Seth Davis’ television duties done for another year, the handsome (blue) devil picks up the laptop and taps out an SI.com screed slicing and dicing new Florida International coach Isiah Thomas and new UK coach John Calipari over the practice of yanking the scholarships of holdover players.
Writes Davis, “Calipari took the art of running off players to new heights this spring.”
To be fair, the piece is pretty fair, and pretty good. And Davis does talk to A.J. Stewart, the now ex-Cat who failed to make the cut in Calipari’s tryout camp. Stewart says he doesn’t blame Calipari for handing him the short end of the business stick. And Davis does add the significant factoid that A.J.’s lack of class attendance earned him a 10-game suspension heading into next season.
Still, Davis makes the long first-base stretch to ask Stewart what would have happened were the Jacksonville native a 20-point per game scorer.
Answers Stewart, “I think I’d still be wearing blue.”
He thinks correctly.
In my more idealistic youth, I saw such practices as failing to renew a player’s scholarship as outlandish behavior. I’ve softened my hard-lance stance over the years, and while Calipari’s spring cleaning makes me a bit uncomfortable, I’m far from outraged.
Let’s be real here. College basketball is big business, nothing more, nothing less. And most kids want to play, nothing more, nothing less. The fact shy-guy Billy Gillispie was a horrendous fit for this big-fish job only became a major issue when UK started losing on its home floor to dreg teams such as Georgia and then finding no real reason to tune in the NCAA Tournament Selection Show. Calipari isn’t cashing a $31 million paycheck to be Father Flanagan. And with the possible exception of Kevin Galloway, the players Cal hip-checked out the Joe Craft door have plenty of time to re-generate productive college careers.
But this topic does make me grab my soapox for another subject. None of Calipari’s refugees — Stewart, Galloway, Matt Pilgrim and Donald Williams — should have to sit out next season. (Nor should walk-on Landon Slone who is transferring to Morehead State.) My view is that whenever a coaching change is made, any holdover who wants to take the exit ramp should be allowed to do so without fear of penalty, or required down-time. So any player forced to leave a school because of a coaching change surely should have that right.
John Clay is a sports columnist for the Lexington Herald-Leader. A native of Central Kentucky and graduate of UK, he covered UK football for 13 seasons before being promoted to columnist in 2000. He lives in Lexington with his wife and two sons. You can e-mail him at jclay@herald-leader.com.
Davis is 100% right, including his call to scrap the NLI program. UK fans can take umbrage over Cal being called out, but Davis is still correct: the kids lose, period.
College ball is big business and I don’t have a problem with that as long as the kids start getting their share, rather than the shaft.
I don’t have a problem with what Calipari did. The rules state that a scholarship is a one year contract between the school and the player and if a school decides that a player no longer fits in their program it is their right to not renew the scholarship contract.
If we are going to go down the path of forcing a school to honor the scholarship committment, then it must work both ways (ie, UK could tell Jodie Meeks he is unable to leave for the NBA and must honor is scholarship)
So having a kid return to a situation where all he is going to be is a fan with a really good seat is so much better. I agree the kids are on the short end in the NCAA setting, but in this situation at least Calipari gave them a chance to show their skills in a live setting instead of going strictly by video. It didn’t help Stewert’s cause that he skipped way too many classes and grades were suspect. Now is Coach Cal the first to do this? No, Coach P released a few off his first team at U of L just to mention one. Until scholarships are extended to 4 years for student/ athletes this is going to happen every year.
