Interesting article on Eric Bledsoe's Birmingham prep grades

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OSUfan said:
FOT loves to defend Sandy Bell, but there is a pretty damning statement in the NYT article on Bledsoe's transcripts:
"Three independent compliance officers, who were granted anonymity because of privacy laws surrounding discussions of students’ grades, said in interviews on Tuesday that under N.C.A.A. rules, the organization could vacate Kentucky’s 2009-2010 season, in which they reached the Round of 8."
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/15/sports/ncaabasketball/15hoops.html?_r=4

Either Sandy didn't have the same facts as these other compliance officers or she looked the other way. Either way, UK is likely to take a hit on Bledsoe (vacated '10 season).
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Don't agree. First, the "C" grade is incorrect per the teacher. Second, those 3 were given a hypothetical set of circumstances (not factual) to render their opinion.

Yes, IF the grade was changed incorrectly, the NCAA COULD (not will) vacate the season.

The NYT and Thamel are HARDLY unbiased in this case.
 

The NCAA Clearinghouse CLEARED EB to play. That's where the buck stops. If it doesn't, the NCAA's Clearinghouse is useless.
 


UK Response (Last Week)

Stephen P. Branscum, vice chair of the UK Board of Trustees, said ... "He was academically cleared. That's all, from a university standpoint, we can go on. That is what the NCAA Clearinghouse is for." The Eligibility Center used to be called the NCAA Clearinghouse. "That's their job, to look into the academic status of student-athletes and to clear them," Branscum said.

In a statement released by spokesman DeWayne Peevy, UK said the NCAA approved of Bledsoe's eligibility more than once. "Often high-profile student-athletes are selected for an extensive prospective student-athlete review," the statement said. "Eric Bledsoe participated in the normal academic review process and also an extensive PSA review by the NCAA Eligibility Center and was cleared academically."
 

Wasn't Derrick Rose cleared by the NCAA clearinghouse, but Memphis still slapped with sanctions and their trip to the championship game vacated?

Shocker that the most apt comparison to this also was a Calipari recruit..
 


Saber said:
Wasn't Derrick Rose cleared by the NCAA clearinghouse, but Memphis still slapped with sanctions and their trip to the championship game vacated?

Shocker that the most apt comparison to this also was a Calipari recruit..
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As for Bledsoe, (C.M.) Newton voiced a familiar lament: That the NCAA's Eligibility Center ruled the player eligible, so it's not fair to hold a program accountable after the season.

That's what happened when the NCAA ruled Derrick Rose ineligible and ordered John Calipari-coached Memphis to vacate its 38 victories and Final Four appearance of 2007-08.

"The NCAA was dead wrong," Newton said, "to come back a year later and take whatever action they took."

But, the NCAA asks, what should it do if new information surfaces in the interim? "Then they better be sure of their information in the first place," Newton said. "Jeez-so, Pete."
 

So what you're saying is that yes, this instance is exactly the same as the Memphis season that was vacated. The NCAA stands by their decision on Rose. Therefore, expect the same with Bledsoe.

I wonder if Calipari already holds the record for number of wins vacated, or if he's still working on it...
 

Saber said:
So what you're saying is that yes, this instance is exactly the same as the Memphis season that was vacated. The NCAA stands by their decision on Rose. Therefore, expect the same with Bledsoe.

I wonder if Calipari already holds the record for number of wins vacated, or if he's still working on it...
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Not AT ALL. The two cases are entirely different. Rose was alleged to have cheated on ACT or SAT exam. Bledsoe did not.
 

No, FOT, the cases aren't entirely different. Rose's transcripts were altered in addition to the SAT fraud - a more egregious case, yes, but certainly there were some fishy things in Bledsoe's transcripts that stopped many programs recruiting him.

FOT apparently agrees with UK fans that there is some vast media conspiracy at work here. LOL!

I find it absurd that FOT would defend Derrick Rose and suggest neither he nor Memphis should be penalized in a case where the kid committed extreme SAT fraud, something that simply cannot be permitted. If the NCAA let this stuff go without punishment, then they would be tacitly encouraging academic fraud and I don't see that happening. Sandy Bell is going to take a hit for Bledsoe, like it or not.
 



