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Gopher Warrior said:
Oh, the felony case is 'reactivated'. It has been for a long time. It's just that now they appear to be getting quite restless.
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I'm just going to cover my ears and scream and pretend I can't hear you and this thread never happened.

From now on, hockey is the only u of m sport that will exist to me.
 

I agree: This is LAME. And it is WRONG, at least until proven right.
 


Let it play out

I have no knowledge of Trevor's situation; nor do I care to. However, he is innocent of the felony until proven otherwise, and should be allowed to play.
 



Did they ever find the woman that he allegedly assaulted? The last I read before the pretrial intervention program was they couldn't find this woman and without her testimony the prosecution really had no case? Also, I remember Trevor's lawyer having a coach and a player that would testify he was at some end of season party?
 

Thanks for coming forward with your info, GW...would be very bad for Gopher Hoops if it affects Trevor's eligibility but more importantly for his personal well-being. I was under the impression that charges were behind him. I apologize if I came across as a d-bag. I always appreciate your posts.
 

Please, stick to the Marquette message boards.
 

Slim Tubby said:
I agree, FTB, but how do you ignore the irresponsible and vague tweet from GW? He adds a lot of great input to this board but I want him to be accountable for his tweet. Man up and clarify your "inside info, GW.
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How do you ignore vague and irresponsible rumor mongering from a Marquette fan with a grudge against mbakwe? Easily.
 



I'm not going to worry about this until some reputable sources start commenting on it. Not a shot at GW. I just don't see a need to panic yet. I'll wait til Tubby, Mbakwe, or lawyers say something worrisome.
 


Gopher Warrior said:
This may help with your recollection - the following quote is from January:



Saying that something is not the most probable outcome, but still there is a real chance of it happening differs quite a bit from claiming that it will happen.
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That is the quote I recalled. But you'll forgive me for remembering 'real chance' as a bit stronger feeling than your disclaimer. In any case, your info may be dead on in this case, but it sure does appear that you have a bit of an ax to grind with Trevor.

Also given that this is just a culmination of things that has been accumulating all summer, your timing of bringing it up the day after the season starts is interesting at the least.
 

Gopher Warrior said:
the U's administration should have known in February that the pretrial intervention program folks had given Mbakwe a failing grade and obviously he was allowed to continue playing. Perhaps they didn't know. Maybe they hoped it would all go away.
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This part scares me the most. 'I didn't know' and 'I hoped it would all go away' are two things that Joel Maturi lives by. If this goes down the way you say, I'm guessing Joel will be 'shocked' and 'caught off guard' and will react by suspending Trevor until 'the situation resolves itself' once again.
 



I have no idea whether or not this rumor is true. What I do know is that GW does not like Trevor. He's never made it a secret. Take that into consideration.
 

Get Lost Golden Eagle Boy

Gopher Warrior said:
I think we need the print and/or radio media folks (or I will do the work in exchange for massive pay) to check in with the County down in Miami and see what they have to say, if anything.
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This seems to be the exact opposite of what needs to be done.
 

Listening to Trevor during the media outing on the 13th leads me to believe that he is a great actor if any of this ongoing issue will interfere with his playing this year. He spoke about him taking a leadership role this year. How he sees that he needed to do some things that would have allowed us to finish games last year. He will not make those mistakes again.

He seems ready to take on a leadership role. Sure does not sound like someone who legal issues will interfere.
 

Whether GW has an ax to grind with Trevor or not shouldn't matter. The facts are the facts and if the Florida case is truly reactivated and he is going to court on the matter then it could be some issues down the road. You can question GW approach with the initial tweet but you can't question him asking the question. Isn't the point of the message board/forum to throw out a topic and get opinions and state your thought on them?

The difference I feel this time is before Mbakwe hadn't played for the U of M in the past and still had a 2 yrs of eligibility left at that time. The program was coming off an NCAA tourney appearance and bringing in two profile local recruits in Rodney and Royce. At that time it was much easier for Tubby to sit back and let it play out and Joel to take the cautious approach. With Joel being in final year of deal and Tubby being his marquee hire isn't it in his best interest for Gopher basketball to have a good season at all costs. Trevor is going to be gone at the end of the season so unless he is convicted sometime throughout the season of a felony he needs to be allowed to play.
 