And you know what, Seth Duke Davis will be kissing Coach Cal’s behind when UK is kick A$$ and taking names next season.
here’s my take on the scholly’s . . .
i wasn’t the greatest student in high school, didn’t play sports at all for the school, only rec leagues
when it came time to pick a college, i looked for scholarships (of course)
i applied for academic scholarships based on sat scores because my grades weren’t very high . . . i was given a one year scholarship to attend in lexington . . . i was told after that year i could reapply and may continue to receive the scholarship but it was only “guaranteed” for that one year
at the end of the year, i applied to continue to receive the scholarship, but it wasn’t given to me, i’m sure that it was given to an incoming freshman (or anybody, that’s not really the point) - the fact was that i took that scholarship and after it was over i could have went somewhere else or stayed and paid
seems like pretty much the same deal for the STUDENT ATHLETES, they’re given one year deals at a time
cal is not taking scholarships away from anybody - that’s my point
he’s just not renewing all of them, right?
if anybody wants to know more about it, i’m sure s.smith has some books he could recommend . . .
For federal fiscal year 2008 $1 billion in athletic scholarships were awarded to over 126,000 student-athletes through either a partial or full athletic scholarship. These scholarships are awarded and administered directly by each academic institution, not the NCAA. I suggest reading The Thin Thirty (Shannon Ragland) as to how an athletic director directing influences the awarding and administering of athletic scholarships.
The Provost receives the Athletic Budget and reviews it with the Athletic Director, including the total available for athletic scholarships. The Athletic Director determines scholarships allotments to each team. The head coach and assistant coaches for that sport recommend to the Athletic Director which student receives what amount.
Prior to the start of each semester, the Financial Aid Office will generate a “Focus Report” on all Student-Athletes for that semester and submit it to the Director of Athletics, who in turn reviews the report and forwards it to the Provost and President for approval.
It is up to Mitch and Lee which players receive a scholarship, not the Coach, the Coach only recommends,Davis is lost in the woods. i am really getting tired of repeating how it is done.
If I am not mistaken didn’t Billy G. have more recruits coming in than scholarships available too? So, if that was the case wouldn’t he have cut lose some players. He always complained of the talent that he was left as well. Calipari just cut lose the talent he had the same way Billy G would have however he just had more high profiled talent coming in to replace than what Billy G. had.
Everything said in defense of taking scholarships away from players to maximize the number of wins demonstrates what is wrong with UK basketball. Given the scenario of big business that justifies such behavior please stop all pretense of “student-athlete” and start paying them a fair share of the big business profits.
The NCAA is all wet if a scholarship is for one year, then if a player decides to leave, regardless if it is the schools decision or the players. He should not have to set out a year, because he only signed with that school for one year.
I agree that players who’s scholarships are not renewed should be able to play immediately where ever they can get an offer. This is just another example of the NCAA PUNISHING the player for doing nothing wrong (Darius Miller). Just like the one & done rules hurts the great player and the you can only tryout for the NBA once in a four year college career penalizes players for going on a job interview (testing the waters in the NBA is a job interview). All of the above situations are clear examples of how the NCAA PUNISHES players in hopes of making more money off them and for themselves and their member institutions. The SEC sold their BB rights for BILLIONS so I don’t expect change any time soon. WRONG IS WRONG period and the NCAA can and should fix it.
Clay said it perfectly. Cal has played it by the rules. Still, the purge makes me uncomfortable, and I am only willing to accept it one year - the first year the coach comes in.
Like another writer, I had a similar deal with UK. I had a one year tuition scholarship for one of the high profile graduate schools at UK. I took it, with no promises, but I could re-apply. I was ranked second in my class of 170 after the first semester when I had to re-apply. I was denied the scholarship in year 2. Clearly UK never intended to give me the scholarship once I was there. The scholarship was used to lure me to UK. Then it was used no doubt to lure another high academic achiever to the graduate school. At in-state tuition prices and already with a high class rank, it made no sense for me to leave — also what UK was counting on. So if you think this is just a sports thing, think again.
My revenge is to root for the UK sports teams (which I have done since I was a baby) but give all my college financial contribution budget to my undergraduate school that treated my right with a 4 year academic scholarship. Since I don’t live in Kentucky, I can only do this because I don’t have the temptation of wanting to buy season tickets.
Seth Davis needs to mind his own business and stay out of Kentucky’s!