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What is most disgusting about this whole thing is...

Vitale was the head coach of Detroit University. They went to the elite 8 or something like that. Then he got hired by the NBA pistons. Then he was fired a few years later.

He should call Pitino and congratulate him on being a career cheater who only got caught two or three times. And yes, Pitino taught all of assistants how to cheat.

As soon as Dick Vitale retires basketball will be better off. He is a jerk.
 
Vitale just doubled down. You would not believe what he just tweeted. "Rick Pitino has put 29 assistant coaches into head coach jobs, it is a shame his last few assistants have let him down".
You should take a stroll over to the Louisville board. Yikes. Talk about an alternate reality. They truly think Pitino knew nothing and that they will bounce right back. o_O
 
If they could enforce both the above and under table payola, perhaps. But by definition under the table is unseen and unregulated. Like the $100000 and $150000 being bandied around here! That's where the issue is already and Pitt already is not keeping up. Even if we had boosters willing to do that, Pitt's leadership would never go for it. That stuff won't end. This scandal won't stop it. The FBI uncovered this incident; the NCAA didn't, and won't in the future either. Adding an obligation above the table for Pitt, particularly a high amount, only exasperates our plight. But that's just my take...

Think what you're overlooking here is the influence aspect that is being manipulated through the shoe/apparel companies, AAU affiliations, handlers and street agents. These folks are seeing to it that only certain college programs - the ones they choose to want to succeed the most because they stand to benefit the most if the top players go there - even get involved on the short list for some of the best talent.

That alone eliminates a lot of programs from getting a sniff to even try to recruit some of the very best talent the "clean" way, on the up and up (i.e. without paying for them). The shoe/apparel companies in many cases are the source of the money. Not always boosters; especially in basketball.

That's what the FBI needs to smash through this investigation. Break the system of corruption that has been used to continually feed top players to the select group of schools that the perpetrators have identified as willing to play this type of recruiting game. Often times using cash provided by 3rd parties whose best interests are served only if the bast players go to schools they prefer to be affiliated with. The $$$$ is used to seal the deal.

The schools that use this type of recruiting pipeline and their coaches are willing participants and they benefit greatly from it in terms of the talent that is steered to them, at the expense of other programs that are put at a competitive disadvantage. See the 5* Bowen kid just falling into Petino's lap out of the blue as a prime example. :rolleyes:
 
You should take a stroll over to the Louisville board. Yikes. Talk about an alternate reality. They truly think Pitino knew nothing and that they will bounce right back. o_O

Not surprised at this type of attitude after years of seeing nit cultists who still believe JS is innocent and neither Joe - or anyone in a position of power or authority at PSU - "knew".
 
Think what you're overlooking here is the influence aspect that is being manipulated through the shoe/apparel companies, AAU affiliations, handlers and street agents. These folks are seeing to it that only certain college programs - the ones they choose to want to succeed the most because they stand to benefit the most if the top players go there - even get involved on the short list for some of the best talent.

That alone eliminates a lot of programs from getting a sniff to even try to recruit some of the very best talent the "clean" way, on the up and up (i.e. without paying for them). The shoe/apparel companies in many cases are the source of the money. Not always boosters; especially in basketball.

That's what the FBI needs to smash through this investigation. Break the system of corruption that has been used to continually feed top players to the select group of schools that the perpetrators have identified as willing to play this type of recruiting game. Often times using cash provided by 3rd parties whose best interests are served only if the bast players go to schools they prefer to be affiliated with. The $$$$ is used to seal the deal.

The schools that use this type of recruiting pipeline and their coaches are willing participants and they benefit greatly from it in terms of the talent that is steered to them, at the expense of other programs that are put at a competitive disadvantage. See the 5* Bowen kid just falling into Petino's lap out of the blue as a prime example. :rolleyes:
If the NCAA really wanted to clean things up it would be simple
1.) no university can accept any money from a shoe company
2.) no coach can accept any money from a shoe company
And if they really wanted to stop a lot of nonsense that goes on
3.) no relative of a player can be offered employment at that university
4.) a biggie here ! no one who wishes to play at an NCAA institution can play AAU ball , or play at shoe camps
 
Not surprised at this type of attitude after years of seeing nit cultists who still believe JS is innocent and neither Joe - or anyone in a position of power or authority at PSU - "knew".
Of course, PSU did avoid punishment and indeed sprung right back. UNC won the NC. So they really aren't so delusional.
 
