🏀 KuBuckets Archive

I dont know if it means anything at all. But thought it was interesting all the same.

My opinion stands. Diallo Will be cleared by season start!

link text ↗

@Lulufulu

"He was always made of glass! Selden sucks!!!"

Pretty bad blog. I smell some fake KU fans. Reddit really invites spoof posters because of the openness of being a general site.

I'm definitely not going to sweat anything I heard on reddit. Our Savior has had some problems in the past, but according to a source, KU compliance had a plan in place for dealing with this. Coach Self was obviously rather frustrated when his 2011 class was cut in half by eligibility issues, and he's been said to have vowed to never send papers to a kid that he wasn't sure he could get eligible again. We went through the same rigmarole with Adams the next year. Self didn't send him his grant in aid until he was sure Anrio would qualify. I think that's the reason Diallo wasn't totally finished with classes until after the 4th of July (ormally northeastern schools let out after Labor Day). My guess is Self knows what he's doing and it's going to be one of those things where Diallo gets cleared but not until the last possible moment, just like what happened with Rush and the Morris Twins.

Do you think, secretly, Mickelson is rooting for ineligibility here?

Here's another short article.

http://collegebasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/08/04/kansas-five-star-freshman-forward-cheick-diallo-still-waiting-to-be-cleared-to-play-by-ncaa/?ocid=Yahoo&partner=ya5nbcs ↗

@Lulufulu

This uncertainty regarding Diallo's eligibility that you have discovered and posted makes me view Self's use of Mickelson in the WUGs in South Korea in a new light.

It seems axiomatic that Self sharply increases players minutes only in anticipation of having to use them sharply more down the road.

Mickelson got an enormous bump in minutes at the WUG for a guy that was in the cryogenic ice most of last season.

Further, when the team went to the WUGs, there appeared no indication in advance that Mickelson was going to get big minutes--in particular such big minutes that Traylor wound up nearly on ice himself at times.

Self appeared determined to get Mickelson and Bragg a lot of work, but he was noticeably more committed to getting Mickelson extended minutes than Bragg.

Frankly, the style of play the team used, especially inside, in South Korea appeared rather tailored around Mickelson's strengths and weaknesses.

But back then, heavy reliance on Mickelson just seemed simplest to explain as expedience in the absence of Diallo for the WUGs. We were temporarily short handed, because the regs did not allow Diallo to participate.

But now it is reputed that significant uncertainty about Diallo's eligibility exists this coming season. In turn, Self's heavy use of Mickelson appears to make more sense as something other than a stop gap measure.

Self at least appears to have been hedging on whether Diallo would be eligible or not.

Self apparently already knew what Lucas and Traylor could do, given he had developed them considerably two seasons. The team already knew how to play BAD BALL with Lucas and Traylor and their limitations. The real question facing the team, then, was: how might the team play something other than (or more likely in addition to) BAD BALL this coming season, under one of two possible scenarios--Diallo eligible, and Diallo ineligible.

The answer to the question, in retrospect, appears to have been to see if an offense like the one we witnessed could work with Mickelson playing big minutes as a scrambling, keep it alive type of garbage man big--the same kind of big, only better, that Diallo would be if he were ruled eligible.

The idea was to play the kind of offense inside that Self hoped to play if Diallo were available--a scrambling, keep it alive offense inside working off quick field goal opportunities--and offense that both Diallo and Mickelson, or only Mickelson could play, too.

If Diallo were ruled eligible, then Self would be two deep at 5 playing this kind of post in the paint.

If Diallo were ruled ineligible, then Self would have created an alternative way for the team to play that could make use of Mickelson for stretches of games this coming season and give this year's team another offensive look than just Bad Ball.

So: how did this new offense work?

Answer: PDW--pretty damn well.

I suspect there must be significant risk that Diallo will not be eligible, or Mickelson may not have been added to the rotation. Self might have gone another route.

I suspect that Self's failure to sign a legitimate footer type five also fed into all of this. Failing to sign a footer for the 5, and there being some risk that Diallo would have to sit, made Mickelson even more worth developing.

And if there were some risk of Diallo not becoming eligible, then Self would likely also view there would be considerable likelihood that Diallo would simply jump to the NBA at the end of the coming season, rather than come back.

