NCAA Drops Hammer on Ollie; UConn Unscathed
The Story: The NCAA put UConn on probation for two years, took away one men’s basketball scholarship and fined the school $5,000 for violations committed under Kevin Ollie. The Huskies will also vacate the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons. Ollie, who was cited for lack of control, received a three-year show-cause penalty, ending any chance he has of coaching in NCAA in the near term.
The 2014 national title is clean and will not be vacated as the violations occurred after that season.
WHAT DID UCONN DO? Don’t let the NCAA’s overly serious language fool you. In an era when LSU, Arizona and even Kansas can play players, Louisville hires prostitutes for recruits and North Carolina has fake classes for athletes, UConn’s biggest issues were personal training and housing of current players in Atlanta and a video conference setup with Ray Allen and Rudy Gay.
Here are the main violations for UConn, per ESPN:
- Former men’s basketball student managers attended preseason pickup games played by student-athletes. According to the NCAA, the pickup games became countable, athletically related activities when the managers attended the games, kept statistics and regularly printed, copied and distributed them to coaches.
- The program’s former video coordinator reviewed plays with and answered questions for student-athletes on and off the basketball court. The NCAA committee determined the instruction exceeded the responsibilities of the video coordinator’s position, causing him to become a countable coach and the program to exceed its countable coaches limit.
- Trainer Derek Hamilton, who was Ollie’s friend and became a booster of the university, provided free on- and off-campus training sessions to three UConn players. While at the off-campus training sessions, the trainer also provided free lodging, meals, transportation and access to a private gym. The committee noted that the impermissible benefits resulted in the student-athletes competing while ineligible.
- The NCAA also found several Level III violations, including improper video calls between Ray Allen, San Antonio Spurs guard Rudy Gay and a top recruit.
OUR VIEW: So, let’s think about this. UConn held too many pickup games with its players and had managers watch? As far as the video coordinator, whoever was doing the videotaping apparently violated NCAA law by giving the athlete advice on what he saw on video and thus was an uncounted coach (you can’t be serious here).
Lastly, UConn’s players went to Atlanta to train with a colleague of Ollie’s and were housed and given meals. This is a clear violation, but forgive us if we aren’t morally outraged by this. The last booster issue is Allen and Gay being on a video call with a recruit. Now, we guess that is a violation, but color us unimpressed at the seriousness of it. Allen and Gay are an important fabric of the program and we hate they were dragged into this.
THE PENALTY: Here are the conditions of probation in addition to the one scholarship loss, according to The Associated Press:
- A one-week ban on unofficial visits during the 2018-2019 academic year and a two-week ban in 2019-20;
- A one-week ban on recruiting communications during the current academic year
- A $5,000 fine;
- A one-visit reduction from the permissible number of official visits in men’s basketball during the rolling 2018-19 and 2019-20 two-year period;
- A reduction in the number of allowable recruiting days from 130 to 126.
OLLIE EXCORIATED: Ollie took the brunt of the criticism with a disastrous three-year show-cause penalty, which means that any school wishing to hire him must prove to the NCAA why he is the best candidate and also accept sanctions related to his appointment. The NCAA found Ollie untruthful and evasive in his answers to the NCAA Committee on Infractions (otherwise known as The Sports Inquisition) and he suffered the penalty. This show cause should help bolster UConn’s case for firing Ollie with just cause. Ollie’s lawyers fought back.
OUR VIEW: This is a win for UConn. The only material sanction is the one already absorbed — the one scholarship loss for next season. Sure, there are recruiting restrictions and probation that the Huskies have to deal with, but it isn’t serious and won’t limit the program. The Huskies also vacate the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons for playing ineligible players. Oh well. UConn was under .500 both those years, so please NCAA, take those seasons away.
The biggest concern is the continued fallout of the Ollie and UConn dispute. This will bolster UConn’s case not to pay Ollie, but at what PR cost? Allen, a legend at UConn, openly criticized UConn at the Travelers Championship last week over this fiasco. He also criticized the leadership of the university, and that’s something that may have an impact in years to come. UConn needs to get its athletic house in order and dealing with this fallout from Ollie’s tenure is damaging the university. To us, $10 million to make it go away seems like a bargain now.
Hurley Turns Heel!
The Story: Dan Hurley likes the move to the Big East for UConn and knows that the fans and road crowds aren’t going to like the Huskies. That is something Hurley is looking forward to experiencing.
HURLEY WEARS THE BLACK HAT: Hurley is intense, combative and energetic and reminds us of Jim Calhoun in his on-court craziness. We love it. So, is he worried about fans from the AAC booing? No, he will love it and will likely serve as the lightning rod for his team this season in the conference.
WHAT DID HURLEY SAY? “For me, I thrive in that. I can’t wait for it. But these guys are going to have to also kind of enjoy being the villain, the man in the black, whatever you want to call it.”
STICK IT TO THE AAC: Hurley also is eager to break away from the AAC and get back to playing more traditional opponents in conference games, and he thinks incoming players will appreciate that as well.
“Because of where we want to recruit and how we want to build it, the thing that we had to talk around to a kid from Brooklyn was, you know, Tulsa, Tulane the Texas schools,” he said. “That didn’t necessarily fit what they envisioned in college — Madison Square Garden, the Big East Tournament, Villanova.”
OUR VIEW: The heel and villain role suits Hurley. We fell in love with UConn’s coach when he was ejected from a game against Tulsa along with Frank Haith. The over/under for Hurley’s ejections next season is 2.5, and we would be delighted if he hits that over. Enough with UConn and its coaching being Mr. Congeniality. UConn fans like toughness and fight.
Morning Read
BIRD UNLEASHED: Sue Bird took aim at President Trump‘s criticism of her girlfriend, Megan Rapinoe, and also addressed getting caught up in the USWNT excitement. (The Players’ Tribune)
NETS TRADE NAPIER: Shabazz Napier also found a new home on Sunday — twice! Napier was traded by the Brooklyn Nets to the Golden State Warriors on Sunday and will then be shipped to the Minnesota Timberwolves when the NBA allows contracts to be signed on July 6. (The UConn Blog)
PODCASTS TALK BIG EAST MOVE: What’s the effect of the move to the Big East for UConn? CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander talks basketball and ESPN’s Mechelle Vopel talks women’s hoops with Jared Kotler.
BASEBALL NABS VANDY PITCHER: Right-hander Justin Willis will transfer from national champion Vanderbilt to UConn for next season. (Justin Willis on Twitter)
