Octopus Overlords

I figure that this topic may dominate the 2018/19 season as much or more than the 2017/18 season, so I'll kick it off with the news that the Feds Trial starts today, 10/1

The federal trial of a sneaker executive, a B-list hustler and a grassroots basketball mainstay begins in Lower Manhattan this week. They face felony charges that include conspiracy and wire fraud as alleged orchestrators of an elaborate scheme to essentially manipulate the system to sell basketball players to preferred colleges. It marks the first of three scheduled federal trials in a sweeping corruption case that shook the sport more than a year ago...

...Officials inside and outside the case told Yahoo Sports the collateral damage to coaches and programs through potential NCAA violations that could be revealed may end up as the most newsworthy elements of the trial. Still looming over the case are 330 days of federal monitoring that could come out in the three trials, which includes 4,000 intercepted calls, countless text messages and thousands of documents and bank records. Multiple sources indicated that programs previously not connected to the case are likely to be implicated via potential NCAA violations.

“Over the course of these three trials, you’re going to see major programs get touched by this, and the nature of how business is done is going to be exposed,” said a source with knowledge of the investigation. “The question is, ‘How many?’ The coaches who are mixed up in this are used to controlling everything, and they’ll have no control in how all this comes out.”

Day one, and Addidas throws Nike and Oregon under the bus:

During opening statements Tuesday morning, a defense attorney for Adidas executive Jim Gatto acknowledged that her client had committed numerous NCAA violations, specifically in agreeing to send $100,000 to the family of top recruit Brian Bowen in exchange for him attending the University of Louisville.

However, Gatto only did it, she argued, because he was asked by Louisville assistant coaches to “level the playing field” in a recruiting battle for the Saginaw, Michigan forward with the Nike-supported University of Oregon.

“Oregon, a Nike school, offered [Bowen] an astronomical amount of money if he’d go to Oregon,” attorney Casey Donnelly said.

That allegation was backed up by the attorney for Adidas consultant Merl Code.

“Oregon was going to pay Mr. Bowen money to go to Oregon,” Code’s attorney Mark Moore acknowledged...

As well as Maryland and Under Armor!

...Donnelly did not specifically say that Gatto was working at the behest of Rick Pitino, the then-Louisville coach. She repeatedly stated that Gatto acted at the wishes of coaches, in general.

Donnelly also acknowledged that Gatto provided a $20,000 payment to recruit Silvio De Sousa, who attends Kansas, which is sponsored by Adidas. He did so, however, only after “Under Armour had paid for De Sousa to [commit] to the University of Maryland.”

“Jim was asked if Jim could match the offer so [De Sousa] could go to Kansas,” Donnelly said, not specifically naming who asked for the offer to be matched.

De Sousa played last year on the Jayhawks’ Final Four team and is returning for his sophomore season

On the plus side did you see that Vegas tourney? Late November I think :
UCLA/Texas/Michigan St/UNC.

That's pretty salty

GungHo wrote:On the plus side did you see that Vegas tourney? Late November I think :
UCLA/Texas/Michigan St/UNC.

That's pretty salty

That should be fun.

I actually see the trial as a good thing. It's time someone shined a huge spotlight on the dirty underbelly of the sport. It's the only way positive change can happen (and no, paying players is not positive change in my mind).

Also, add best I can tell, UCLA did an internal investigation and found nothing, and hasn't come up once as far as I know. I think Alford is running a very clean program.

I will say that I think Howland probably was involved in some shady dealings at the end. He had burned all the legitimate avenues with the CA AAU programs, and then pulled in one last class of huge out of state recruits, including the extremely shady Shabazz Muhammed.

I forgot to post about it a few days back, but the first (to my knowledge) evidence came out at the trial that Bill Self knew about money going to recruits. I am surprised it didn't get more play in the sports news cycle, because it seems like a pretty big deal.

Also of note, recorded conversations mentioned in court yesterday indicate that top recruit Zion Williamson was asking for buckets of money and housing and jobs for his family. He made a surprise decision to attend Duke and now his family lives in a very expensive neighborhood in Durham...