If the NCAA really wanted to clean things up it would be simple
1.) no university can accept any money from a shoe company
2.) no coach can accept any money from a shoe company
And if they really wanted to stop a lot of nonsense that goes on
3.) no relative of a player can be offered employment at that university
4.) a biggie here ! no one who wishes to play at an NCAA institution can play AAU ball , or play at shoe camps
Or ... They'll let Pitino take the fall (maybe Miller too). Plus those assorted assistants. Declare it a tragic anomaly. Use political connections with Congress to force the FBI to lay off. Light love taps to the schools involved... which get revoked later when the news dies down. Business continues as usual thereafter.
 
Vitale just doubled down. You would not believe what he just tweeted. "Rick Pitino has put 29 assistant coaches into head coach jobs, it is a shame his last few assistants have let him down".
They let him down because they got caught, just like he got caught with the woman in the restaurant.
 
Or ... They'll let Pitino take the fall (maybe Miller too). Plus those assorted assistants. Declare it a tragic anomaly. Use political connections with Congress to force the FBI to lay off. Light love taps to the schools involved... which get revoked later when the news dies down. Business continues as usual thereafter.
I did say IF they wanted too .... all they want is the $$$$$$$$$$
 
Of course, PSU did avoid punishment and indeed sprung right back. UNC won the NC. So they really aren't so delusional.

PSU & UNC were investigated by the NCAA.

This current situation is being handled by the FBI.

NCAA doesn't like to do major harm to their big meal ticket programs.

The FBI may well take a very different stance. They're not worried about what TV and advertisers may feel about the effect punishments may have on the glamour programs or big name coaches.
 
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If the NCAA really wanted to clean things up it would be simple
1.) no university can accept any money from a shoe company
2.) no coach can accept any money from a shoe company
And if they really wanted to stop a lot of nonsense that goes on
3.) no relative of a player can be offered employment at that university
4.) a biggie here ! no one who wishes to play at an NCAA institution can play AAU ball , or play at shoe camps
Won't make a difference. They've been cheating since the 1870s. They'll never stop. The last clean game was Rutgers and Princeton kicking a ball around back in 1869. The alums got wind of it, and the cheating began.
 
You should take a stroll over to the Louisville board. Yikes. Talk about an alternate reality. They truly think Pitino knew nothing and that they will bounce right back. o_O

Seems like I've heard that 'logic' before. Pitino Knew!!
 
Won't make a difference. They've been cheating since the 1870s. They'll never stop. The last clean game was Rutgers and Princeton kicking a ball around back in 1869. The alums got wind of it, and the cheating began.
No doubt !
Imagine if any athlete had to have the average academic credentials ( or at least 90% ) of the general student body to gain admission , now that would shake things up a little .
They should end the hypocrisy just pay the kids and educate the ones who want it .
 
Or ... They'll let Pitino take the fall (maybe Miller too). Plus those assorted assistants. Declare it a tragic anomaly. Use political connections with Congress to force the FBI to lay off. Light love taps to the schools involved... which get revoked later when the news dies down. Business continues as usual thereafter.

The IRS too?
 
Vitale just doubled down. You would not believe what he just tweeted. "Rick Pitino has put 29 assistant coaches into head coach jobs, it is a shame his last few assistants have let him down".


The ironic thing is the some of Vitale's best basketball coaching friends are among the biggest cheaters out there. And that goes back decades. Which is probably why he's doing what he can to deflect the blame elsewhere.
 
not that it happened. Anyone with a functioning IQ knew this kind of stuff was happening. But if you follow twitter, you have guys like Dick Vitale who was "deeply saddened" and spoke with Rick Pitino a few hours ago and he told him "he would never be involved with something like this" and same with Jay Bilas (who I am growing to dislike more and more) who feels this is overblown and a direct result of paying players.

Jay's a smart guy, it is not about "paying players", it is about gaining "an advantage" to acquire talent. Even if these guys are paid, what is to stop this from happening?

Anyways, the college BB intelligentsia is whining and justifying this, they also probably realize their sport is becoming less relevant with the one and done and continued rise of NBA popularity. But it is disgusting to see them justify this or run shields for these rogue coaches (Vitale always has) because they are buddy buddies.
Totally agree. They all had to know this was going on......now, they can't seem to believe it. Bilas was actually a coach for one of the All Star games, I'm sure he never heard any stories there (wink, wink).
 
I mean let's look at Vitale and his defense of his fellow paisan.
1) Pitino had the very public affair where he cheated on his wife.
2) His team was guilty of hosting a recruiting party with prostitutes.
3) Now the buying of the Bowen kid through a shoe company.

I am sure there are other things I am missing in his long history.

But Vitale is going to defend him?

Bilas has one major talking point and that is college player's rights and the ability to share in some of the revenue/success (which on its own is somewhat noble) but just like those who side with gun control, he is making every issue about the players not being paid instead of the real issue that has surfaced.