OSUfan said:
No, FOT, the cases aren't entirely different. Rose's transcripts were altered in addition to the SAT fraud - a more egregious case, yes, but certainly there were some fishy things in Bledsoe's transcripts that stopped many programs recruiting him.

FOT apparently agrees with UK fans that there is some vast media conspiracy at work here. LOL!

I find it absurd that FOT would defend Derrick Rose and suggest neither he nor Memphis should be penalized in a case where the kid committed extreme SAT fraud, something that simply cannot be permitted. If the NCAA let this stuff go without punishment, then they would be tacitly encouraging academic fraud and I don't see that happening. Sandy Bell is going to take a hit for Bledsoe, like it or not.
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The Birmingham HS teacher (Algebra 3 class) has been publicly quoted as saying A is the correct grade, not C.

The NCAA Clearinghouse approved Bledsoe TWICE.

Never said a word or defended Rose / Memphis in any way.
 

But I Must Defer To OSU Expertise On NCAA Violations...

OSU leads Big Ten in recruit violations
More than 60 percent of violations committed by OSU
By Zach Tuggle

Published: Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Updated: Saturday, June 20, 2009 22:06

Of the 21 NCAA recruiting violations committed by Big Ten schools during the 2007-08 year, Ohio State committed more than half with 13.
An OSU administrator revealed the numbers Tuesday in a presentation to the university's Board of Trustees' Audit and Compliance Committee.
"I don't view it as a bad thing. If we suddenly had zero violations, I would have to ask myself what the coaches were hiding," said Doug Archie, OSU's associate athletics director for compliance and camps.
After the public portion of the meeting, Archie and the committee members went into a closed session.
OSU's coaches and athletes must adhere to NCAA, Big Ten and university ethics rules. If coaches or players realize they've committed a violation, they're expected to report it. Archie said OSU leads the nation in reporting its violations and that all of the school's violations are self-reported.
Archie told the committee that the rules are very complex and at times can be hard for coaches and athletes to track. He used the example of a coach sending a mass e-mail to potential recruits.
"If the coach accidentally includes a junior in that e-mail, then he's committed a violation," Archie said.
Archie explained that the recruitment violations are labeled as level I violations. He said the NCAA cares a great deal about recruiting violations and watches them closely to keep recruitment opportunities equal for all schools.
"Most violations are recruitment violations because recruitment is the real bloodline of our athletics," Archie said.
Level I violations must be reported directly to the NCAA, while level II violations are sent to the Big Ten, then on to the NCAA.
Universities in the Big Ten committed 194 violations in 2007-08. In addition to the 21 level I violations, the Big Ten had 164 level II violations, and nine that were violations of either Big Ten or university rules.
OSU committed 26 total violations for the 2007-08 year. Twenty-one of them were level I, 11 were level II and two were either Big Ten or violations of OSU's policies.
Under certain circumstances, a coach could get special permission to legally break an NCAA rule when recruiting. The coach must file a waiver with the NCAA. If the waiver is granted, then the coach will get one exemption to receive a recruiting advantage. OSU filed 78 such waivers for the 2007-08 year.
 


You've consistently lit into DeCourcy before because of his criticism towards Tubby in the past. Now his words hold credence to you?
 



Friend Of Tubby said:
http://vaughtsviews.com/?p=6056 take it FWIW.
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It still is slightly suspicious however that he's had seasons vacated at 2 different schools. Even if he has never directly implicated. I couldn't name another coach with vacated seasons at 2 Different schools. So either Cal is up to no good, or just extremely unlucky.

Especially with it now possibly happening at a third school.
 


scher215 said:
It still is slightly suspicious however that he's had seasons vacated at 2 different schools. Even if he has never directly implicated. I couldn't name another coach with vacated seasons at 2 Different schools. So either Cal is up to no good, or just extremely unlucky.

Especially with it now possibly happening at a third school.
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Camby was responsible for 1996 being vacated, not Calipari.

Ditto Rose in 2008, not Calipari. NCAA found no blame on JC either time.
 