Ralph-Wiggum wrote: ↑Wed Oct 17, 2018 4:34 pm I forgot to post about it a few days back, but the first (to my knowledge) evidence came out at the trial that Bill Self knew about money going to recruits. I am surprised it didn't get more play in the sports news cycle, because it seems like a pretty big deal.

I don't recall reading that he was explicitly told that the recruit was getting money, but he should of known that what was happening was not kosher. I still think it's in question whether the NCAA can actually do much yet because a lot of the allegations aren't tied directly to the school, mostly to agents and shoe companies. A lot more evidence is still to come though.

On an aside: G League to offer $125K to elite prospects as alternative to college one-and-done route. Going to be interesting to see what happens with this.

More on the possibility of Self's involvement:

An attorney representing one of the three men accused of a pay-for-play scheme to influence high-profile recruits to sign with Adidas-sponsored schools alleged during closing arguments on Thursday that Kansas coach Bill Self was aware that an improper payment was made to at least one Jayhawks recruit.

Michael Schachter, an attorney for Adidas executive James Gatto, told the jury that Gatto approved a $20,0000 payment to Fenny Falmagne, the guardian of current Kansas player Silvio De Sousa, only after Self and Kansas assistant Kurtis Townsend requested the payment through former Adidas consultant T.J. Gassnola.

"The evidence, I submit, shows that Kansas' head coach knew of and asked for a payment to be made to Silvio De Sousa's handler," Schachter told the jury. "More than that, Coach Self requested just the kind of help that Mr. Gassnola arranged as a condition for Coach Self to permit Adidas to continue their sponsorship agreement with the University of Kansas."

During Monday's testimony, text messages between Gassnola, Self and Townsend presented by defense attorneys indicated the coaches were at least aware of Gassnola's involvement in the Jayhawks' recruitment of De Sousa, a native of Angola.

On Aug. 9, 2017, Townsend texted Gassnola and wrote, "Coach Self just talked to Fenny let me know how it goes."

A few hours later, Gassnola texted Self: "Hall of Fame. When you have 5 minutes and your [sic] alone call me."

Later that night, after Self hadn't responded, Gassnola texted him again: "I talked with Fenny."

"We good?" Self asked.

"Always," Gassnola replied. "That's [sic] was light work. Ball is in his court now."

"Coach Self and Coach Townsend asked for Adidas' help in making this payment to Fenny," Schachter said. "And then Coach Self wanted to know if Adidas told Fenny that the payment would be made, and then the ball is in his court."

According to cellphone records introduced into evidence, Gassnola and Self had a 5 minute, 6 second phone call later that night. Gassnola testified that he didn't recall what the men talked about. His phone was not being monitored via FBI wiretaps at the time.

On Aug. 26, 2017, Townsend forwarded Gassnola a text message that he said he'd received from Falmagne: "Coach has been on the phone with Angola. We are good to go. We will commit tomorrow."

Doesn't look good for Self....

DOS=HIGH wrote:

Ralph-Wiggum wrote: ↑Wed Oct 17, 2018 4:34 pm I forgot to post about it a few days back, but the first (to my knowledge) evidence came out at the trial that Bill Self knew about money going to recruits. I am surprised it didn't get more play in the sports news cycle, because it seems like a pretty big deal.

I don't recall reading that he was explicitly told that the recruit was getting money, but he should of known that what was happening was not kosher. I still think it's in question whether the NCAA can actually do much yet because a lot of the allegations aren't tied directly to the school, mostly to agents and shoe companies. A lot more evidence is still to come though.

On an aside: G League to offer $125K to elite prospects as alternative to college one-and-done route. Going to be interesting to see what happens with this.

That's how it should be. Probably 8-10 players a year, max tho.

Looks like the really juicy stuff which could end some big careers was omitted from the trial (which is now at the jury stage):

Judge Lewis A. Kaplan denied repeated attempts by defense attorneys Tuesday to enter into evidence the kind of FBI intercepted phone calls featuring prominent basketball coaches that had stirred public interest in the federal college basketball fraud trial.

These were supposed to be some of the brightest fireworks of the case. Instead, they remain still under seal as Kaplan mostly ruled they lacked relevance to the case being tried.

However, details of at least two such conversations were introduced into the public domain during attorney arguments.

