Rakeem Buckles Update 9/3: NCAA Denies Appeal, Buckles Headed Back to FIU

[Bad Gopher]

GW, I appreciate the thoughtful analysis in your article. You may be right that the NCAA considered those reasons. I just don't agree that they are valid reasons, or justify the decision.

Sure there is some speculation involved, but we know he finished summer school at FIU as Minnesota apparently had him do, we know Minnesota was happy with the results of that (an official even quoted as saying "It is going to happen"), and we know he was a good enough student and making sufficient progress to be accepted into the U of M -- a far better school academically than FIU or Louisville. The NCAA has no place second-guessing U of M admissions. This is not SEC country. We also know he's had hard luck throughout his college career with injuries, which basically caused him to miss a substantial amt of his eligible playing time and to leave Louisville. It would be ridiculous for anyone to conclude he voluntarily left Louisville. At best you can conclude he wanted more PT somewhere and that FIU with Pitino was the best fallback; at worst you can conclude (probably rightly) that he was more or less pushed out. And finally we know that in his final year of eligibility, his school became ineligible for the tournament.

To me, if there is an APR waiver for final year of eligibility, you have to apply it here, period. This is more than enough to make the decision.

I think the decision is more about the NCAA getting zillions of waiver requests and needing to deny some, about ignorance, and possibly about the timing of this request coming right before school starts. It also reflects a discretionary system that might work fine in simple, low profile cases or non-revenue sports, but is strained and arbitrary when it involves high stakes sports and players, and more complicated situations.

I would prefer to believe it was a fair and just ruling, but I can't give them the benefit of the doubt when there's so much doubt and such puzzling circumstances. Any time people are involved in any decision (i.e. all the time), there is the possibility of caprice and poor judgment. It's not a reach to suspect, like you do, that they have to deny a certain number of these in order to prevent the landscape from becoming a complete free for all. The fact that Minnesota has been liberal about applying for waivers over the past several months has made me suspect all along that we would not get all three, just because nobody gets three in one year.

 

[WanderingGopher]

This article lists potential reasons for the denial (and notes that the NCAA asks for some of the whining they have to hear because they don't disclose specifics in most cases). In addition, differences between Smith and Buckles are discussed.

With respect to your article,

1) This is not a graduate transfer case, so I don't see how that analysis is relevant. Reasoning and (presumably) guidelines behind APR related transfer is different. Moreover, even if this were a graduate transfer waiver, I fundamentally disagree with the notion that a kid should be penalized for going where his coach goes, if other kids are getting a waiver in the same circumstance except didn't previously follow a coach.

2) I don't see the basis for your argument that Smith should be treated differently from Buckles just because he played this year with a chance to go to the tourney. If anything that logically cuts the other way. He had his chance. Moreover, is their knowledge of impending APR issues even relevant? Highly doubtful anyone knew for sure what the situation was, and also likely the coaches knew a lot more than the players. If knowledge is relevant, and you assume any incoming transfer knows of APR issues, then basically you'd have no APR waiver given to JC transfers. But Smith and others have gotten them.

3) With respect to academic progress, he was accepted into Minnesota. End of story IMO. Moreover, his academics are good enough to be eligible to play at FIU. Why should this possibly effect his transfer waiver? It shouldn't.

NCAA is setting up strawmen.

So yeah, I think people -- including us -- have every reason to express outrage and indignation at the NCAA, and I hope they continue.

 

[WanderingGopher]

The fact that Minnesota has been liberal about applying for waivers over the past several months has made me suspect all along that we would not get all three, just because nobody gets three in one year.

+1 Technically this should not matter, as each should be judged on its own merit, but I bet it did.

 

[DeathClutch]

Michael Dixon, who was dismissed from missouri after two sexual assault allegations, is cleared to play for Memphis.

 

[station19]

Just let him transfer and sit out half of the first game.

WTF.

 

[katze019]

The biggest thing is we don't know where Buckles is at academically, just that there were some questions related to his academics relative to whether he'd be able to come to Minnesota. Unless you know what the issues and reasoning for the denial are, I fail to see reason for outrage

3) With respect to academic progress, he was accepted into Minnesota. End of story IMO. Moreover, his academics are good enough to be eligible to play at FIU. Why should this possibly effect his transfer waiver? It shouldn't.

NCAA is setting up strawmen.

So yeah, I think people -- including us -- have every reason to express outrage and indignation at the NCAA, and I hope they continue.

Good points, I see no indication why academics would be a concern.

 

[WanderingGopher]

Michael Dixon, who was dismissed from missouri after two sexual assault allegations, is cleared to play for Memphis.