GW - I just don't see much that is "NEW" here, or for that matter I don't see "more major drama'. Just the same old drama that his lawyer seems to have handled so far. Your comment about 'lawyers getting back at each' other reminds me of Peter Sellers admonishing cabinet members for arguing... 'Gentleman, you can't fight in here. This is the WAR room'.


Gopher Warrior said:
This may help with your recollection - the following quote is from January:



Saying that something is not the most probable outcome, but still there is a real chance of it happening differs quite a bit from claiming that it will happen.

The other thing I said that I differed with most everyone is that I believed the 'Facebook incident' would result in more than 'little or no impact'. I continue to believe the impact could be significant and I think it's all going to come to a head soon.

Debating what is appropriate punishment, what really happened, the various perceived ills of the legal system, etc. isn't going to change reality. My understanding is that not only was Mbakwe unsuccessful in completing his pretrial intervention program in Florida (due to the arrest on misdemeanor charges), but also the folks down in Miami-Dade are ready to get this show on the road. By show I mean criminal trial on the felony assault charges. Things have been continued throughout the summer, but I can't see this getting pushed into next spring. They want to get this thing handled now.

Today is the first full day of NCAA basketball practice. In addition to classes and time on the basketball court, Minnesota's top player again is juggling criminal court dates in multiple states on multiple charges on his schedule, including this Monday the 17th in St. Paul and Tuesday the 25th in Miami. The St. Paul issue seems tough to beat as there's already an admission of guilt. As discussed in May, Mbakwe's attorney filed a motion to get his violation of the harassment restraining order excused, but the motion looked like a waste of time.

With respect to the felony case in Miami, it's scary stuff. When it comes to pretrial intervention programs, requirements can differ greatly between jurisdictions. Some require the defendant to admit guilt, while others require some lesser form of acknowledgement of responsibility. Although, in some circumstances neither is required. Obtaining some acknowledge of wrongdoing is done in part so that if someone does not complete the deferral program, the case for the prosecution is bolstered by the admissions from the defendant.

Not that 'getting a lawyer back for talking trash' should play any role in the legal process, but quotes of Mbakwe's attorney Gregory Samms 14 months ago such as, "they don’t offer this (pretrial intervention) on felony cases", "(they offered pretrial intervention because their) case is crumbled" and "they had no case and they're just trying to cover themselves" couldn't have helped matters.

Gopher fans have embraced Trevor Mbakwe and probably will continue to do so. There are no major changes in facts and circumstances that existed in 9 months ago. But they can't help him with the courts. This could still go a lot of different ways, but I don't like where it looks to be headed. Perhaps what Gopher fans will do, however, is try to help the case with the University administration. It's a unique situation in that Maturi was stern: unless delays were only caused by the prosecution, Mbakwe would not play until the legal issues in Florida were resolved. Maturi deemed the acceptance into the pretrial intervention program as resolution. With respect to the harassment charges, he brushed them off as no big deal as most people did. However, both of these legal issues are hanging out there. If the legal matters are to be resolved soon, what resolutions will result in Trevor being allowed to continue to play? If the legal matters are not soon resolved, will he be allowed to continue to play? Sure, the U's administration should have known in February that the pretrial intervention program folks had given Mbakwe a failing grade and obviously he was allowed to continue playing. Perhaps they didn't know. Maybe they hoped it would all go away. It hasn't.

Some areas of understanding need to be firmed up before you get too out of sorts, but those are some of my thoughts since everyone was so interested as to what was on my small mind. I think we need the print and/or radio media folks (or I will do the work in exchange for massive pay) to check in with the County down in Miami and see what they have to say, if anything. I could have this all wrong (probably not). One time I was reading aloud in a class of kids and pronounced orangutan "or-enj goo-ten". Of course I was only about four years old and in some accelerated learning class, but I'm still capable of saying really dumb things at times.
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I don't think Tubby would make a point to say that he's hopeful there aren't any off the court issues this year if there was a chance that this think could blow up. I'm sorry but this is a non-issue until someone with some credentials actually reports on it.