Friend Of Tubby said:
Yes - he pushes the line just like ALL the top 5-10 coaches do. I don't think he cheats.
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You and the Kentucky fans are about the only ones who believe that. Based on all your name-calling and racist accusations, that would not appear to be great company to keep.
 


Friend Of Tubby said:
As for Bledsoe, (C.M.) Newton voiced a familiar lament: That the NCAA's Eligibility Center ruled the player eligible, so it's not fair to hold a program accountable after the season.

That's what happened when the NCAA ruled Derrick Rose ineligible and ordered John Calipari-coached Memphis to vacate its 38 victories and Final Four appearance of 2007-08.

"The NCAA was dead wrong," Newton said, "to come back a year later and take whatever action they took."

But, the NCAA asks, what should it do if new information surfaces in the interim? "Then they better be sure of their information in the first place," Newton said. "Jeez-so, Pete."
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sarcasm/ Yeah, this post sure doesn't make it seem like the NCAA was unfair to Derrick Rose at all /sarcasm

FOT, you don't say anything of your own, but by quoting it and putting the quotes that claim the NCAA was dead wrong in bold, you're obviously agreeing with the idea that the NCAA was unfair to Rose. Otherwise, why dig it up in the first place? You are foolish if you think the NCAA shouldn't punish kids for egregious SAT fraud. Again, if they didn't penalize it when they found out, then other kids would be effectively encouraged to do it and hope they can sneak through the clearinghouse like some of Calipari's players have done in the past.

OSU is not the issue here. Calipari's propensity to not cross all the "t"s and dot all the "i"s is what's the issue. Regardless, there's a big difference between a vigilant compliance department that self-reports everything and a compliance department that hopes the NCAA won't look closely while admitting players such as Bledsoe whose transcript turned away many rival coaches. Maybe Sandy Bell didn't want to admit Bledsoe and was somehow overruled by Cal - who knows. But Sandy didn't stop Bledsoe from enrolling, that's for sure. FOT apparently thinks there is a vast media conspiracy at work here and that UK is clean - LOL!!!!
 

Calipari has bought off some of the media members with his charity work. Dick Vitale, for instance, you know he will say nothing negative about Cal. Why? Well, Vitale is hosting a charity gala in spring of 2011, and it's in John Calipari's honor. I'm not kidding you. http://dickvitaleonline.com/community/dick-vitale-gala.html

If you seriously think the national pundits like Vitale who use Calipari to help raise money are going to say anything negative about him, you're delusional.
 

OSUfan said:
sarcasm/ Yeah, this post sure doesn't make it seem like the NCAA was unfair to Derrick Rose at all /sarcasm

FOT, you don't say anything of your own, but by quoting it and putting the quotes that claim the NCAA was dead wrong in bold, you're obviously agreeing with the idea that the NCAA was unfair to Rose. Otherwise, why dig it up in the first place? You are foolish if you think the NCAA shouldn't punish kids for egregious SAT fraud. Again, if they didn't penalize it when they found out, then other kids would be effectively encouraged to do it and hope they can sneak through the clearinghouse like some of Calipari's players have done in the past.

OSU is not the issue here. Calipari's propensity to not cross all the "t"s and dot all the "i"s is what's the issue. Regardless, there's a big difference between a vigilant compliance department that self-reports everything and a compliance department that hopes the NCAA won't look closely while admitting players such as Bledsoe whose transcript turned away many rival coaches. Maybe Sandy Bell didn't want to admit Bledsoe and was somehow overruled by Cal - who knows. But Sandy didn't stop Bledsoe from enrolling, that's for sure. FOT apparently thinks there is a vast media conspiracy at work here and that UK is clean - LOL!!!!
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Nope. CM Newton said it, not me.

The class in question was taken during Bledsoe's JUNIOR year. Calipari arrived at UK after his SENIOR year was over. The teacher of the class in question said the correct grade is A, not C.
 

OSUfan said:
Calipari has bought off some of the media members with his charity work. Dick Vitale, for instance, you know he will say nothing negative about Cal. Why? Well, Vitale is hosting a charity gala in spring of 2011, and it's in John Calipari's honor. I'm not kidding you. http://dickvitaleonline.com/community/dick-vitale-gala.html

If you seriously think the national pundits like Vitale who use Calipari to help raise money are going to say anything negative about him, you're delusional.
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Dick Weiss is also supportive of Coach JC. Did he buy him off, too?
 

