USA Today: AAU coach: I took money intended to steer Ben McLemore

[BleedGopher]

Ben McLemore's former AAU coach says he received thousands of dollars in cash, lodging, meals and trips from a middle man who courted the Kansas player on behalf of sports agents and financial advisers during the 2012-13 college basketball season.

Darius Cobb, a St. Louis-based AAU coach, told USA TODAY Sports that he accepted two cash payments of $5,000 during the regular season from Rodney Blackstock, the founder and CEO of Hooplife Academy, a sports mentoring organization based in Greensboro, N.C.

Documents obtained by USA TODAY Sports via a public records request to the University of Kansas show that Blackstock received complimentary admission as McLemore's guest to three Jayhawks home games during the 2012-13 season. Guest signature reports for the Jayhawks' Feb. 2 game vs. Oklahoma State, Feb. 11 game vs. Kansas State and March 4 game vs. Texas Tech list Blackstock's name as a recipient, McLemore's name as the student-athlete making the request and Blackstock's signature acknowledging he was admitted. Under NCAA rules, players are allotted four complimentary admissions per game for guests.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...as-jayhawks-ben-mclemore-darius-cobb/2131775/

Go Gophers!!

 

[97alumni]

Uh oh!

 

[BarnBurner]

Ben McLemore's former AAU coach says he received thousands of dollars in cash, lodging, meals and trips from a middle man who courted the Kansas player on behalf of sports agents and financial advisers during the 2012-13 college basketball season.

Darius Cobb, a St. Louis-based AAU coach, told USA TODAY Sports that he accepted two cash payments of $5,000 during the regular season from Rodney Blackstock, the founder and CEO of Hooplife Academy, a sports mentoring organization based in Greensboro, N.C.

Documents obtained by USA TODAY Sports via a public records request to the University of Kansas show that Blackstock received complimentary admission as McLemore's guest to three Jayhawks home games during the 2012-13 season. Guest signature reports for the Jayhawks' Feb. 2 game vs. Oklahoma State, Feb. 11 game vs. Kansas State and March 4 game vs. Texas Tech list Blackstock's name as a recipient, McLemore's name as the student-athlete making the request and Blackstock's signature acknowledging he was admitted. Under NCAA rules, players are allotted four complimentary admissions per game for guests.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...as-jayhawks-ben-mclemore-darius-cobb/2131775/

Go Gophers!!

Another in a long line of cheating that will be tolerated by the ncaa.

 

[Slim Tubby]

The NCAA doesn't investigate/persecute the big boys....just look at the recent happenings at Florida and Alabama for example. There is dirt to be swept across the entire country but middling schools like SMU and Minnesota will be made examples of to meet their quota. We deserved it, but painful to see others get away with it.

 

[OSUfan]

OSU recruited McLemore a couple years ago. In hindsight, glad he went to Kansas.

 

[IDFM]

Am I not getting something here? The AAU coach and his cousin were paid money to sway the kid to go pro, not go to Kansas. Is it unethical, yes; but it is not against NCAA by-laws. Now if the kid was receiving money from the AAU coach that came from the middle man that would be a problem. If I was the kid, I would feel pretty betrayed by my cousin and former AAU coach that there only incentive for him to have a career is money in their pocket. They were not looking out for his best interest, but rather their own. Yes, I know that this is a pretty common tale in college basketball; but is there nobody in sports you can trust. Now it seems that you can't even trust family.

 

[Olden Gopher]

Am I not getting something here? The AAU coach and his cousin were paid money to sway the kid to go pro, not go to Kansas. Is it unethical, yes; but it is not against NCAA by-laws. Now if the kid was receiving money from the AAU coach that came from the middle man that would be a problem. If I was the kid, I would feel pretty betrayed by my cousin and former AAU coach that there only incentive for him to have a career is money in their pocket. They were not looking out for his best interest, but rather their own. Yes, I know that this is a pretty common tale in college basketball; but is there nobody in sports you can trust. Now it seems that you can't even trust family.

