1. It is hard to believe that Rutgers could appear more out of touch with reality than they have been in the wake of the Mike Rice scandal, but new senior vice president and general counsel John Farmer Jr’s letter defending Julie Hermann might be a new low. In the letter Farmer compares the accusations of abuse against Hermann to accusations of marijuana use by Bill Clinton. What Farmer’s argument essentially boils down to is that the claims against Hermann are from her distant past and are of questionable validity much like the allegations that were made against Bill Clinton before the 1992 election. If the ridiculous comparison was not enough to make you aware that Hermann was keeping her job, Farmer closes by saying “She starts June 17. Period.” That may be true given how out of tune the Rutgers administration is to public perception, but don’t be surprised if Hermann is given less leeway for any future mistakes.
2. Yesterday, the Pac-12 released an independent review of officiating for the Pac-12 Tournament that determined its officials acted appropriately (full report here). The entire investigation stems from a report that Pac-12 head of officials Ed Rush had offered a bounty (reportedly a free trip) to the official who gave Arizona head coach Sean Miller a technical. That revelation and the fact that Miller was given a technical, which was considered very strange before the reports about a bounty and may have affected the outcome of the game, eventually led to Rush’s resignation a few days later. The report’s conclusion was that Rush’s statements were not taken literally by other officials and did not affect the integrity of the game and the Pac-12 considers the matter closed. What remains to be seen is how Pac-12 officials will officiate Arizona games next season with this scandal still hanging over them (the Pac-12 may consider the case closed, but we can assure you that the fans do not feel that way).
3. Houston‘s hopes of making its program nationally relevant again were dealt a big blow as director of basketball operations Michael Young announced that he was leaving the school after refusing a reassignment within the program and he will be taking his son Joseph Young, the team’s leading scorer, with him. Michael, who played for Houston’s famed Phi Slama Jama teams, had been serving as director of basketball operations, but had recently signed a new contract that reportedly offered him the same pay, but with a role in community service instead. According to the school, Michael had accepted his new position, but something changed in the past week. The big question now is what happens with Joseph and whether the NCAA will give him a waiver based on his father’s decision to leave the school since the other players who were granted such waivers were fired while Michael decided to walk away from the program.
4. It was just a year ago that Shabazz Muhammad was considered a can’t miss prospect and one who could help lead UCLA back to glory even if only for his one season in college. Then came questions about his eligibility that was followed by up-and-down play where he showed flashes of brilliance, but never lived up to the hype. The latest twist in the Muhammad saga is that his father is now under house arrest after being charged with running a mortgage scam. Ronald Holmes, Muhammad’s father, is accused of obtaining “mortgage loans by fraudulent means to buy houses” and now the government is seeking to collect $2.5 million from him. As the article notes this is not the first time that Holmes has been accused of such an act. And if you were wondering $2.5 million would be right around Muhammad’s salary for his first two seasons (before taxes) based on where he is projected to be selected.
5. You probably will not notice either decision next season, but a pair of moves involving two assistants coming to and leaving Kansas could have a big impact in the coming years. The decision by Iowa State to hire Doc Sadler probably will not make much of an impact on the Hawkeyes next season, but it does set up Sadler for a potential return to take over a new team in the near-future. Sadler’s two previous stops were at Nebraska (101-89) and UTEP (48-18) so it would seem like he would be an attractive candidate for almost any mid- or lower-tier program. Sadler’s move was actually part of a series of moves involving Kansas where Sadler was Director of Basketball Operations as the school brought in Jerrance Howard to replace Joe Dooley who left to take over a Florida Gulf Coast. The addition of Howard may actually be more important for the school as they are looking to Howard to help build on their recruiting as Cooley departure would have left a void in the program.

nvr1983 (1398 Posts)

This entry was posted on Monday, June 3rd, 2013 at 5:45 am by nvr1983 and is filed under morning 5, Regular Features. Tagged: doc sadler, houston, iowa state, jerrance howard, joseph young, kansas, oklahoma, shabazz muhammad. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.