Both could cause significant NCAA problems for the coaches involved – LSU head coach Will Wade and Kansas assistant Kurtis Townsend – and perhaps even one player, current Duke freshman Zion Williamson...

...Whether the taped conversations ever become public is unknown. They have been under seal by the judge. It’s possible the NCAA may eventually get access to them and could use them to pursue cases against dozens of programs mentioned. What has been presented at trial is likely just some of the evidence available, as this case wasn’t about proving various schools committed NCAA violations.

There also still remains two additional trials – one this winter and one in the spring where additional evidence should emerge and prominent coaches can be called to testify.

No one in college basketball should feel too good about anything at this point.

For now at least.

Guilty, with 2 trials remaining.

The government convinced the jury that when the men paid the families of recruits to attend specific colleges, they were rendering those athletes ineligible per NCAA rules. As such, the schools were unwittingly signing and playing players that exposed them to NCAA sanctions. Because the schools receive federal funding, this became a federal fraud case.

The defendants offered an impassioned counter-argument during the three-week trial that by directing top talent to college teams they were trying to help, not harm, the universities. They also tried to present to the jury the underworld of college basketball where head and assistant coaches seek out the help of shoe companies and runners to help with recruiting, and even if payments aren’t directly discussed they are assumed.

The jury, which knew little about college basketball before the trial, agreed with the government and lead prosecutor, assistant U.S. attorney Ted Diskant.

In other news, Kansas is holding D'Souza (frosh who was a major part of the Final Four run last year) out while investigating.

Nuts - LA Times reporting more on UCLA connection to the scandal:

An assistant basketball coach at UCLA exchanged at least eight calls in May 2017 with the middleman at the heart of the federal probe into bribery and corruption in the sport, according to phone records reviewed by the Los Angeles Times.

The calls between David Grace, UCLA’s top recruiter for five seasons before his dismissal in April, and Christian Dawkins are the first public link between UCLA and the investigation that has shaken college basketball.

UCLA said in a statement it was aware of the communication and has “no reason to believe the calls are indicative of any improper conduct …”

Grace, now an assistant at California, declined to comment through a spokesman.

A statement from the school said it wasn’t aware of the calls between Grace and Dawkins, but, mirroring UCLA’s language, added it has “no reason to believe that any improprieties have taken place.”

Neither school has been contacted by federal authorities regarding the case...

...UCLA head coach Steve Alford dismissed Grace in April after the Bruins went 21-12, including a loss to St. Bonaventure in an NCAA tournament play-in game.

All(?) of the calls appear to be a minute or less, so it doesn't seem likely that anything untoward transpired, but still...

Well, it's not as good as winning the championship, obviously, but Michigan running Villanova out of their own gym in today's rematch was a nice consolation prize.

Ugh. Not looking forward to playing at Michigan in a few weeks.

Unfortunately ESPN's love affair for all things Duke basketball means that on their front page there are multiple stories/clips about Duke and their game with Eastern Michigan but nothing about Michigan beating down the defending national champions who are ranked in the top 10. Can't Duke just lose in the second round of the tournament already?

My ESPN landing page is probably a bit more Michigan-centric than yours, so I figured I'd have more Michigan coverage. When I went there I scrolled down to the first Michigan basketball reference:

ESPN wrote:Can Duke's freshman compare to the Fab Five?

Checks out.

Anyway, I'm not too sure how much to read into that game. It's obviously good for Michigan and bad for Villanova, but how good or bad are hard to tell at this point. I don't follow Nova closely, but I was surprised to see them in the top 10 given how much talent they lost to the NBA after last season. Looks like their ranking might have been more of a carry-over from last year than deserved based on this year's team.

ImLawBoy wrote: ↑Thu Nov 15, 2018 12:54 pm My ESPN landing page is probably a bit more Michigan-centric than yours, so I figured I'd have more Michigan coverage. When I went there I scrolled down to the first Michigan basketball reference:

ESPN wrote:Can Duke's freshman compare to the Fab Five?

Checks out.

Anyway, I'm not too sure how much to read into that game. It's obviously good for Michigan and bad for Villanova, but how good or bad are hard to tell at this point. I don't follow Nova closely, but I was surprised to see them in the top 10 given how much talent they lost to the NBA after last season. Looks like their ranking might have been more of a carry-over from last year than deserved based on this year's team.