Agreed, I am missing the part where Kansas was involved.

 

[OSUfan]

Kansas is involved because Ben McLemore was an amateur athlete there during a time when a coach and relative were being paid on his behalf. Amateur and pay don't go together in the NCAA. Kansas didn't seem to do anything seriously wrong but if McLemore's amateur status was compromised by the payments and trips, he should have been ineligible. Kind of seems unfair if McLemore didn't get paid directly, but the NCAA looks at relatives the same way as if it was the player. Kansas may have to vacate some games.

 

[MRJ]

The NCAA doesn't investigate/persecute the big boys....just look at the recent happenings at Florida and Alabama for example. There is dirt to be swept across the entire country but middling schools like SMU and Minnesota will be made examples of to meet their quota. We deserved it, but painful to see others get away with it.

Agree. Would be surprised if the NCAA does anything other than send somebody to ask the required questions of an investigation and then let this quietly disappear.

 

[justthefacts]

Agree. Would be surprised if the NCAA does anything other than send somebody to ask the required questions of an investigation and then let this quietly disappear.

Yeah, it's ridiculous. I mean, when are we gonna see a football program like Ohio State get punished? Or USC? Or even Penn State? That would never happen.

 

[justthefacts]

Kansas is involved because Ben McLemore was an amateur athlete there during a time when a coach and relative were being paid on his behalf. Amateur and pay don't go together in the NCAA. Kansas didn't seem to do anything seriously wrong but if McLemore's amateur status was compromised by the payments and trips, he should have been ineligible. Kind of seems unfair if McLemore didn't get paid directly, but the NCAA looks at relatives the same way as if it was the player. Kansas may have to vacate some games.

The key issue is KNOWINGLY playing an ineligible athlete. Can't imagine KU was on board with someone trying to convince McLemore to leave KU.

 

[MRJ]

Yeah, it's ridiculous. I mean, when are we gonna see a football program like Ohio State get punished? Or USC? Or even Penn State? That would never happen.

Each of these are exceptions to the rule. Or, perhaps you hadn't noticed?

 

[justthefacts]

Each of these are exceptions to the rule. Or, perhaps you hadn't noticed?

When you have 3 exceptions in the last 3 years, at what point does it not become an exception any more? You'll also notice that the NCAA went after Miami so hard they went too far.

You may also remember that KU actually got put on probation for buying a plane ticket for a kid to attend his grandmother's funeral. That recruit didn't even end up attending KU.

How about the fact that UConn was kept out of the tournament for APR violations?

If that wasn't enough, how about this:

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/college/2011-02-07-ncaa-infractions_N.htm

"While critics often complain the NCAA picks on less-prominent sports programs and goes easy on the highest-profile institutions, the results from the 2000s don't necessarily back that up. More universities in the Big Ten (eight) were punished for major violations than in any other league, followed by seven in the Big 12 and Southeastern Conferences and six in the Pacific-10, all of which are among the six leagues in the Bowl Championship Series that are typically seen as college sports' biggest players.
The other two major conferences — the Atlantic Coast and Big East — had four and two members punished, respectively."

 

[IDFM]

Kansas is involved because Ben McLemore was an amateur athlete there during a time when a coach and relative were being paid on his behalf. Amateur and pay don't go together in the NCAA. Kansas didn't seem to do anything seriously wrong but if McLemore's amateur status was compromised by the payments and trips, he should have been ineligible. Kind of seems unfair if McLemore didn't get paid directly, but the NCAA looks at relatives the same way as if it was the player. Kansas may have to vacate some games.

All that was stated was that McLemore's AAU coach and cousin received money from the agent, not McLemore himself from his relative or coach. Hell, the coach and cousin are merely subcontractors of the agent. Is it against NCAA by-laws no, but is it unethical... absolutely. Now if they in turn were just a conduit to McLemore that is a different story. If they can identify a date, then any game which McLemore played would need to be vacated which would be every game.