 

More Concise Thoughts on Mbakwe's Legal Matters

The other thread on this is a bit all over the place. I appreciate the attacks on me, but the issue that I'm interested in is the Gophers basketball team. There is nothing personal going on here. The legal matters are a real concern that will be talked about by the masses in the near future.

To be clear, I am telling you that it appears to me that Miami-Dade is not messing around anymore. Trevor Mbakwe was unable to successfully complete the pretrial intervention program. A condition of his program was that he was not to be arrested for a period of six months. He was arrested before those six months were up.

Therefore, the felony case was never dropped. At this point in time, I believe Miami-Dade is very tired of waiting to get this case handled. The wheels of justice spin slowly, but this case looks to have a brand spanking new set of tires on and the engine is getting revved up. Anything can happen, but it appears the result will be one of two - either a plea bargain is agreed on, or the case goes to trial. (Not to mention the potentially important interplay between the Florida case and the Minnesota case.)

In addition to, and separate from, the legal process, there is the issue of the basketball program and University of Minnesota as an overall institution. What are they going to do? What do you think they should do? When you (and the U) look back at your stance today, compared to your views in the past, have you changed your position? Is your current reasoning in conflict with your arguments of the past?

Make no mistake - I wish the Miami case would have been put to rest and the harassment arrest in Minnesota would have never occurred. It would be great if all of this was in the rear view mirror. However, that's not where things are at.

Now, if you consider this all a non-issue, that's fine. If you choose to believe it's just some morbidly obese guy typing away on his computer from his mom's basement and you'll believe it when you hear it from multiple, "more traditional news sources", so be it. I have an interest in the basketball program and have a "peculiar" mind that can provide a unique perspective on some topics, and this topic is relevant - if I were an objective observer, I'd tend to listen to me based on history (*).

Enjoy your Sunday. RIP Eyedea.


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(*) Some of my past, heavily doubted comments, that are now easy to verify... a reasonable level of skepticism is healthy, but at some point don't you say... "hmmm, this guy's words may have some truth behind them"?

Pastner's NCAA violation in the Twin Cities
They called me names and said I was crazy. They had 'proof' and 'knew for sure' that I was wrong. They complained, "that ***** is still going on about pastner and NCAA rules even after being shown the rule". Until Memphis reported the violation.

Maurice Walker - additional year of eligibility
Multiple news organizations and even coaches at the U state an additional year is likely. My explanations of why I strongly disagreed and offers of cash if I was wrong weren't enough to convince some people... "I trust the coaches over you"... more name-calling, etc. But ultimately, there was no additional year of eligibility.

Ralph Sampson - NBA
He was gone. A Gopher career was over. My claim that, despite multiple reports to the contrary, he's coming back was made via a GopherHole article and was met with tempered excitement, but some wanted something 'more official'. "Why isn't it on any of the major newspaper sites or ESPN", they asked. Eventually, it was. "Big Change", the headlines said, in the status of Sampson.

Justin Morneau - cervical spine surgery
I said Morneau would be having cervical spine surgery and his career is forever changed. Sound the sirens. Some ignored, most brushed it off. Some weeks later, he landed on the DL, but the team only reported a "sore wrist". Some mocking of me ensued. But by the end of the month, that had stopped due to... cervical spine surgery (and it's still a much bigger deal than most people understand).

Mbakwe - Arrest in January
No big deal they concluded. My view differed. Now in October I say things are heating up and I don't like where things may be headed. The felony case in Miami does not look pretty. Some thank me for my thoughts and the information. Many throw out insults, names and unfounded accusations. Others make up reasons in their minds why what I'm saying just can't be right. I'm not surprised at that type of reaction. They'll believe when the masses catch up.
 

What are your sources? Why is this all of a sudden an issue today and wasn't when the facebook incident went down last season? It's hard to believe you don't have an axe to grind with Trevor. I'm a fellow Minnesota/Marquette fan and I know a lot of Marquette fans that hate Trevor for transferring and you seem to fit the mold.
 