UNC scrimmaged Nova this year before the season and they apparently whooped us pretty good. This doesn't make me too optimistic about our chances facing Michigan soon, despite me being pretty bullish on this year's team.

Ralph-Wiggum wrote:Can't Duke just lose in the second round of the tournament already?

Not now that we have Thanos on our team.

Michigan's win over Nova lost a little luster with Nova subsequently losing at home to Furman, but we still got into the top 10 in the latest AP poll (#9).

ImLawBoy wrote: ↑Mon Nov 19, 2018 1:43 pm Michigan's win over Nova lost a little luster with Nova subsequently losing at home to Furman, but we still got into the top 10 in the latest AP poll (#9).

8th to 29th (aka unranked) is quite the fall for Villanova!

ImLawBoy wrote: ↑Mon Nov 19, 2018 1:43 pm Michigan's win over Nova lost a little luster with Nova subsequently losing at home to Furman, but we still got into the top 10 in the latest AP poll (#9).

Maybe but the fact that it wasn't a close game keeps a lot of it. Hard to dominate any team from start to finish the way they did that game. Doing it on the team's home court is even tougher potential down year or not.

As a fan of well known basketball school the University of Michigan, that was enjoyable.

Weird - I didn't find much to enjoy in it.

Well, I assume North Carolina has other major sports programs that take priority over basketball. At the University of Michigan, we are all-consumed by the hardwood, and do not have any other notable athletic programs to speak of (well, our swimming and diving is pretty good). This makes such a victory all the more enjoyable.

As someone who grew up in a UM household and was always a big fan of their but went to UNC I actually found a lot of good things for both teams. A lot of bad for Carolina as well though sadly. The good for Michigan is pretty obvious. They are a good shooting team and seem capable of playing defense against anyone which I love. The good for Carolina is that when they get out and run they are nearly impossible to defend as their start showed. The bad is that they can not seem to maintain that pace the way past teams have and they do not play defense or take care of the ball very well for long stretches.

If you're looking for a silver lining, Michigan got blown out by UNC last year in Chapel Hill but ended the year in the national championship game, so it's not exactly the end of the season for the Tar Heels.

I definitely think the main worry for UNC right now is their defense. Michigan was backdooring us all night and we weren't able to stop it. Weirdly, our seniors struggled as much on the defensive end as our freshman. We also have trouble getting good shots and moving the ball around when stuck in a half-court offense. I do take some solace in the fact that UM destroyed Nova at Nova this year, though; it's not like we were playing a bunch of scrubs. Still, it does not bode well for our upcoming games against Kentucky and Gonzaga.

If there's any bright side for the last few games, though, it's that our freshman PG Coby White is damn near unstoppable. He still takes some ill advised shots and forces things too often, but he can seemingly get into the lane at will.

Zaga is going to crush us. Kentucky...who knows. Probably also crush us but maybe the 'Heels will pleasantly surprise me. There is a murders row of games coming up though.

Arizona State upsets No. 1 Kansas: 3 reasons the Sun Devils were able to pull it off

Man, it's been awhile since this thread has been bumped.

Firstly, the initial topic at hand. First Tony Bland (USC assistant implicated in the FBI case) cut a deal, now Book Richardson (Arizona) has cut a deal:

Richardson pleaded guilty to one count of federal funds bribery, which calls for a sentencing range of 18-24 months. He was accused of taking about $20,000 in bribes from budding sports agent Christian Dawkins in exchange for agreeing to attempt to steer potential NBA-bound Arizona players to sign with Dawkins-affiliated agents and financial planners.

A final sentencing will be determined by Judge Edgardo Ramos in the Southern District of New York. Richardson originally faced up to 60 years in prison.

Pyperkub wrote: ↑Mon Jan 07, 2019 9:14 pm Man, it's been awhile since this thread has been bumped.

It is strange, since college basketball is obviously the one and only good sport.

Go Blue!

yeah, nobody talking about UCLA firing Steve Alford, and what will happen with one of the top programs historically. I have a lot of thoughts, but haven't put them down here yet.

