re: Dick Vitale hints at major allegations ahead for LSU and Arizona

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You think O runs a squeaky clean program?

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O coached under Jimmy Johnson and Pete Carrol. Anyone not familiar with their reputations - they are as ill-reputed as any basketball coach out there. And he was among their best recruiters if not the best. He was at USC when they got Reggie Bush. I would imagine he was involved in that recruitment.

Look, I don't care for the seedy side either, I have learned I have to live with it unfortunately, and if one wants to compete, it's an unfortunate by-product.

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Working within the rules, all the way to the edge, to your advantage is good (and expected).

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you will lose in college basketball today if you live like this. i am not defending it at all. simply stating a truth.

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you will lose in college basketball today if you live like this.

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You can't prove that every successful BB program is cheating. And please, don't try to equate "caught violating some rule in the past" with "currently cheating."

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i am not defending it at all.

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Yes, you are. BTW....Paying players is not a "casual slip up."

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Maybe...maybe not. But it will be more than enough to activate the clause in WW's contract resulting in his dismissal.

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You are pathetic. Johnny and Trent aren't walking back through that door. Get over it.

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Your reality....not mine. In fact, YOU are in denial if you really think everyone cheats. Some of us have integrity and will not sacrifice it to justify the actions of a cheater.

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I'm going to guess this is just an elaborate troll. But if not, you are either hopelessly naive or incredibly disingenuous. EVERY MAJOR CONFERENCE BASKETBALL PROGRAM "cheats". Now, certainly the degrees to which they do varies. But they all do. Here's why.

Basketball recruiting is NOT the same a football recruiting. For the top 200-300 (maybe more) prospects in the country the recruiting ground is NOT Williamson County HS or the like. It's AAU basketball programs and/or (in many cases) private high schools that essentially have sponsored athletic programs. Oak Hill Academy, Prolific Prep, IMG, Montverde, etc.

AAU basketball is not the CYO or YMCA league giving kids somewhere to play in the summer. It's a multi-million dollar enterprise, with the biggest organizations funded by shoe companies (Nike, Adidas, Under Armor, etc). Those shoe companies aren't investing in AAU out of the goodness of their hearts. They are seeking returns on that investment.

Also, the AAU programs are not organized/run by dads with spare time to coach little league. The AAU organizers/coaches are essentially employees of the organizations, earning wages for their efforts. They go out an find the top talent and "recruit" them to join their AAU program. They then travel all over the country playing in tournaments. The overwhelming majority of top prospects playing AAU ball are not from wealthy families that can pay $200 an hour for a personal coach. They are kids from middle to low income families that can't afford to have their kids play for theses organizations, let alone travel all over the nation playing ball.

From the moment they become a member of a prominent AAU program these kids are a commodity. And EVERYONE involved knows that. The shoe companies, coaches/organizers, parents, runners and, most notably, the KIDS playing. College coaches understand that as well and know that in order to recruit the top talent there is money/benefits that have to be exchanged because that is simply how the "business" works. The AAU organizer is expecting some benefits, along with the kid and his family. If your coach is not willing to get involved in that business, then the kid's "advisor" is going to steer him elsewhere.

And if you don't believe me, feel free to do a little reading on the fact that AAU basketball has essentially replaced high school basketball in the recruiting hierarchy

LINK

LINK

So ultimately we can pretend college recruiting is simply a coach making a relationship with a high school student who is simply looking to play ball while getting a free college education. OR, we can accept reality. College recruiting (particularly college basketball) is a business

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You can't prove that every successful BB program is cheating.

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Take it from Jerry Tarkanian...
“Nine out of 10 schools are cheating. The other one is in last place.”

If any of this could be proven by people on a message board it wouldn't be happening. The people paying these players are extremely good at covering their tracks. If people want to get mad at Wade for something it should be for being dumb enough to get caught talking about it on the phone.

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You can't prove that every successful BB program is cheating

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You don't have to prove it. You just have to read the news and not be naive. I mean, what do you think Will Wade is talking about on those calls? What do you think the people suing Zion Williamson are referring to? Why do you think Louisville about to get crucified by the NCAA while the filthiest coach in the history of college athletics moves onto the next school to be crucified by the NCAA?

College basketball has essentially created a system that practically guarantees the best players are going to get paid while they wait to go pro. It's a virtual certainty given the current culture.

U need a group of schools that band together and sit out a year until all schools have a level playing field

Calipari roy Williams and k should not be allowed to continue paying all the top players