Dixon, like Buckles, didn't need an NCAA waiver to transfer but needed a waiver to play immediately because he is entering his fifth year. I guess the NCAA considers getting kicked out of school to be a worthy excuse to allow a waiver, and rehabbing from multiple injuries and wanting to play in the NCAA tourney not to be.

 

[50PoundHead]

This article lists potential reasons for the denial (and notes that the NCAA asks for some of the whining they have to hear because they don't disclose specifics in most cases). In addition, differences between Smith and Buckles are discussed.

The article above is from last week. In addition, here's an article from back in April discussing one reason why it may be difficult for Buckles to get a waiver even if he were to be accepted into graduate school at the U.

The traditional media does a poor job of understanding and/or explaining rules and regulations. In turn, the masses beliefs are often untrue. Case in point is that many people believe that there is a rule that says the FIU postseason ban in 2013-14 means seniors can transfer to another school and become immediately eligible.

One interesting thing on Buckles I've seen from many commentators is an argument that he should be OK to play because he went to FIU to follow an assistant from Louisville, and then wants to stay with him at Minnesota. The problem is that's precisely what the NCAA doesn't want - kids following around coaches. That argument would gravely hurt Buckles' chances and wouldn't be one Minnesota would have wanted to make.

The biggest thing is we don't know where Buckles is at academically, just that there were some questions related to his academics relative to whether he'd be able to come to Minnesota. Unless you know what the issues and reasoning for the denial are, I fail to see reason for outrage.

Disappointment? Sure, that makes sense. Criticizing the system for lack of disclosure? Maybe that's reasonable (although the NCAA or its member institutions shouldn't be publicly disclosing a student's academic records). Outrage over the denial, though? Why?

I think the high-lighted portion of GopherWarrior's post is key in all of this.

I haven't followed this closely, but I think I posted when the topic first came up in April about Buckles' is that this was his second transfer and--at least on paper--was going to make this difficult.

As for programs like Indiana, Duke, Kansas, North Carolina, etc., do they ever even have situations like this one? They might. I'm just asking. But my guess is programs like that aren't out looking for transfers to fill out their rosters.

The NCAA deserves a ton of negative comments. I think it will collapse in less than a decade. I'm just having a hard time going around the bend on this one.

For the record, I think the grad student transfer is a joke.

 

[Gopher Warrior]

I think the high-lighted portion of GopherWarrior's post is key in all of this.

I haven't followed this closely, but I think I posted when the topic first came up in April about Buckles' is that this was his second transfer and--at least on paper--was going to make this difficult.

As for programs like Indiana, Duke, Kansas, North Carolina, etc., do they ever even have situations like this one? They might. I'm just asking. But my guess is programs like that aren't out looking for transfers to fill out their rosters.

Yep, the article in April was about the problem Buckles may have because he had already done a 4-4 transfer.

As for "blue bloods" and transfers - most everyone is willing to take a look at them. Some excellent players have transferred (especially as grad students - I agree, poor rule). Indiana has Evan Gordon (brother of Eric.. Eron is the stud, though) coming in this year as a grad student eligible to play immediately... KU has Tarik Black.

It's a bad rule, but programs would be crazy to not consider utilizing it.

 

[50PoundHead]

Yep, the article in April was about the problem Buckles may have because he had already done a 4-4 transfer.

As for "blue bloods" and transfers - most everyone is willing to take a look at them. Some excellent players have transferred (especially as grad students - I agree, poor rule). Indiana has Evan Gordon (brother of Eric.. Eron is the stud, though) coming in this year as a grad student eligible to play immediately... KU has Tarik Black.

It's a bad rule, but programs would be crazy to not consider utilizing it.

Thanks for the info on Gordon and Black. And I agree that if it's legal teams should use it. I just think it's a real joke.

I'm all behind Pitino and I've been cheering for the Gophers since the days of Lou Hudson and Archie Clark, but more than anything, I want this era to start solid and not get all bogged down in filling out a team with a patchwork of transfers from the get-go. Build the base and recruit like crazy. I am likely in the minority with that view.

 

[WanderingGopher]

Update -- Kerwin Okoro, the transfer to Rutgers who previously was denied a hardship waiver, had his appeal granted. He was the guy who had a couple family members die. (Tough times to say the least, but IMO this situation didn't seem to fall within the medical hardship waiver). Seems like the NCAA's just bending to pressure.

So if you're keeping score, I think the NCAA pretty much has cleared everyone except our guys Buckles and (thus far) King.