Alford's firing was required however, he had lost the team, they weren't listening or responding and actually regressing/getting worse, rather than better or even staying the course. Murry Bartow (son of legendary UCLA assistant/head coach Gene Bartow) has taken over, and had the best schedule imaginable for a mid-season replacement - home games against 2 of the more mediocre teams in the Pac12, with Stanford also down their best player. However, the team looked like it may actually reach the potential of the talent, which it certainly wasn't under Alford this year - aggressively pressing and forcing turnovers and getting easy buckets. This team has elite 8 (or higher) talent, but was 7-6. Firing Alford was necessary, with the team still having the talent to dominate a down, but wide open Pac 12, and get to the tourney and hopefully make the kind of run that the talent on the roster would warrant.

This weekend will be interesting with one of the tougher pac-12 2 game road swings, @Oregon, @Oregon St. One of Alford's biggest shortcomings was a dire lack of focus on the road, only getting one Pac-12 road sweep that I can remember during his 5 year tenure (there may actually have been 2 during for the Lonzo ball squad, but I think it was only 1).

As to who may be the next UCLA head coach - I have to say that I absolutely loved the way Bill Walton refused to regurgitate the ESPN talking points when Dave Pasche asked him about it during the telecast last week and said, why not get Barack Obama? Walton is a national treasure IMHO. There's nothing quite like watching a game he's calling (though I definitely understand if people get put off by him).

Here's my take on the coaching search:

At this time, the UCLA job is not a good enough job to just get who they want, at least, not like the big 4 (Kansas, Kentucky, Duke, UNC). If it was, the list would probably start with Jay Wright, Mark Few and John Beilein. Here's the list of people they will want to interview but probably not get that far:

1. Jay Wright
2. Mark Few
3. John Beilein
4. Dana Altman

IMHO the realistic list of people they will interview is something like this:

1. Fred Hoiberg
2. Eric Musselman
3. Earl Watson
4. Gregg Marshall
5. Murry Bartow, if he makes a huge run.

these are the NBA Wild Card interviews:

1. Becky Hammon (would be very interesting)
2. Luke Walton
3. Billy Donovan

Stay the hell away from Beilein. Jerk.

Really do though as I would be so sad to see him leave Michigan. The man is a total class act and I love the way his teams play. Hopefully if UCLA comes calling Michigan makes him an offer that make Harbaugh's look like chump change to keep him. He is clearly one of the top coaches in the country IMO. I'm not sure he isn't the top.

On the other hand, you're welcome to hire LaVar Ball. He already has ties to the program that would be wonderful to expand.

Remus West wrote: ↑Tue Jan 08, 2019 2:51 pm Stay the hell away from Beilein. Jerk.

Really do though as I would be so sad to see him leave Michigan. The man is a total class act and I love the way his teams play. Hopefully if UCLA comes calling Michigan makes him an offer that make Harbaugh's look like chump change to keep him. He is clearly one of the top coaches in the country IMO. I'm not sure he isn't the top.

I love Beilein, of course, but I don't know that he'd be the right call for UCLA at this point. First, the reality is that he's a bit old to be trying to resurrect a program at this point. He had double bypass surgery last summer, and if you're trying to reestablish yourself, I think you want someone who will potentially stick around for the long haul, and not someone who may well retire in five years. I kind of get the impression that if he makes a move, it would be to the NBA (he flirted withe Pistons last summer) just to see if he could succeed there.

Second, I'm not sure that UCLA has the patience to build up a Beilein program. He's not going to go in there and get a bunch of five-star talent - he just doesn't recruit that way. He has a complicated offense that takes a while to gel (which is why a year like this is so uncommon for a Beilein team - they usually get going toward the latter half of the season). It took him a while to get Michigan to the point where it's at, and I get the impression that a basketball first school like UCLA wouldn't like that kind of build up. Heck, Michigan can go a decade without remembering we have a basketball team, and there were still folks calling for Beilein's firing as recently as a couple of years ago.

But to be more succinct, stay the hell away from Beilein. Jerk.

Isn't Beilein sort of the D'antonio of Michigan though? He seems like he loves Michigan and is beloved by Michigan, even as he consistently plays second fiddle to the pride of the university, while he does nothing but find the right less than 5* talent who work harder with a chip on their shoulder to be part of something and then he wins with them and they win with him. Without be the center of attention he's free to succeed his way with his kids who are doing more than entering a prestige program until they fit the NBA player association rules for eligibility. He's given the latitude to be a student and teacher of the game, adapting to his kids and adapting to changes in the game.