My take on Coach Cal is actually very similar to yours FOT-he's probably not any dirtier than many other coaches plying their trade in college basketball and I'm sure there's more than a few who could teach Calipari a few tricks.

That all being said, the Bledsoe brouhaha seems like it should have been seen miles away. Several schools/coaches (including Minnesota/Tubby) backed off when they got a close look; certainly not because of his talent, nor does it seem character concerns, but rather an extremely weak/suspect transcript. Taking Bledsoe into your program seems like you would be begging for scrutiny, whether the Clearinghouse cleared him or not down the road. Kentucky fans and Calipari boosters can bemoan the unfairness all they want, but with Cal, undeserved or not, that's part of the package. And frankly, Cal's been around long enough to know that Bledsoe was a big risk (and please save the "trying to help a kid out who has had a tough life" angle-it may be true and I'm very happy that Bledsoe has an opportunity to secure his family's security for generations, but Coach Cal ain't operating a charity foundation-Bledsoe wouldn't garner a sliver of attention or sympathy from Kentucky basketball if his talent wasn't what it is)

When Cal was hired by Kentucky, I thought it would be the most fascinating college basketball soap opera to occur in years and I haven't been disappointed. I see CBS just canceled As the World Turns, they could fill their open slot with Slick Cal and Kentucky basketball and get boffo ratings. It remains to be seen how long this show will last-the intense media attention that Kentucky attracts along with the living caricature of the slick, hustling basketball coach screams constant pressure. Storylines since the B & W era tell us that the grand hubris of the cunning and powerful will receive their comeuppance; and with Kentucky BB and Coach Cal, the media's quite happy to still operate in shades of black and white. There's no gray to this story-hoops obsessed, win at any cost program + shady looking/fast talking/questionable connections head coach=easy villains.

Again, is Coach Cal a villain? Probably not any more so than many/most of his peers, but he's probably enough of one to eventually have the walls come crumbling down while he operates in one of the centers of the college basketball universe.
 

You're right coolhand. If it wasn't the 1.75 GPA in core courses after his Junior year that would alert coaches to back off, after his senior year, the transcript still had a 1.75 GPA student (through three years) acing Algebra 3 before he took Algebra 2, and he was taking the BYU "Great Mormon Grade Grab" online courses that the NCAA has since outlawed in order to bump up his GPA. Certainly any compliance officer worth their salt would frown on a transcript where the kid did remarkably poorly at one school (1.75 core GPA) yet aced a class that he did not take a state-mandated prerequisite for at another school. After looking into it a little more, it is certainly possible for UK to get off on Bledsoe's academic fraud because (per Andy Katz) the NCAA won't do anything unless the Alabama HS authorities officially change his transcript. But that doesn't mean there weren't a lot of fishy things about Bledsoe's coursework at Parker High - just because the Alabama HS folks don't act doesn't mean what UK did in admitting the kid right. It is notable that the grade change the NYT notes is critical, without the "A," instead of the "C," then he would not have qualified, because it was that close. There are simply some kids who aren't meant for college - I have little doubt that Bledsoe was not academically meant for college and I'm sure he was one of the main reasons that Calipari's club's GPA was exceptionally low last year - I wish there weren't Parker Highs out there that cook the books to make a star athlete eligible when he shouldn't be, but I guess that's life.
 

CHG and OSUfan, you both have made good points in a rational way. Perhaps you have also provided another reason that "one-and-done" should be tossed out.
 

coolhandgopher said:
My take on Coach Cal is actually very similar to yours FOT-he's probably not any dirtier than many other coaches plying their trade in college basketball and I'm sure there's more than a few who could teach Calipari a few tricks.

