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I'm glad to hear that he's confident, however I have no confidence in the NCAA or Emmert making a logically just or consistent decision.
I agree with the above poster about the ncaa and its crooked ways. This may be why Cal took another big man
Humphries has nothing to do with Skal.
Doubtful. UK was making a play for another big regardless. They wanted Johnson to stay and they also wanted to bring in Zimmerman. They also wanted Diallo. It's clear Cal and his staff wanted to add some depth behind Skal.
A bit further and we quickly see that there has to be one shred of any impactful evidence against Skal or his camp. Kanter's camp actually took money - thousands of dollars at that. Skal's guardian supposedly asked around the block for some perks and received none. It's not illegal to ask (or provable in the same way as a real financial paper trail) no more than it would be for Skal to ask for some ocean front property on his Facebook status. Apples and oranges.
He was confident Kanter would be able to play and spoke on camera how the NCAA would be setting a bad precedent for foreign players. However, Cal didn't realize they have the Kentucky-only rule as it was never explained how the West Virginia player with the same exact background from Turkey was eventually allowed to play, as were several others with similar circumstances.
I hope there is no issue with Skal, but just because you want that to be the case, and post how you are confident, that means nothing in reality. Until he is playing I won't be surprised by anything the NCAA pulls.
I hope there is no issue with Skal, but just because you want that to be the case, and post how you are confident, that means nothing in reality. Until he is playing I won't be surprised by anything the NCAA pulls.
Skal is still a different case altogether. If he weren't at UK, no one would even be questioning his eligibility.
So you are going to deny an earthquake refuge the shot of a lifetime because his handler is greedy? Even if the handler took money, it wouldn't be right to hold it against the kid.
So you are going to deny an earthquake refuge the shot of a lifetime because his handler is greedy? Even if the handler took money, it wouldn't be right to hold it against the kid.
Aside from your paranoia about the NCAA, where's the tangible evidence against Skal that would prove that his amateurism is jeopardized? Kanter had a real, financial paper trail pointing to the fact that his family took almost $40,000 of professional pay. Skal does not. One is provable under NCAA regulations. One is not.
If the NCAA can't prove that Skal received benefits, there is no penalty. Why would you try to compare the two? They're not the least bit similar. The NCAA is unjust, but they don't tend to go out of their way to force a discrimination lawsuit against their organization; which is exactly what could happen from Skal's camp if he's withheld from play without provable evidence of his jeopardized amateur status.
I really hope UK fans as a message board community can move past the "well, the NCAA wants to screw us" narrative when it comes to Skal. If we're going to discuss his eligibility, we should attempt to stick to the facts of this particular case. His situation is more like Noel's than Kanter's in that there were murmurings of wrong doings but no definitive evidence of taking benefits.
I agree with you,it wouldn't be right,but when UK and the NCAA are contained in the same sentence "being right"has nothing to do with the eventual outcome.Emmert and the NCAA would throw the kid under the bus without a second thought if it meant being able to stick it to Cal and UK.
As far as I know, the situation has never involved accusations of Skal's camp taking money, but rather that his guardian asked for benefits and did not receive them. The NCAA (and the eager media) have had almost a year to prove that money was actually taken. Nothing has come of it.
Looks more and more like the Noel situation than anything. At worst, Skal gets a slap on the wrist for this.
They had a chance to stick it to Cal with the Noel situation and nothing happened. They also had a chance in the Bledsoe situation. Do you know why? Because there was no damning evidence - although there was certainly more kindling fora potential firestorm in Noel's case than in Skal's. We're basically expecting the NCAA to abandon legal merit in order to rule a kid ineligible. Kanter had no case because he had taken money, and technically had abandoned his amateur status. In the case of Skal, UK has had the better part of a year to prepare for the worst - and prep the UK fan base. All we've heard are positives and a complete lack of correlating, negative information from an all too-willing media ready to hang Cal out to dry.
Why is that?
Are we paranoid or not? 
I may be wrong, but I can count all the players
that the NCAA has ruled against at UK (under Cal) on one finger..........
That is for the year......
I may be wrong, but I can count all the playersthat the NCAA has ruled against at UK (under Cal) on one finger..........
That is for the year......
Those accusations came from Memphis AAU clown Keith Easterwood, who also made a lot of libelous remarks about Arkansas and GT when Thaddeus Young had the good sense to get out of town. There will be no problem with Skal.
Some of our fans haven't made the connection between needing real evidence to legally affect amateur status. Even in the Rose case, they had their evidence with the handwriting sample and an eye-witness who came forward. Rose's refusal to entertain a face-to-face meeting with the NCAA was the nail in the coffin.
I have never understood why so many are acting like this is something to be seriously worried about.
I truly hope your take is correct,but when I look at recent NCAA history + ongoing events( Penn St,UNC Syracuse and several others) I have little faith that that the NCAA will do what is right or even in keeping with actions that they have taken or not taken in the past.As to the Noel,Kanter and Bledsoe cases we came away with some degree of penalty in 2 of the three.
As I understand it Skal went to a high school and played on a team that was put together with no ties to the school for the sole purpose of giving him a venue in which to play basketball.
Skal played for one makeshift program for basketball but simultaneously attended a credible Tennessee school for his senior year. His academic eligibility isn't in question. The only question is whether his camp received impermissible benefits. As of now, there is no evidence to the affirmative.
Labissiere transferred from Evangelical Christian (Cordova, Tenn.) to Lausanne Collegiate Prep (Memphis) over the summer. In October, he was ruled ineligible to play basketball for Lausanne by the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association, which determined the move was strictly for basketball reasons.
