RE: My take on the Ohio State situation

[Shinkle, Randy]

Here's what I contributed to the discussion last August when it all came
down:


"I fully concur with Brett and Mike that Jamar is not the villain here.
(A bit naive, maybe, but not a bad guy.)  You can all decide for
yourselves who is.  It shouldn't be too hard."


"IMO, Jamar can be rightly criticized (at least a little) for the entire
process, as you suggest.  But the focus of this thread was his statement
about UC's academics, and that is what the comments below (and my prior
one) were directed toward.

"To elaborate, I believe that:
 - Jamar's stated reason for choosing OSU is *not* the real reason.
 - He apparently was unwilling to state the *real* reason.
 - He had to give *some* reason.
 - The reason he gave was *not* his idea.
 - It would be hard to convince me otherwise."


"You're right, he didn't have to say what he did.  So, why did he?

"Is he bitter toward UC/Huggins for taking Banks so quickly?  Maybe.

"Did the person who (IMO) planted this idea with him push him to say it?
More likely.  Why would they?  Well, let's just say that whatever makes
UC look bad makes others look better by comparison.  It's a sad part of
the "game" in college athletics."


I stand by those comments still.  I'll add that Terwilliger certainly
had a major influence on the outcome.

As far as either of them reconsidering UC, we have to ask this question:
Did they really prefer OSU over UC, or was there a reason they decided
*against* UC?  If it's the latter, then what has changed?  If, for
example (and this is pure speculation), one or more of the parents
involved have a problem with Huggins, why would that be any different
now?  Perhaps, now that the result of a parent "steering" them away from
UC and toward OSU has taken an ugly turn, the parent will step out of
the picture and let the kids decide for themselves.  It appeared that
they both preferred UC pretty strongly at some point.

In the end, I think they'll both stay at OSU, at least initially.  There
are very few places with available scholarships to which they could both
go together, this year anyway.

Randy '78




-----Original Message-----
From: Michael W Pickens [mailto:address@hidden 
Sent: Wednesday, June 09, 2004 10:08 AM
To: address@hidden
Subject: Re: [UC Basketball] My take on the Ohio State situation



Do you really think what he said was that harsh?  We are talking about a
high-school kid here.  Kids say stupid things all of the time.  My
daughter came home the other day and said that if I pull both wings off
a cicada that its head will pop off.  After trying it dozens of times we
proved that she was wrong.  Just kidding we don't get cicadas up in my
neck of the woods.  Of course she is just now out of kindergarten but
I'm just trying to make a point.   

Jamar put himself in a bad position and needed to give himself an out.
He had to cover his back so to speak.  I'm not sold that another JC
player is the answer to our point guard situation and would love for
Jamar to come back to UC.  After he puts on a Bearcat Uniform he becomes
part of the family and all will be forgiven.  We were all hurt by what
he said but I'm willing to give him a second chance and I think it would
be a good fit for him as well.  We don't have to have him but it would
be nice to have him.  I'm just not sure how we could fit him or Twig on
our team.
 


"Keith Wedinger" <address@hidden> 
06/09/2004 09:27 AM Please respond to
address@hidden

address@hidden 
cc
Subject[UC Basketball] My take on the Ohio State situation







Yesterday, I took my family to Kings Island and I was away from any and
all
news all day long.  So, imagine my surprise when I open this morning's
Columbus Dispatch to see the headline, "O'Brien Fired".

Before I comment on this situation and its possible effect on UC, let me
state that over the years, there is an important lesson I have learned.
Try
to take the high road.  The temptation to "slam" OSU's program to anyone
who'll listen is certainly there especially when you consider the moral
high
road OSU tries to take over UC.  But, in the end, what would that
accomplish?

Now, my thought on this.

Did O'Brien deserve to get fired?

That's a tough one to answer.  I do not believe that the $6,000 payment
is
the only thing in play here.  The past two seasons especially the last
one
were not very good.  You can say that last season was quite bad.  Also,
I
think there may be other violations.  Apparently, the lawsuit that
triggered
all of this had to do with the lack of payment for services rendered
with
regards to a player staying at a booster's house and that the $6,000
payment
was simply evidence in this lawsuit.  So, we actually have improper
payments
related to two players.

How will the NCAA respond?

It is my belief that if the NCAA looks hard enough and long enough at
any
major college program in the country, they will find something.  The key
is
to not give the NCAA a reason to look.  Unfortunately for OSU, the NCAA
now
has reason to look.  And OSU is about to find out how long and hard the
NCAA
can look.  When you break rule #1 (you cannot pay players), the NCAA
gets
VERY interested.  This could get very ugly for OSU.

Who also should take the fall for this?

I think there will be some serious heat on the OSU AD, Andy Geiger.  The
football program has had several off the field problems since Tressel
took
over (Clarett, arrests).  And now, the basketball program has violated
NCAA
rule #1.  Tressel and O'Brien were Geiger hires and both were advertised
as
hires that restore the honor and good name of OSU athletics.

How will this affect UC?

Well, question #1 is what happens to Jamar Butler.  Jamar is hinting
that he
may not go to OSU now.  Unfortunately for Jamar, the NCAA rarely
releases a
player from his National Letter of Intent because of a coaching change.
But, it will release a player if NCAA rules violations result in
probation.
Regardless, Jamar burned some bridges with his comments about UC and he
may
have burned his relationship with Huggins.  I think Jamar may be better
served by going elsewhere if he leaves OSU.  Question #2 is, will OSU
pursue
Bob Huggins?  I am 99% certain that they won't.  OSU with it's comments
about UC and the implications about how Huggins runs the program have
pretty
much eliminated that possibility.  Question #3, will OSU now schedule UC
in
basketball?  That really depends on who OSU hires as its coach and how
hard
the NCAA comes down on OSU.  UC will not schedule OSU if OSU is unable
to
play on TV.

Keith Wedinger
Bearcatnews.com
Sciotofootball.com

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