I read where Pitino was cited with 8 violations while he was an assistant coach at Hawaii. (the program was cited with 64)
 
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Sounds like a school in central Pennsylvania.
Unless the NCAA cuts scholarships and sanctions the program severely Louisville will hire a coach that will make them relavent sooner rather than later . The NCAA has to tread lightly here to cover up their own lack of oversight ( and incompetence ) and as widespread as this is they won't want to ruin the goose that's laying the Golden egg$ .
 
Vitale is 76 ? He is putting on the 18th green so to speak. He isn't going to bash any of the older coaches because what's the point at this juncture of his career. He is just about done with the ESPN gig and the diaper dandies. He also probably made some nice money over the last 20 years giving speeches at some of the basketball camps that were headlined by all of the cheaters like Pitino
 
Vitale just doubled down. You would not believe what he just tweeted. "Rick Pitino has put 29 assistant coaches into head coach jobs, it is a shame his last few assistants have let him down".
Let Dickie V. alone. He is obviously a sick old man. Nobody ever told him that his schtick got old 25 years ago.
 
You should take a stroll over to the Louisville board. Yikes. Talk about an alternate reality. They truly think Pitino knew nothing and that they will bounce right back. o_O
I don't have to. I lived through that with PSU fans. Or is it just dumb Eyetalians?
 
Here's what could be the worst thing about this issue.

If things are investigated, proven and the players and players families who took the money "skate" and arent charged with tax evasion and or other appropriate charges once its clear they took money!

This includes players in college and those playing in the NBA.

Charge the guilty coaches, and the players for tax evasion and whatever other charges are appropriate.

The players and players families knew this is illegal in alot of ways!

This isnt like I put a few contribution/donations on my tax return and didnt have receipts. This is big time, big money tax fraud!
 
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Here's what could be the worst thing about this issue.

If things are investigated, proven and the players and players families who took the money "skate" and arent charged with tax evasion and or other appropriate charges once its clear they took money!

This includes players in college and those playing in the NBA.

Charge the guilty coaches, and the players for tax evasion and whatever other charges are appropriate.

The players and players families knew this is illegal in alot of ways!

This isnt like I put a few contribution/donations on my tax return and didnt have receipts. This is big time, big money tax fraud!
How far do you go back to , the John Wooden era ? Go after the men with the money anything else isn't necessary .
 
How far do you go back to , the John Wooden era ? Go after the men with the money anything else isn't necessary .

Deal with this investigation because this is the only one that counts since there's possible evidence of bibery, fraud , tax evasion.

There's no investigation of the Wooden or any other era coaches.

IF the evidence suggests crimes were committed law enforcement cant pick and choose who to charge.

Payments were made to players on the teams recently identified where coaches and AD's were fired or suspended.

So as the evidence unfolds, payments are proven, players are ID'd, charges are filed, the players involved should face charges.

If a LU player took money a few years back and happens to be in the NBA he gets sweep up in the case just like a current LU player!

Why should a player or players family escape charg. They could be just as guilty and broke as many laws as the coaches, AD's, and others!

If the players weren't willing to take the money there would be no crime so they're a big part of this investigation!
And I'll bet there are players / players families who turned down money knowing it was illegal.
 
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Deal with this investigation because this is the only one that counts since there's possible evidence of bibery, fraud , tax evasion.

There's no investigation of the Wooden or any other era coaches.

IF the evidence suggests crimes were committed law enforcement cant pick and choose who to charge.

Payments were made to players on the teams recently identified where coaches and AD's were fired or suspended.

So as the evidence unfolds, payments are proven, players are ID'd, charges are filed, the players involved should face charges.

If a LU player took money a few years back and happens to be in the NBA he gets sweep up in the case just like a current LU player!

Why should a player or players family escape charg. They could be just as guilty and broke as many laws as the coaches, AD's, and others!

If the players weren't willing to take the money there would be no crime so they're a big part of this investigation!
And I'll bet there are players / players families who turned down money knowing it was illegal.
If they put everyone in jail who ever took cash as a payment and forgot to claim this on their taxes very few people wouldn't be in trouble . How about your paperboy , the guy who plows your driveway , the guy who helps people move , handymen , cleaning women etc . Go after the big fish , trying to punish some kid whose lived in his life in less than luxurious surrounding is pointless . Punishing the big fish with the cash , punish the guys taking advantage of kids , punish the coaches who encourage this kind of behavior leave the kids alone this time , but make it known they're fair game from now on .
 