I could be reading him wrong entirely or is contract and provisions provided by the university may be subpar but I am not under than impression.

I think Mark Few would be a great fit for UCLA. If you could combine his ability to get foreign players with a program (and location) that attracts US players, he could make UCLA into a perennial force.

Ralph-Wiggum wrote: ↑Tue Jan 08, 2019 3:40 pm I think Mark Few would be a great fit for UCLA. If you could combine his ability to get foreign players with a program (and location) that attracts US players, he could make UCLA into a perennial force.

We've made a run at him a couple of times, and I don't see him ever leaving the Zags. He's closer to a title there than he would be at UCLA, and I'm not sure he can deal with UCLA's biggest headache - one-and-done's who only care about the next level, and would rather commit 4 turnovers and 1 youtube highlight than learn how to play man-to-man defense, or make a bounce pass.

The thing you need to look at, IMHO, is who can handle the ego of kids who have grown up being told their whole life that they'll be in the NBA because of their athletic ability, and not how well they play team basketball. Few has had very few (if any) one-and-done players - most play at least 3 years in the program, or have transferred.

IMHO, that means either an NBA coach with credibility on what it takes to get there, or someone from the programs who have shown they can succeed with one-and-dones, UK and Duke. Maybe Kansas.

In other news, UCLA managed to blow a 22-point second half lead to Utah over the weekend (congrats Skiny!), but then Louisville stepped up and said, "Hold my beer"

ImLawBoy wrote: ↑Tue Jan 08, 2019 3:03 pm

Remus West wrote: ↑Tue Jan 08, 2019 2:51 pm Stay the hell away from Beilein. Jerk.

Really do though as I would be so sad to see him leave Michigan. The man is a total class act and I love the way his teams play. Hopefully if UCLA comes calling Michigan makes him an offer that make Harbaugh's look like chump change to keep him. He is clearly one of the top coaches in the country IMO. I'm not sure he isn't the top.

I love Beilein, of course, but I don't know that he'd be the right call for UCLA at this point. First, the reality is that he's a bit old to be trying to resurrect a program at this point. He had double bypass surgery last summer, and if you're trying to reestablish yourself, I think you want someone who will potentially stick around for the long haul, and not someone who may well retire in five years. I kind of get the impression that if he makes a move, it would be to the NBA (he flirted withe Pistons last summer) just to see if he could succeed there.

Second, I'm not sure that UCLA has the patience to build up a Beilein program. He's not going to go in there and get a bunch of five-star talent - he just doesn't recruit that way. He has a complicated offense that takes a while to gel (which is why a year like this is so uncommon for a Beilein team - they usually get going toward the latter half of the season). It took him a while to get Michigan to the point where it's at, and I get the impression that a basketball first school like UCLA wouldn't like that kind of build up. Heck, Michigan can go a decade without remembering we have a basketball team, and there were still folks calling for Beilein's firing as recently as a couple of years ago.

But to be more succinct, stay the hell away from Beilein. Jerk.

FWIW, while UCLA earned a reputation for firing coaches quickly after Wooden retired, each of the past 5 coaches has gotten at least 5 years. I don't think building a program will be an issue. Howland had a losing season his first season, and washed out of the tourney in the 1st round his second year.

I didn't watch the game but saw the 2 (3?) major highlights of bad officiating in Michigan's game last night. The first being a screen where the screener moved through Simpson with his shoulder lowered with no call leading to an easy lay up for Penn State at the end of the half. That led to the possible 3rd (I say possible because I didn't hear what he yelled at the officials) when Beiline got 2 quick techs and ejected giving Penn State 4 free throws to end the half. Then in the second half the worst of them because it isn't even open to judgement was the double dribble where Penn State's player literally dribbled, grabbed the ball with both hands, then dribbled again with no call right in front of the official.

Anyone see the game? Know what was said to warrant the ejection? Where those calls low lights or were they consistent for the game? Regardless, I hope those officials are gone because they clearly were not ready to officiate at the collegiate level.