And that's where Colby comes in. Colby can work with the team this season, and be developed to play some next season, if the apparent embargo continues to make OAD and 5-star bigs scarcer than Ron Paul if there turns out to be no currency crisis.

I suspect the risk regarding Diallo's eligibility has been known quite awhile.

Heck, what if Self and Hunter decided Hunter did not need to transfer for PT, precisely because of this situation?

@HighEliteMajor

I think Traylor & Lucas might be doing the same prayer dance as well.

Hopefully they are just dreams..

@HighEliteMajor naaaah

@konkeyDong said:

Coach Self was obviously rather frustrated when his 2011 class was cut in half by eligibility issues, and he’s been said to have vowed to never send papers to a kid that he wasn’t sure he could get eligible again

Coach Self has never before felt such sustained effects of an apparent domestic OAD/5-Star Big Man drought/embargo, as this season.

What you say above makes a lot of sense under conditions when Self has credible D1 Elite Major players to fall back on

But presently, Coach Self has at the 5 two projects and a transfer that was not wanted at Arkansas, for a second straight season.

We love these three guys for their hearts and gameness, but they would not be threats to join the rotations of UK, or Duke, this season, even during what some are calling UK's and Duke's "down" seasons.

This is getting scary. Like walking thin ice two winters in a row and now anticipating some risk of having to do it a third.

In a pinch, Self could slide 4-star freshman Carlton Bragg to the 5, but that would be asking rather a lot of freshman Bragg base on what we saw in Sur Korea; i.e., to be the anchor rebounder, post defender and rim protector as a freshman muscling against blue meanie upper classmen in the Big 12 of the kind Tough Tubbie and Tougher Trent use on green wood. And those are just the cellar dwellers of the Big 12.

Were it not for a 5-star in-stater, Designing Perry Ellis, imagine the hives Self would have entering this season.

And Self is nothing if not a forward looking (and planning) fellow.

Knowing that he struck out on signing any grade of footer this past season, and knowing that Perry, Hunter and Traylor are gone for sure after this season, and Lucas and transfer Colby are it for next season, imagine the pressure on Self to sign Diallo even just for some sizzle alone, but also for the long shot chance he might mind control Diallo into come back, if DIallo were ruled ineligible this coming season.

The season after this coming season increasingly appears to be the REAL nightmare scenario everyone was hand wringing about maybe happening this coming season.

Tally up the birds in the bush likely and then recall the difficulty Self has had signing domestic OADs and 5-stars--the kinds Self would have to sign for even a modicum of immediate relief in the paint--and think about that paint rotation.

Pardon me while I apply some steroidal cream to my hives.

Blockades and embargoes work slowly.

They often appear to be unsuccessful early on and for quite awhile.

Blockade runners find ways to break through and the break throughs are celebrated and keep the attention off the accruing long term effects of the blockade.

But eventually the adverse effects of blockade are felt.

@wissoxfan83

A couple of things about that write-up:

1. "“I don’t anticipate this being cleared up in the near future,” Self told Dodd." - I'm curious what Self considers "near future?" For me... "near future" means between now and our season opener. That means, in the least, Cheick isn't running with the first team and will get behind for the year.

2. "Diallo’s AAU coach, Terrence “Munch” Williams, ..." - I'm wondering what it would be like to go out to dinner with Terrance "Munch" Williams and Jerrance "Snacks" Howard? Pretty obvious it would be a huge mistake to put "Munch" with "Snacks" at the same dinner table... and if either has a brother nicknamed "More"... it could spell real trouble!

@jaybate-1.0

"Pardon me while I apply some steroidal cream to my hives."

Sounds like a case of the heebeegeebees!

!Hee-Bee-Gee-Bees-Meaningless-Songs-423488.jpg ↗

!HeeBeeGeeBees_-_Web.jpg ↗

!63137555.jpg ↗

@drgnslayr I didn't like the sound of Self's quote to be honest.

@drgnslayr

I believe the thread was just KU fans being sarcastic...

• Just wait until Selden breaks a nail in scrimmage. It'll be MELTDOWN time.
• Do you think we'll have to amputate? Is his career over? He was always made of glass! Selden sucks!!!
• I smell frontal lobotomy. It's doom!

No question they were making fan of how much the Diallo issue is being blown out or proportion...in the slow days of Summer.