The timing sure is a red flag to me.Wait till the first day of practice to start slowly leaking the story.Seems like you like blowing your horn on how great a reporter you are.Like a big ego trip it seems.Maybe I'm reading you wrong and the kill the messenger mentality has taken over.
As far as the University's stance is concerned I'm of the opinion they stand by Trevor and this whole thing waits legally to get resolved until after the season.I'm hoping anyway.It sounded like their case wasn't that strong previously.Maybe that has changed.I don't see why the kid didn't take care of his probation.Where was his support system.Aka the coaching staff among others.
 


161 08/24/2011 MOTION FOR CONTINUANCE FILED 08/24/2011 ORAL SET FOR 08/24/2011 AT 09:31 GRANTED STIP
160 08/24/2011 REPORT RE: STATUS SET FOR 10/25/2011 AT 09:00
155 08/24/2011 REPORT RE: TRIAL DATE SET FOR 10/25/2011 AT 09:00
158 08/09/2011 E-SUBPOENA: DANIEL, LAZARO ID: 030-07718 FOR: TRIAL ON 09/06/2011 AT 09:00 ISSUED BY: CJIS
SENT: 08/09/2011 RECD/NOTFD: 08/09/2011 ACKN: 08/09/2011 S
157 08/09/2011 E-SUBPOENA: GONZALEZ, KIMBERLY ID: 030-05452 FOR: TRIAL ON 09/06/2011 AT 09:00 ISSUED BY: CJIS
SENT: 08/09/2011 RECD/NOTFD: 08/09/2011 ACKN: 08/09/2011 S
154 06/21/2011 REPORT RE: PLEA/SOUNDING SET FOR 08/24/2011 AT 09:00
153 06/15/2011 TRIAL PROS. ASSIGNED: MANRARA, ANA
142 06/01/2011 REPORT RE: TRIAL DATE SET FOR 06/21/2011 AT 09:00
150 06/01/2011 REPORT RE: PLEA SET FOR 06/21/2011 AT 09:00
149 06/01/2011 MOTION FOR CONTINUANCE FILED 06/01/2011 ORAL SET FOR 06/01/2011 AT 16:14 GRANTED STIP
147 05/16/2011 E-SUBPOENA: DANIEL, LAZARO ID: 030-07718 FOR: TRIAL ON 06/13/2011 AT 09:00 ISSUED BY: CJIS
SENT: 05/16/2011 RECD/NOTFD: 05/16/2011 ACKN: 05/16/2011 S
146 05/16/2011 E-SUBPOENA: GONZALEZ, KIMBERLY ID: 030-05452 FOR: TRIAL ON 06/13/2011 AT 09:00 ISSUED BY: CJIS
SENT: 05/16/2011 RECD/NOTFD: 05/16/2011 ACKN: 05/16/2011 S
144 03/31/2011 TRIAL PROS. ASSIGNED: BASCO, NICHOLAS
141 03/01/2011 REPORT RE: PLEA/SOUNDING SET FOR 06/01/2011 AT 09:00
140 02/16/2011 TRIAL PROS. ASSIGNED: SMITH, MATTHEW
138 02/11/2011 REPORT RE: TRIAL DATE SET FOR 03/01/2011 AT 09:05
137 02/11/2011 MEMO RE: DEFERRED PROSECUTION PROGRAM UNSUCCESSFUL COMPL
 

So nothing has changed since August, or really February, but he chooses his timing for maximum ego boosting, nice.
 

What are your sources? Why is this all of a sudden an issue today and wasn't when the facebook incident went down last season? It's hard to believe you don't have an axe to grind with Trevor. I'm a fellow Minnesota/Marquette fan and I know a lot of Marquette fans that hate Trevor for transferring and you seem to fit the mold.
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A good journalist never reveals his sources. And the story evolves when it evolves, nothing more, nothing less. GW has been spot-on on a number of occasions, so yes, I would also agree that your "Kill the Messenger" mentality has taken over.
 


alltimetwinsfan said:
A good journalist never reveals his sources. And the story evolves when it evolves, nothing more, nothing less. GW has been spot-on on a number of occasions, so yes, I would also agree that your "Kill the Messenger" mentality has taken over.
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He's not a journalist, he's a dude with a computer and a twitter account.

NurumbiCongo said:
Couldn't agree more. GW has lost a lot of respect from me.
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+1
 

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