If someone wants to come up with some kind of dramatic logo for these updates, you know like the ones used on CNN, I am all for it.
The NCAA’s deep probe into potential agent/player violations at UNC continues unabated. The absence of any substantive news means we have plenty of speculation to consider. The foremost on that list is a piece written by Aaron Wilson at the National Football Post which claims, among other things, that Marvin Austin is likely to be suspended for the season. It also states the NCAA has talked to Kendric Burney, Deunta Williams, Quan Sturdivant, Bruce Carter and Greg Little. Oh and UNC officials have a “growing concern” about all of this. Ya think?
Now let me be absolutely clear. I am not attempting to impunge Mr. Wilson’s reputation nor am I saying he is wrong in what he has posted. My problem is none of this information is necessarily new or surprising. In other words his sources are telling things which are predictable based on previous NCAA action and basic speculation. Heck, I told someone in the office earlier today I thought Austin was done as a Tar Heel just based on how this feels.The list of players named are the same players touted for early picks in the NFL Draft with Robert Quinn being the notably absent. Again, not rocket science to come up with that list.
As Adam Gold and Joe Ovies(who interviewed Wilson today) pointed out this afternoon on 99.9 The Fan there is a ton of hedging going on here but you cannot really refute any of it because Wilson could be right. Since there is nothing substantive being put out right now by the people who actually know something, this kind of post gets reported breathlessly by anyone and everyone as though it is something when in fact it is just speculation. The key point here, as expressed by WRAL’s Jeff Gravley is the NCAA is still investigating so any talk of punishment from their end is wholly premature. Also, given that the NCAA has tagged both SCAR and now Florida going after agent issues it clear this is the summer of divine retribution from the governing body after what happened at USC.
Among other tidbits out there.
- ESPN’s Joe Schad said he spoke with the NCAA and social networking sites such as Twitter have been a treasure trove of information to launch these types of investigations.
- Speaking of Twitter, is this tweet from Austin the spark that started the whole fire?
- The UNC football team is having an already scheduled team meeting on Tuesday. How much would you give to be a fly on the wall in that room? Then again, given the NCAA’s gag rule, the information the players receive might not be all that interesting.
Two exit questions:
1. It is safe to assume UNC has conducted its own probe alongside the NCAA. If they have also concluded Marvin Austin’s actions are worth a suspension should they get ahead of this as much as possible by dropping the hammer on Austin(and others) themselves?
2. Is it just me or does it seem like UNC has had a string of major PR gaffes over the past year not to mention being caught completely flat-footed far too often?
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“The list of players named are the same players touted for early picks in the NFL Draft with Richard Quinn being the notably absent”
*Robert Quinn, and props to you Robert, good luck next season, and a potential top 5 pick is in your grasp. DE that run 4.3 40′s earn a nice wage.
Harrison Barnes and Robert Quinn have a lot of similar character traits
i asked on the other thread…who is the National Football Post?
having never played for a college program, is it within the coach’s power to just say…Hey, Marvin, i’m going to need to see your credit card statement or a receipt showing that you paid for that trip. ?
cant he raise his voice and bring the thunder and scare the guy with talk of suspensions and missing the opener or what have you and demand clarification?
if thats even necessary.
we can win without one or two players for a game or more. i think.
Darn it…always mixing those two up. Fixed now.
Austin deleting his twitter account was less than smart. Don’t these guys know that Google is forever?
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:C8qBjpQbb_AJ:twitter.com/ANCHORMANAUSTIN/status/14967235296+bout+to+hop+in+da+bird+%40anchormanaustin&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
“Is it just me or does it seem like UNC has had a string of major PR gaffes over the past year not to mention being caught completely flat-footed far too often?”
You are correct. And it is going to give the University a poor reputation if it keeps up. Which means it is now time for the Chancellor to call all the heads of the Athletic department (AD, Assistant AD, Head Coaches) into his office to set them straight in terms of how they, and the players they coach, are supposed to represent the University. There has been way to much of a circus atmosphere for the past year and Athletic Department doesn’t appear to be in a hurry to do anything about, so the Chancellor needs to take charge.