If they put everyone in jail who ever took cash as a payment and forgot to claim this on their taxes very few people wouldn't be in trouble . How about your paperboy , the guy who plows your driveway , the guy who helps people move , handymen , cleaning women etc . Go after the big fish , trying to punish some kid whose lived in his life in less than luxurious surrounding is pointless . Punishing the big fish with the cash , punish the guys taking advantage of kids , punish the coaches who encourage this kind of behavior leave the kids alone this time , but make it known they're fair game from now on .
$ 25k, $ 50k, $ 100k thats not paperboy money!
Paperboy money is usually under the threshold for whats required to be declared for minors.

These amounts are taxable income for anyone!
Actually in alot of cases its not the kid who recieved the money its the kids "responsible parents."

When's the last time you received $ 100k and decided not to declare it as taxable income because the paperboy, handyman, etc might not!
 
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$ 25k, $ 50k, $ 100k thats not paperboy money!
Paperboy money is usually under the threshold for whats required to be declared for minors.

These amounts are taxable income for anyone!
Actually in alot of cases its not the kid who recieved the money its the kids "responsible parents."

When's the last time you received $ 100k and decided not to declare it as taxable income because the paperboy, handyman, etc might not!
It's not the amount it's the action . I have no issue with going after the adults who ran these programs I just draw the line at the kids who are really the ponds in this whole process .
 
It's not the amount it's the action . I have no issue with going after the adults who ran these programs I just draw the line at the kids who are really the ponds in this whole process .
I doubt kids made any of these decisions relating to taking money.

The parents were certainly the decision makers and most likely accepted the money.

So no matter how you look at this these people recieved large sums of money, they knew it was wrong, took the money, didnt report it on their tax returns which constitutes tax evasion/ tax fraud which carries big time penalties.

The evidence should point in a direction, appropriate charges should be filed against all involved.

After that the court system takes over after to determine guilt or innocence and what the penalties should be!
 
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So, no answer?

The FBI doesn't care about kids and their families taking money. The guy from Pittsburgh that set all of this up pleaded guilty to embezzling money from his clients, ponzi like payouts, etc. These money guys prey on high school athletes, establish a false sense of security, and then drain their accounts as pros.

And that's not to mention the anti-competitive practices of the shoe companies. You don't think Under Armour might feel some pain because of the way that Adidas and Nike are paying off AAU and college coaches to artificially limit their market share opportunities?
 
The FBI doesn't care about kids and their families taking money. The guy from Pittsburgh that set all of this up pleaded guilty to embezzling money from his clients, ponzi like payouts, etc. These money guys prey on high school athletes, establish a false sense of security, and then drain their accounts as pros.

And that's not to mention the anti-competitive practices of the shoe companies. You don't think Under Armour might feel some pain because of the way that Adidas and Nike are paying off AAU and college coaches to artificially limit their market share opportunities?
Here's the problem !
Until a minor league for basketball is established the same U's will be back doing the same thing only with different "money men /money companies."

Putting a few wealthy coaches, AD's, bagmen?, etc in jail wont stop the desire to have the best basketball teams in the country. It'll be the same scam with different people.

The players will just shug their shoulders and keep taking the money since nothing happened to the players who took money. If something does happen to players who took money in this investigation, players might be afraid to accept money in the future ending the scam.
 
Here's the problem !
Until a minor league for basketball is established the same U's will be back doing the same thing only with different "money men /money companies."

Putting a few wealthy coaches, AD's, bagmen?, etc in jail wont stop the desire to have the best basketball teams in the country. It'll be the same scam with different people.

The players will just shug their shoulders and keep taking the money since nothing happened to the players who took money. If something does happen to players who took money in this investigation, players might be afraid to accept money in the future ending the scam.
Going after the players is the same thing as going after street drug dealers thinking you'll clean up the drug problem. It's easy to find the main source of the money and that's the shoe companies . Go after them hard and the money will dry up .
 
How far do you go back to , the John Wooden era ? Go after the men with the money anything else isn't necessary .
Go after all the criminals involved and see if the lower levels can flip on the higher levels for deals, but I agree completely that the players and families should be prosecuted. I'm not sure why anyone would think they should skate.
 
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Going after the players is the same thing as going after street drug dealers thinking you'll clean up the drug problem. It's easy to find the main source of the money and that's the shoe companies . Go after them hard and the money will dry up .

Here's a better analogy.
In the town next to us some big money guys set up a high end hooker business in a local hotel. They eventually busted the big money guys.

Six months later it reopened with new big money buys of course.

So the police set up a sting,busted the new big money guys, plus every customer of the hookers. Both the big money guys plus the customers of the hookers were arrested, names released and published in the local papers. Guess what noone is interested in that service at this time so the hooker business folded up.

If the players and or players families are made an example of there wont be many players willing to take the risk of criminal prosecution or maybe no college basketball. If there arent players willing to take the money and the risk the pay for play business will just fold up!
 
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