College basketball needs more accountability and oversight. High school ball does, too.
Justice was served a week ago Tuesday. The NCAA ruled that Louisville must vacate its 2013 national championship. It’s the first time in history that an NCAA Division I men’s basketball team has had its national title stripped.
While the decision received criticism—especially from Louisville fans—I think that the NCAA got this one right.
The main criticism that was “You can’t change the box score!” (The Cardinals won the 2013 national title, 82-76, over Michigan,) But what about the words, “fair and square”?
What Louisville did, including using tawdry means to entice recruits to sign with the Cardinals, is akin to baseball players using steroids to get an advantage over opponents.
What happened at Louisville is symptomatic of broader ills in college basketball today.
The bottom line is that the FBI has uncovered college basketball’s underbelly. Rodney Smith, a law professor who studies the history of the NCAA, compares the federal corruption scandal with shoe-company Adidas to college basketball’s point-shaving scandal of the 1950s.
To make matters even worse, Yahoo! Sports reports that other schools are involved in potential wrongdoing, including powerhouses Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky, Texas, USC, Michigan State. and Kansas.
It’s another blow to Commonwealth basketball fans. The allegations made against Kentucky say that former players, Nerlens Noel and “Bam” Adebayo, as well as current player, Kevin Knox, received illegal payments.
But the broader issue is where do we draw the line? What if we found that similar circumstances occur at the high school level? Perhaps it already is.
Take, for instance, what happened in the case of the 2017 state champion, Bowling Green High Purples. The Courier-Journal (Louisville) reported that the Purples were under investigation for recruiting violations during the 2016-17 season. A lawsuit was filed by former Bowling Green girls’ basketball coach, LaVonda Johnson. The Kentucky High School Association (KHSAA) said it would investigate the matter, but would not disclose any details of the case or even the nature of the allegations.
What led up to the lawsuit–and the events that happened after–are still a mystery. What’s more, there are questions about what has happened since. Athletic director and head basketball coach D.G. Sherrill resigned both positions this past June. A month later, freshman sensation Zion Harmon transferred to Adair County. As an 8th Grader, Harmon averaged 16.8 points and is considered the top college prospect. He’s already drawing interest from schools like Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, and Tennessee.
What bizarre about the Bowling Green High case is that we know nothing about the circumstances. Nothing.
Perhaps the KHSAA’s investigation revealed that no infractions had occurred and decided to let things simmer down. But if Bowling Green was innocent of allegations, wouldn’t it want to publicize that outcome?
With players being swapped from school-to-school like candy on a playground, it’s hard to believe that some players aren’t being offered some kind of “the grass is greener on the other side” proposition.
If wrong-doing is going on, I can guarantee you that it would stop if the KHSAA were to start stripping state, regional, and district titles–just like the NCAA did to Louisville.
The NCAA’s decision against Louisville was breath of fresh air. To those who think it was drastic and/or unfair, I say this: Justice was served in a sport that needs greater oversight. And, as a UK fan, I want the Wildcats to suffer repercussions if allegations there are found to be true.
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Cameron Brown is a former Webster County basketball player and an undergraduate student at Western Kentucky University—double majoring in journalism and history, with a minor in broadcasting. Contact him at Cameron.brown288@topper.wku.edu