Shortly thereafter, Hamilton formed a team, Reach Your Dream Prep, to showcase the Kentucky signee. Labissiere continued to attend Lausanne Collegiate as Reach Your Dream Prep wasn’t an actual high school, though it played Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) and other high schools.
http://usatodayhss.com/2015/labissieres-low-profile-ends-with-big-week-at-nike-hoop-summit
Skal will be fine but feel free to freak out for the next 4 months if you want. Keep it to yourself, though.
Unfortunately because logical deduction isn't an option for some when it comes to UK-related scenarios.
The NCAA could decide that each game he participated in was an impermissible benefit,my distrust of the NCAA knows no bounds.
How? If no actual money or material items exchanged hands, how do you make that case?
I've yet to see the evidence in Cal's going on 7 years at Kentucky where the NCAA has shown to be "out to get us".
Enes Kanter received over $33,000 to play basketball in Turkey. That is a fact. That is against the rules.
Now, whether or not the NCAA would have allowed the Kanters to pay it back and just have Enes be suspended for 6-8 games had he went to Emmert's alma mater is a matter of opinion, but whether or not he received quite a bit of compensation is not.
Skal's situation is completely different. Like not even close to the same.
John Wall was made to sit out in crappy exhibition games.
Nothing happened with the Anthony Davis, Eric Bledsoe, or Nerlens Noel situations because there was no proof of wrongdoing, so the NCAA did the right thing by Cal, UK, and the kids.
Thus, this notion that we should all be worried about the NCAA sitting Skal just to be spiteful to UK, which hasn't happened since Cal arrived, is crap.
Enes Kanter received over $33,000 to play basketball in Turkey. That is a fact. That is against the rules.
Now, whether or not the NCAA would have allowed the Kanters to pay it back and just have Enes be suspended for 6-8 games had he went to Emmert's alma mater is a matter of opinion, but whether or not he received quite a bit of compensation is not.
Skal's situation is completely different. Like not even close to the same.
John Wall was made to sit out in crappy exhibition games.
Nothing happened with the Anthony Davis, Eric Bledsoe, or Nerlens Noel situations because there was no proof of wrongdoing, so the NCAA did the right thing by Cal, UK, and the kids.
Thus, this notion that we should all be worried about the NCAA sitting Skal just to be spiteful to UK, which hasn't happened since Cal arrived, is crap.
I think he will be fine. If there was any hard evidence I would think something would have been said by now.
What is impermissible about playing on a club team? You are making stuff up to worry about. The club team could legally raise money, just like AAU teams do, just like every youth sports program does.
If his guardian did something illegal in the way of funds that is on him, not every kid that played on the team.
You know AAU is no different than a club team right? Neither are regulated by an academic institution.
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anon_9qtxg60vqzy0y
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The negative nancies are out in full force. Can't take Cal's word for it. They're thinking "Cal said he is confident, he didn't say he was certain." Kinda like when Cal says year in and year out he's not going to the NBA. How's that workin' out for the gloom and doomers???
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On the NBA note, have you noticed how quiet they are now regarding Cal potentially leaving? Seemed like a certainty a summer ago according to that crowd. In fact, they told us the only reasons Cal stayed was because of the twins and WCS returning, and Cal would jump at the next real chance he had to coach LeBron.
Now, two trains have both left the depot, and neither of them had Cal on board. Fancy that.
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Are we paranoid or not?
that the NCAA has ruled against at UK (under Cal) on one finger..........
That is for the year......
I think we have the most paranoid fan base in the NCAA.
So he's gonna be able to play right? I don't see that he's done anything wrong so seems like there's nothing to worry about. He didn't get paid or nothing so what the hell's the problem?
I see both sides.
There's nothing to the situation with Skal, but until we see him playing in a live game, I don't trust the NCAA in any way, shape or form.
There's nothing to the situation with Skal, but until we see him playing in a live game, I don't trust the NCAA in any way, shape or form.
One poster was adamant that Cal was leaving. Acted like he had inside knowledge at one point. I can't remember his name, but I'm sure he'll pop back up after our first loss.
And I've always thought all the "Cal was definitely leaving if not for the twins" crap was ridiculous.
I took that whole situation as Calspeak. "I thought long and hard, but how could I possibly leave after these kids made such a commitment and sacrifice to stay."
Paraphrasing of course. Obviously he could have left and I have no doubt that he listened hard to someone offering $80 million. But Cal being Cal, he spun the situation in the most positive light possible. Players first.
All well and good,however if you don't see a difference in an AAU team and a team that didn't exist before Skal and probably won't exist after Skal then you choose to ignore a possible red flag.
Several good posters here seem to be all too ready to downplay even the possibility that there could be an issue with Skal.It is like if we don't bring it up then it doesn't exist.Cal says he is confident that Skal will be fine,did he make the same statements about Matthews,Briscoe,Murray or Mulder.NBC sports took the time to write a bit about it.
Some here have cited lack of evidence or rules of evidence,when has that ever been consistent if the NCAA is involved.Sure I hope just as much as anyone that there is no issue with Skal but the question seems to be out there
I do not understand your first paragraph. Club teams come and go all the time. Just like Select teams. These are usually formed by a parent or group of parents for a kid(s) who is playing in a certain age group.
I can (and have) form a team for my kid, recruit other players, go ask for sponsors, play a few games and quit. Not one ounce of illegality there. Does not affect the NCAA in the least bit.
I do not disagree with your issues of the NCAA and especially Emmert.
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Did you forget about the 500th win ball scandal? That Cal and UK had the audacity to proudly display it, and were promptly smacked down in a strongly worded letter from the NCAA? That if they didn't comply there would be dire consequences? That (I think it was) Steve Fisher and San Diego State did the same thing and nothing was said?? As long as Emmert is running it, I have absolutely no faith in the NCAA.
I love how every video interview from Cals office, that ball is right there for all to,see
