Re: Deal With the Devil

[Jon Macomber]

In general... it depends.  There are always ways to justify any decision.
It is amazing how many people confuse conscience with pride or desire.

In regards to UC, I think we have taken quite a few chances with at-risk
kids.  Sometimes it works, sometimes not.  I honestly believe Huggins makes
a gut check with a lot of those kids and wouldn't take someone who was truly
a bad egg.

What if Whaley has completely rehbilitated himself and is a solid citizen?
Can he ever get a second chance?  Is his basketball life over forever no
matter what he does?

I understand he had some signs of mental illness and his background was
pretty bad.  Maybe as a young kid he never learned the coping skills another
person might, and never had guidance or proper care given to him.  The fact
that he has avoided trouble for the past few years is a good sign.  The bad
sign is that we will get reamed on this no matter what.  Whaley could repent
into another St. Theresa and it wouldn't matter to many in the press.  The
simplier and juicy story always gets printed.

So, in regards to Whaley, he's done bad things but is he a bad person?  What
I mean by that is what can the world expect from him?  If he's a problem
kid, another Donald Little, than this is a bad idea.  If he's a kid who got
into trouble and has spent the past few years setting himself straight, then
I truly salute Huggins for giving the kid a chance.


Jon M



----- Original Message -----
From: "Mark_Seger" <address@hidden>
To: <address@hidden>
Sent: Thursday, September 19, 2002 12:00 AM
Subject: [UC Basketball] Deal With the Devil


> Questions to ponder --
>
> How important is it to win basketball games?  Is there a line drawn at
which
> point UC will *NOT* recruit a basketball player due to lack of character,
or
> prior criminal activity, no matter how good the player is?  If so, where
is
> that line?  At what point is your reputation worth more than your record?
>
> I ask these questions not in relation to any individual player, but in
> general terms.
>
> I hope the answer is not "It depends on how many points the kid can
score."
>