied his appeal.
Abromaitis already has received two degrees at the University of Notre Dame, both a bachelor’s and an MBA. He is an academic All-American and a true role model for the Notre Dame student body.
It is absolutely inexplicable and disheartening that the NCAA chose to punish this young man by ending his college career simply because he had to undergo the awful process of tearing his ACL.
It’s completely sickening for the NCAA to deny his plea, and Abromaitis should be more than disappointed by the NCAA’s action.
Abromaitis is not a detriment to the NCAA’s reputation. He didn’t redshirt in 2008-09 because he was problematic off the court or needed discipline. He had an unimpressive freshman season and just needed to polish his game.
Abromaitis more than lives up to the NCAA’s academic standards. In 2011, he was placed on the NCAA Academic All-American team and recorded a 3.72 GPA in finance. He should be rewarded for such commendable achievements, not punished.
In no way is Abromaitis a bad human being, nor has he ever been, and he doesn’t deserve this unjust treatment from the NCAA.
Fellow University of Notre Dame basketball player Scott Martin is also seeking one more year of eligibility. Martin transferred from Purdue after his freshman season, and blew out his knee before last season, meaning he has missed two years of basketball over the past six years.
Martin probably has an even better case to be granted his last year of eligibility, due to the fact that he was a transfer. The NCAA didn’t necessarily like that Abromaitis sat out after his freshman season, because he played in the team’s exhibition games before that decision was made to sit out.
If Martin is denied his plea for a sixth year of eligibility, the NCAA has some serious explaining to do.
The NCAA, once again, is just proving themselves to be a bunch of bullies, who don’t have their student’s best interests in mind.
And it’s absolutely sickening.
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