^Time for Holden Thorp to open up a can…
i just feel Butch will get to the bottom of it, off the record, unofficially, whatever, and we’ll know soon (prior to any official NCAA word) because one or more players will be held out of LSU or practice, whichever is needed to comply with how NCAA suspensions usually operate.
Still nothing, I’m just going to ignore all this until something definitive happens.
One thing that bothers me is my recollection of Ed Davis showing up on a recruiting website as a signed player for a specific agent or sports agency during the season. I don’t seem to recall what happened with that situation other than some denials and the agent being a small time guy that probably wouldn’t have a shot at Davis. Did they end up representing Davis? This event would seem to draw the attention of the NCAA as well.
As to the Twitter accounts maintained by the players, I really don’t like and wish we would shut them down. That doesn’t mean I want the “problem” to go away I just don’t think it’s a good venue for our players to represent our school given the language, the short form that is so prevalent in all but Bobby’s notes and the disjointed conversation streams.
I do have faith in Davis, he made a winner out of Miami and he did it clean. Just look at where that program was when he arrived in regards to problem child status in the NCAA. One reason I think UNC hired him.
I was on IC and I had to laugh @ the two players that were chosen to be on the cover of the football preview. New headline is “Buying the Bar”
Leroy – to answer your question, the agent who popped up in February was named Vincent Porter and he was with PTA Sports Management. According to the5thcorner.com, Ed ended up signing with Rob Pelinka with The Landmark Sports Agency.
The stuff that is causing all the heat in this case is about expenses associated with an interview trip. Where else in life do these rules apply. It is unfair and a huge waste of the limited resources to spend huge amounts of time and money trying to regulate this.
Put an end to these crazy rules. They serve no purpose.
Criminal activity or conduct is another thing entirely. As is breaking the rules associated with the sport program an athlete is participating in.
http://northcarolina.scout.com/2/984996.html
This is a great scenario. The best would be no suspensions, but I will take our reputation over a couple of players any day.
as Crocodile Dundee would say:
thats not a violation….THIS is a violation!
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5392159
I remember during my senior year I went on all expenses paid recruiting trips… free flights, lodging, meals, drinks/parties… for a financial job…
THF –
The can has already been opened, and its lid is being peeled back a little more every day, giving a lot of us anxiety attacks. The question is whether Thorpe should try to clean out the can, and I agree with UNC RAJ that he should.
AZACCFan –
I hear you. The rules are somewhat crazy. They probably serve a purpose related to keeping gambling out of amateur sports, but I’m no expert on that. From what has been rumored, this does seem like small potatoes, and pretty technical to boot. Still, as you correctly say, rules is rules, and as long as they’re there, we have to live with them.
I’ll say it. As much as I enjoy using twitter, it’s become entirely too much of a headache. I don’t know how they would go about doing it, but it’s time to banish twitter for the players. Or at least seriously restrict it.
And heeledsoul, I agree. The NCAA is ridiculous. I understand it’s slightly different, but regular students “go pro” every summer with internships and are allowed to return to amateur status the following fall.
^At a minimum, the coaches (or their staff) should be subscribing to all of their player’s Twitter accounts, so that if there is a Tweet that would raise a red flag, the University knows about it (and investigates it, and, if necessary, self report a violation) before the NCAA comes and asks them about it.
AND they should be clamping down on stupid moves like this:
http://www.wralsportsfan.com/voices/blog/5192119/#blogpost_id_7994545
… I don’t think antagonizing the NCAA is the smartest thing in the world for someone on our football team to be doing right now… The Circus continues…
Personally, I think NCAA is the biggest scam organization. NCAA rakes in
millionsbillions from marketing rights, video games, game reruns etc. off the back of these players. The rub here is that during their vacation the players might have either received gifts from agents (which now seems unlikely), or (and this one is sillier and is the cause of all the commotion) were hosted by ex-players, turned pros, who just happened to be upperclassmen when these players were freshmen. This is foolery in the highest degree.OK everybody. So no one thinks this is fair and it is a crazy waste of resources. What can be done about it?