That all being said, the Bledsoe brouhaha seems like it should have been seen miles away. Several schools/coaches (including Minnesota/Tubby) backed off when they got a close look; certainly not because of his talent, nor does it seem character concerns, but rather an extremely weak/suspect transcript. Taking Bledsoe into your program seems like you would be begging for scrutiny, whether the Clearinghouse cleared him or not down the road. Kentucky fans and Calipari boosters can bemoan the unfairness all they want, but with Cal, undeserved or not, that's part of the package. And frankly, Cal's been around long enough to know that Bledsoe was a big risk (and please save the "trying to help a kid out who has had a tough life" angle-it may be true and I'm very happy that Bledsoe has an opportunity to secure his family's security for generations, but Coach Cal ain't operating a charity foundation-Bledsoe wouldn't garner a sliver of attention or sympathy from Kentucky basketball if his talent wasn't what it is)

When Cal was hired by Kentucky, I thought it would be the most fascinating college basketball soap opera to occur in years and I haven't been disappointed. I see CBS just canceled As the World Turns, they could fill their open slot with Slick Cal and Kentucky basketball and get boffo ratings. It remains to be seen how long this show will last-the intense media attention that Kentucky attracts along with the living caricature of the slick, hustling basketball coach screams constant pressure. Storylines since the B & W era tell us that the grand hubris of the cunning and powerful will receive their comeuppance; and with Kentucky BB and Coach Cal, the media's quite happy to still operate in shades of black and white. There's no gray to this story-hoops obsessed, win at any cost program + shady looking/fast talking/questionable connections head coach=easy villains.

Again, is Coach Cal a villain? Probably not any more so than many/most of his peers, but he's probably enough of one to eventually have the walls come crumbling down while he operates in one of the centers of the college basketball universe.
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I can see why many schools backed off Bledsoe but UK wasn't the only one who didn't.

I think Calipari will do well at UK. I lived through the Joe Hall (1976 and 1984) NCAA scrutiny and Eddie Sutton NCAA debacle (1989) so it doesn't really bother me. It comes with the territory.

Tubby OTOH succeeded at UK (absent FF appearances) without NCAA issues - but there were several OTC incidents in early 2000's that brought a dark cloud over UK basketball.
 

OSUfan said:
You're right coolhand. If it wasn't the 1.75 GPA in core courses after his Junior year that would alert coaches to back off, after his senior year, the transcript still had a 1.75 GPA student (through three years) acing Algebra 3 before he took Algebra 2, and he was taking the BYU "Great Mormon Grade Grab" online courses that the NCAA has since outlawed in order to bump up his GPA. Certainly any compliance officer worth their salt would frown on a transcript where the kid did remarkably poorly at one school (1.75 core GPA) yet aced a class that he did not take a state-mandated prerequisite for at another school. After looking into it a little more, it is certainly possible for UK to get off on Bledsoe's academic fraud because (per Andy Katz) the NCAA won't do anything unless the Alabama HS authorities officially change his transcript. But that doesn't mean there weren't a lot of fishy things about Bledsoe's coursework at Parker High - just because the Alabama HS folks don't act doesn't mean what UK did in admitting the kid right. It is notable that the grade change the NYT notes is critical, without the "A," instead of the "C," then he would not have qualified, because it was that close. There are simply some kids who aren't meant for college - I have little doubt that Bledsoe was not academically meant for college and I'm sure he was one of the main reasons that Calipari's club's GPA was exceptionally low last year - I wish there weren't Parker Highs out there that cook the books to make a star athlete eligible when he shouldn't be, but I guess that's life.
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B or C in that class = DNQ. Only A = qualified. NCAA looked at it TWICE and judged Qualified.

I think Bledsoe scored above 2.0 GPA both semesters at UK - not great but not horrible.
 

Friend Of Tubby said:
Nope. CM Newton said it, not me.
The teacher of the class in question said the correct grade is A, not C.
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This is about your 4th time using this defense? What the hell is he supposed to say? If he admits to changing a grade that wasn't earned, what happens to him? Loses his teaching license? Suspended without pay? Given a ticker tape parade? What possible motivation could he have to publicly tell people he changed a grade for a kid without cause or merit?

OJ says he's innocent. I guess that means he is too. People lie FOS. Especially people whose jobs could be lost from telling the truth.

I have no idea what grades Bledsoe should have gotten but the smoke that constantly follows Calipari around has to lead to a fire at some point. Too many coincidences are usually just that....too many.
 

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