following on the story about $$ being distributed to get players to go to selected schools in MBB, ND's coach McGraw states that WBB also has cheating in recruiting. Link to story from Raoul's twitter: https://www.ndinsider.com/basketbal...cle_3ea1ee94-a3dd-11e7-a04f-cb46de761483.html I wonder who she was talking about. I'm sure there is knowledge/suspicions among the college coaching staffs about who is crossing the line. And it was a thought that crossed my mind when the news came out.
Oh it's pretty rampant in WBB, I saw it first hand. Joey Simmons, Premier Basketball Report, Texas Elite Basketball, and Adidas Gauntlet are all one in the same. Joey has (perhaps had now) had one the best scams going running huge tournaments in the Frisco area and selling player information to colleges for 1000's of dollars each tournament. It was a scam though, in order to play the top teams at the fieldhouse and not get relegated to area school gyms, you had to pay what amounted to extortion to belong to Joey's "organization". Otherwise, you paid the same to play, but got stuck playing places coaches wouldn't venture to. (Why leave a 12 court complex to go to a one or two court facility) We played several tournaments through PBR until we figured out the scam. Last year around this time, there was a big push from Power 5 Coaches to avoid the big tournaments and the last viewing period of the year. (https://www.si.com/college-basketball/2016/09/23/womens-college-basketball-recruiting-boycott) There were a number of reasons, but the bottom line is that youth basketball, as well as most other youth sports, have become a for profit enterprise that has just blown itself way out of proportion and youth sports suffer for it. If a kid, especially a girl, desires to play in high school, they're almost required to specialize in one sport by the time they are in middle school. It is really quite sad. Club programs are starting to form younger and younger teams every year. Looks like Nike's program, EYBL is under the gun now. I am certain that as soon as Adidas got caught up, they were more than happy to share information on their rival companies.
Overcharging colleges for player info or clubs for preferred courts is not the "cheating" that the FBI is investigating. Paying for players, directly or indirectly, is. Glad the coaches/schools are willing to forego paying exorbitant fees for that type of info. From what I have read, the EYBL program being looked at is the boys program, not the girls. Although one has to wonder if there is pressure to use methods used by one side (boys) to meet/exceed goals by the other side (girls).
This is very true. However in our travels we saw numerous instances of inappropriate contact (recruiting kind), gifts, meals, and other benefits being tossed around blatantly, and this was among the girls divisions. Sadly, I don't think they were even trying to hide it. Hell I once heard a scout from one of the scouting services tell a girl "I bet we can find you one of these" in reference to his car which she had apparently admired. I am sure the boys are even worse given the revenue they generate.
and that's the type of behavior likely to get a school or recruit in trouble. No doubt it goes on. There's always people wanting to test or exceed limits to get what (who) they want.
Several on the UConn board seem to think Texas is doing this! SMH.... I hate when people start spreading crazy rumors because they lost a recruit!
From the UConn Board: Muffet said it’s cheating going on in the women’s game too and if you google Geno’s name the article pops up. Why? Most likely jealously. Anyways I feel the real cheating in Women’s Basketball is happening at Texas because of the whole Charli Collier situation. Her statement sounded a bit fishy to me. Karen Aston and Tina Thompson are up to no good over there. That’s why Geno recommended SMU to hire Travis Mays (Geno knows he’s a good person) before that program gets caught. flncfan, Today at 8:53 AM Report Replies Your are right, sounds very fishy that Karen and Tina are up to no good at Texas and Geno recommends Travis for SMU.
For Muffet to say this, she must have some serious facts or suspicions that she will need to provide, at least off the record to authorities. The timing and statements by her, require an investigation as it could seriously harm WBB if not cleaned up or cleared up. I think many people believe her and have some instances that point to suspicious behavior.
I hope Karen isn't cheating and she doesn't seem like the type, honestly. I have respect for Muffin too, she seems like she's always done things the right way. OTOH, Geno and that $%&@ up in Wacko, that's a different story.
I just don't see the monetary justification for pay to play in WBB like what was exposed in the recent FBI investigation. The money being payed to those players ($150-200K) actually exceeds the salary of most Power 5 assistant WBB coaches. I could see the a claim being made of AAU/EYBL teams encouraging their players toward specific schools but that's not even against NCAA rules as long as the club coach isn't colluding with the college coach. I'm sure some people will claim, especially after Charli's commitment, that Cy Fair Elite is a "Texas" program considering we have 2 players on the current roster and 4 commits (including Deja) who played for them this past summer. I would point out that 2 of those 4 were committed to UT before they joined CFE. I can only imagine the outcry if Texas somehow lands Christyn and makes it 5.