I have many friends that work in compliance at universities across the country and they have heard similar stories of agents getting to potential clients by paying family members to convince them to work with their agency.

 

[MRJ]

When you have 3 exceptions in the last 3 years, at what point does it not become an exception any more? You'll also notice that the NCAA went after Miami so hard they went too far.

You may also remember that KU actually got put on probation for buying a plane ticket for a kid to attend his grandmother's funeral. That recruit didn't even end up attending KU.

How about the fact that UConn was kept out of the tournament for APR violations?

If that wasn't enough, how about this:

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/college/2011-02-07-ncaa-infractions_N.htm

"While critics often complain the NCAA picks on less-prominent sports programs and goes easy on the highest-profile institutions, the results from the 2000s don't necessarily back that up. More universities in the Big Ten (eight) were punished for major violations than in any other league, followed by seven in the Big 12 and Southeastern Conferences and six in the Pacific-10, all of which are among the six leagues in the Bowl Championship Series that are typically seen as college sports' biggest players.
The other two major conferences — the Atlantic Coast and Big East — had four and two members punished, respectively."

Perhaps the NCAA has finally turned a corner in enforcement. Perhaps not. Even with these recent actions, they still have a LONG ways to go to get things truly under control. And these recent trends didn't even start until Myles Brand began to articulate in detail how much of a cesspool the NCAA had allowed both football and basketball to become. So, to answer your question, I'll see it as less of an exception when they continue this recent behavior of enforcement for a while longer. That's what happens when you spend decades actively keeping your head in the sand.

As for this situation, I'd still be surprised if Kansas gets in any trouble. Unless of course there is more to the story that we don't know about.

 

[OSUfan]

The key issue is KNOWINGLY playing an ineligible athlete. Can't imagine KU was on board with someone trying to convince McLemore to leave KU.

Doesn't matter what KU knew, the NCAA can vacate games regardless. Memphis didn't know Derrick Rose was going to be ruled ineligible after the season. Vacated. Did Michigan know Chris Webber took $? I don't think so. They vacated games based on when the improper benefits were received. Same can be done to Kansas.

 

[justthefacts]

Doesn't matter what KU knew, the NCAA can vacate games regardless. Memphis didn't know Derrick Rose was going to be ruled ineligible after the season. Vacated. Did Michigan know Chris Webber took $? I don't think so. They vacated games based on when the improper benefits were received. Same can be done to Kansas.

"According to the infractions report, this case stemmed from a questionable SAT taken by Rose in Detroit in May 2007. When accusations were made that someone other than Rose had taken the test — he had taken all three attempts at a qualifying score on the ACT in his hometown, Chicago — the SAT security testing agency started an investigation. After Rose did not cooperate with that investigation during the 2008 season, the agency canceled the test result in May 2008, making Rose retroactively ineligible for the 2007-8 season. Memphis knew of the investigation before the season but decided Rose could play. Memphis advanced to the national championship game that season before losing to Kansas."

(bolding mine)

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/21/sports/ncaabasketball/21memphis.html?_r=0

As for the Michigan case, it wasn't just one player, it was at least 4. And that's where you start to get into Failure to Monitor. There was also a VERY close relationship between Ed Martin and the Michigan coaches. That was a much more widespread problem than the one described in McLemore's case.

For instance:
"When Michigan reaches the Final Four, the University receives a limited number of rooms at the team hotel. Fisher makes two of the coveted rooms available to Martin. Martin keeps one room for himeself, and gives the other room to Webber's father, a violation."

http://www.michigandaily.com/conten...and-infamous-road-michigan-basketball-history

I do appreciate you bringing up two more examples of the NCAA punishing big name programs, especially since the Michigan example is over 15 years old. Doesn't exactly fit with MRJ's narrative that the NCAA only started enforcing this stuff recently.

 

[OSUfan]

But the NCAA didn't make Rose ineligible until after the fact. They allowed him to play, then turned around after the season and said he was ineligible and that they would have to vacate the season.