I consider this a big problem. I was 100% sure that BMac would be cleared to play his freshman year. I was 100% sure that Cliff would only sit out a few games last year. It is really scary. If he is ok to play it shouldn't even be a discussion. I'm very concerned as Diallo is a starter for this team if he plays to his billing.

@drgnslayr

Well, you can tell by the way that I wait to sign

I'm an ineligible man: no time to talk

Shoe lean loud but agent not, I've been kicked around

Since I was hot

And now it's all right, it's OK

NCAA may look the other way

We can try to understand

ESPN's effect on man

Whether you're a brother or his mother

You're stayin' alive, stayin' alive

Eligibility breakin' and everybody shakin'

And we're givin'em hives, givin'em hives

Ah, ha, ha, ha, givin'em hives,

Ah, ha, ha, ha, givin'em hives...

Well now, I fly high and I fly low

And if I can't do either, I say I'm set to go

Got three stripes of adidas on my shoes

I'm a jammin' man and I just can't lose

You know it's all right, it's ok

I'll live to play in the NBA

We can try to understand

ESPN's effect on man...

Bee Gees - Stayin' Alive Lyrics adapted by BeeBate 1.0

Beebate

!image.jpg ↗

@Crimsonorblue22

Howling!

Yes, I confess, I once wore my collar outside my coat.

But it was not a white suit.

Still, it would take a lot of therapy for me to admit what color of suit it was.

The power of disco was strong, Luke, and the force of it took me away from the path of Bob Dylanesque righteousness for a time.

Its alright, its okay,

Bob took a few missteps

Along the way...too.

Diallo is gonna get cleared. Its my Mantra from now on.

@jaybate-1.0

Holy $#&%!

I need my diaper changed.... NURSE?!

How about I blow off the dust on my old Fender Strat and you start writing more lyrics? There is already a band called "The Jayhawks" so how about....

S L A Y J A Y !

I'm psyched to put on some platform shoes again and grab a microphone!

Do you play an instrument?

Maybe our first gig can be LATE NIGHT!

Well isn't this page a freakin' bit of doom and gloom.

@jaybate-1.0's post about Mickelson above is terrific analysis. Very well done. Me like Mick.

@HighEliteMajor

The world evolves in mysterious ways.

It could turn out that Hunter Mickelson holds the fate of the team in his keep-it-alive, ball tipping hands!!!!!!

From cryo-ice to KU's crucial piece of Self's first shoot first and tip team.

Rock Chalk!!!

A bit of update on the Diallo situation.

It's his school that is being evaluated.

He isn't the only player from his team that hasn't been cleared. Damon Wilson Jr # 81 in ESPN top 100 has not been cleared to play for Pittsburgh either.

Davon Dillard 4* player who recently signed with Oklahoma St and Diallo's teammate was just cleared yesterday by the NCAA. Dillard however only spent his Sr season at Our Savior & there is rumor that his transcript was a mess.
-Positive news if 1 of the players has been cleared.

We know its not a question of Diallo's grades or his intelligence but rather if the school provided the necessary classes over his career there to make him eligible. You would have to think that no matter if you spent 1 year or 4 years at the school, that it would make no difference in your eligibility. Dillard attends 1 year and gets cleared but Diallo does if I'm right 4 and is being questioned. Hopefully its the fact that his information has just recently been sent to the NCAA & his recent completion of 2 summer courses at KU that is delaying a decision.

I'm more optimistic after the news of Dillard being cleared and Diallo not being the only 1 singled out.

@BeddieKU23

I really don't understand why athletes are put to a stricter standard than normal students. If Kansas admissions have given Cheick the green light why isn't that good enough? The university evaluates all his classwork and judges each class he took against a required core necessary and if some classes are not considered "equivalent" then he will be required to take the equivalent most likely as a non-credit class at Kansas.

Perhaps the NCAA believes that schools let athletes slip through at a lower standard so they want to monitor this?

@drgnslayr

I don't understand it either but when does anything that the NCAA does make any sense.

Apparently a school doesn't have the final say in whether a kid goes there or not. Its definitely micro managing at its best and the only possible reason I can see that Athlete's get this extra attention is to ensure that schools are not accepting them based solely on their athletic ability.

