Final Four: Cinderellas and Cheats
by ucla7477 on Mar 28, 2011 5:20 PM PDT
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PrintThis year we have the opportunity to see the best and the worst of college basketball in the Final Four.
Representing Good, we have Butler and Virginia Commonwealth, the mid-majors whose programs bear no taints, who don't stuff their rosters with 1-and-dones, and who don't get constantly hyped by Dick Vitale.
Representing Bad, we have Connecticut and Kentucky. UCon (deliberate acronym) is coached by Jim Calhoun, who was this very season denounced by the NCAA for his program's violations. Calhoun, who believes "the buck stops there," has accepted no responsibility and pawns off all wrongdoing as the workings of his assistant coaches (who, by the way, he hired and supervises).
UCon has nothing on Kentucky, however, which has an unmatched history of misbehavior (from segregation and bigotry by Adolph Rupp, through money-in-the-mail under Eddie Sutton and Dwayne Casey, just to pick a couple). UK intentionally hired John Calipari, who is the only coach (active or otherwise) to get 2 different colleges' Final Four participation vacated for serious violations (UMass and Memphis). Coach Cal is working on the famed Tarkanian "3-cheat" (the Shark managed to put 3 different programs on NCAA sanctioning).
I think we know which folks to root for.
This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.
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The problem is...
people don’t care about the sanctions until they happen.
On the Mike and Mike show, they said college bball fans think: “Better to win banners and get them torn down than to not put them up at all.”
It pains me that perceived success (NCs), no matter the cost later on, are more important doing things the right way for a vast majority of programs.
"The true athlete should have character, not be a character."- John Wooden
I think VCU or Butler win it all anyway.
It’s just a shame they have to play each other in the Semis. Of those two, VCU truly looks like a team of destiny.
The best thing you can do for your children is to love their mother. John Wooden
Rooting for the winner of that game in NC game...
love Butler’s poise, but also enjoy seeing VCU’s press completely destroy the opponent’s composure
"The true athlete should have character, not be a character."- John Wooden
How Calamari
is allowed to coach college basketball is beyond me. It is a complete joke and a mockery of any standard of ethics by the NCAA.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
The problem is the sanctions at UConn and Memphis didn't include him
I guess the fact that he was the head coach at two programs to get their Final Four seasons vacated was a complete and utter coincidence.
greg in denver, UCLA guy for life - BruinsNation.com
UMass, not UConn
:)
Ironically, there is a lot of bad blood between him and Calhoun, going back to the recruitment of Marcus Camby. I guess the promise of hookers did the trick for Calamari.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
7747, I know you speak great trogan
I’m hoping you’ll be able to translate some wildcat and husky, too.
greg in denver, UCLA guy for life - BruinsNation.com
was watching a HBO documentary on Tark
Had no idea the guy was such a tool and d-bag.
I like him even less after that documentary
He’s still whining about Sam Gilbert. So pathetically envious it’s disgusting.
They like to say that he won his case against the NCAA for “harassment”. But really, he won because some idiot there called him a “rug merchant” which made it look like it was something personal. He is as shady as they come.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
Tark's post UNLV days were worse
He went to Fresno State and his starting line up gave a new meaning to the term line up as in police line up.
In his last year at CSUF, Tark’s starting guard never played because he took payoffs from an agent, his replacement was suspended for taking money allegedly to attend a community college (who ever heard of that one) and the dawgs’ leading scorer sat out six games for an NCAA violation. One of Tarkanian’s players arrested for armed robbery. According to the New York Times,
A Fresno law enforcement official quoted anonymously on ‘’60 Minutes’’ two weeks ago says he ‘’recruit(s) criminals.’’
And no self-respecting coach would ever want to open up the New York Times and read this about his or her players:
‘’Coach, really,’’ the junior point guard Rafer Alston said when asked what took him from New York City to a basketball backwater like Fresno. ‘’When he got the job, I knew it would be a good situation.’’
It was, until Alston was convicted of misdemeanor assault early this season after attacking a female friend and two Fresno neighbors. Tarkanian conceded that this was not a positive development, but added that the victim in last week’s arrest of two more players — the redshirt Georgetown transfer Kenny Brunner and the now-dismissed center Avondre Jones — may have embellished his tale of being held at gun and samurai sword point before being robbed.
Before he went to UNLV, he coached at Cal State Long Beach which resulted in NCAA probation.
Last add. What is the irony in Tark’s Long Beach tenure? Tark was replaced at Long Beach by Lute Olson. The president who had the guts to cashier Tarkanian at Vegas—Robert Maxson—he ended up as the President of Cal State Long Beach.
Cheat Shmeat
If you’re not cheating, you’re not trying . . . and its really only “cheating” if you get caught. I think the women’s fiasco in Gonzaga was much worse. Either way, if UConn wins my wifw wins her work pool baby so go UCon!
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