What if Jimmy slips the KU admin department a few Benjamin's to look the other way at someone's grade or this or that and they accept him. Obviously just a hypothetical but its probably the reason why the NCAA overseas athletes eligibility to ensure schools follow the rules in accepting these guys. It will be truly sad if the NCAA has a negative ruling with Diallo because its certainly not his fault that his school may not be up "standards". I'm certainly more optimistic he will be eligible then I was a week ago but time will tell..

@BeddieKU23

But then... I look at a school like UNC... and then I understand why this must be necessary. If they were willing to create a system where athletes breeze through classes, they would surely loosen the standards for incoming freshmen athletes, too.

On the Bee Gees thing .. when I was a kid, an older kid called them the BJs. I was like "no it's the Bee Gees." The older kid said "no, their gay, it's the BJs." Still didn't make sense to me. And then one day it did. And once that makes sense to you, well, you're no longer really a kid.

@HighEliteMajor

I didn't relate to the BeeGees back then. I was more of a hard rock kid. Sometimes it takes aging to recognize that other people have talent, whether it is your style or not. Plus... as you age you tend to soften up on everything that comes from your prime time youth!

I remember cleaning out my closet several decades ago... throwing out my bell bottom pants, flaming suits and platform shoes. Wish I hadn't done that! And what I couldn't wear today (because of added pounds), I could always sell online or to a vintage store. That stuff is worth premium dollars today!

@drgnslayr love to see a pic!😳

@Crimsonorblue22

Not going to happen... I'm not exactly proud of my current physical condition and it wouldn't visually improve just by adding glitzy old 60s/70s attire. I run from cameras today! Yikes!

@drgnslayr I meant an old one.😉

@drgnslayr

Actually it is the opposite. Most every schools have outreach programs that allow them to admit students that would not normally qualify and the only chance of succeeding in college is taking a reduced classwork with heavy tutoring. The NCAA wants to make sure that student-athletes are capable of carrying a minimum class load in addition to the time and effort required by the sport, since it is a requirement to remain eligible. Many athletes take summer classes to compensate for the reduced class load taken during the regular school terms.

If I recall correctly, this is part of the problem at SMU where individuals that normally would not qualify were admitted by virtue of being athletes and then the NCAA said...we don't think so...private school are free to admit pretty much any one they want.

@BeddieKU23

The school has the final say on whether to admit a student or not; the NCAA cannot and does not tell schools who they can or cannot admit. However, the NCAA does have the final say on whether that student can participle in NCAA sanctioned sports.

@JayHawkFanToo

I'm thinking it is the Kansas Board of Regents that determine admission guidelines for all State-funded universities.. of which Kansas is a member.

http://www.kansasregents.org/academic_affairs/qualified_admissions ↗

@drgnslayr

Yes, that is the case 98% of the time and applicable to the majority of candidates. However, all schools have outreach programs that allow student that otherwise would not qualify to be admitted under hardship conditions; many athletes are accepted under these programs.

@BeddieKU23 Yah! I was feeling like the NCAA is singling out KU here. How many times has this happened to us in the past 5 years?? Too many. Too many.
How many times has Kentucky ever had a player NOT be eligible to play in that same time frame?
None that I can remember. Speaking of that, is Skal eligible yet?

@Lulufulu

There has been little word on him, almost like its just going to sweep under the rug while Diallo is making headlines not being eligible. Not that I think UK does anything illegal because they have been on the wrong side of luck before (Kanter) but Skal's eligibility issues have been talked about a lot more but I have not seen anything recent on him.

@Lulufulu

It looks that way but all schools have the same issues when it comes to student-athletes; we are just more familiar with those associated with KU. Unfortunately, not all student-athletes are like Perry Ellis, Valedictorian of his HS class. A good number of the top recruits (obviously not all) are academically marginal since they see their future in pro-sports and academics come second. The basic NCAA requirement are not particularly high at all and the average HS graduate should not have any problem meeting them.

@BeddieKU23 Yeah, Kanter. Almost forgot about him.
Either way, Diallo WILL get cleared. I know it. I just hope its before October.
We've had to wait on Selby,Anrio Adams, the Twins?, Ben, Traylor, did we have to wait on
Embiid or Wiggs? Now we wait on Diallo. It just seems like KU is being picked on while Duke, UNC, UK and others get passes way more than we do.

@BeddieKU23

Skal issues are not related to grades, they involve his guardian asking AU coaches how to make money with or off Skal. Skal's guardian created a school where he played basketball (basically a traveling basketball team) but his coursework was done at a regular school.

@BeddieKU23

With Duke they aren't going to have a lot of acadamic issues because of their strict admission standards.

What standards?
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/collegesports/2008/11/05/stanford-vs-duke-basketball-the-difference-in-admissions-standards/ ↗

@JayHawkFanToo

I didn't know that... thanks for the info!

@BeddieKU23 Jay Bilas has been defending Diallo and ripping on the NCAA over this issue on Twitter. He was also bringing up how ridiculous it is because it doesn't really do anything except delay a student-athlete's college playing career by an extra year. Makes the kid pay for something that was out of his hands too.

@BeddieKU23 crap, I edited your post by mistake.

@approxinfinity 💩

@drgnslayr

Damn that would be fun, but I've tried song writing and I'm not for real. I can do parodies of lyrics easily, but my from scratch stuff leaves something to be desired.

I would still like for you to dust the Strat off and lay down some licks on an mpeg file, or whatever is used now, and attach to a thread here so we could hear some REAL guitar playing. Too much guitar playing with empty ball sacks these days.

We'll call it: The 'Slayr Sessions.

@jaybate-1.0

Yeah... it would be REAL... REAL BAD! Might make you forget about BAD BALL!

@BeddieKU23

Way to stiff screen those pencil necks!!!!!!

So many people don't get that private schools get to set their standards any way they flipping like. They can let moronic legacies in. They can let dumb jocks in. They can let the Dean's 16 year old mistress in to keep her from spilling the statutory beans on the Dean and school.

Nothing is sacred at these private schools, except the "appearance" of high standards.

The reality is whatever they want it to be.

I accidentally edited Beddie's post and dogged Duke. Sorry again, @BeddieKU23. I'm on phone today and screwed the pooch on that one.

@jaybate-1.0 preach on, brother. It's imperative to dispel the holier-than-thou Duke myth whenever it's presented as matter of fact.

@approxinfinity

Let me hear an AMEN!

@approxinfinity

done it before no problemo

@BeddieKU23 Nice find! Holy cow, I could get into Duke with my eyes closed. Those testing requirements are a joke. Here I thought that Duke was pretty close to an IVY league school...guess I was wrong.

@Makeshift I saw one of Bilas' tweets about Diallo. Thought it was cool coming from a Dookie and someone with a huge bias towards Nike and the east coast.

@jaybate-1.0

"Let me hear an AMEN!"

[link text](

I want to stay positive about Diallo. Since he is from Mali, since he likes to BALL, Change Miss to Mister and we find out that Little Richard is a Jayhawk fan.

Could Mickelson be this year's Rodrick Stewart?

Let me explain.

In 2007-2008, Rush comes back but needs time to complete recovery from an ACL injury. Instead of shifting his best remaining players around, Self just plugs Rodrick Stewart into Rush's place in the rotation.

Sure, Stewart is no Rush and will not shoot lots of 3s, but he allows Self to keep his basic offensive and defensive schemes and keep the other players in their normal roles.

When Rush comes back, Self unplugs Stewart and plugs in Rush with minimal adjustments.

Now this year, Self expects / hopes that Diallo will be available to play this year, but maybe not right away. In case there is a delay in clearing Diallo, how can Self avoid having to prepare two different teams: the one with Diallo and the one without?

The "Stewart method" would be to plug in the player who can best substitute for Diallo, while keeping everybody else in the same roles. Enter Mickelson, a guy who can block, keep the ball alive on both ends and score cleanup baskets.

Mickelson can play the Diallo role better than Lucas, whose strength is knowing Self's system, and Traylor, who is more of a stretch 4 (or shrink 3).

The bad news for Mickelson in this comparison: when Rush came back, Stewart went from starter to deep freeze - I mean completely out of the rotation.

@Lulufulu said:

It just seems like KU is being picked on while Duke, UNC, UK and others get passes way more than we do.

There appears a cascade effect involved.

KU signs with Adidas.

Adidas reputedly has fewer power summer league teams and Adidas leaning players to recruit.

Adidas KU signs a few top players, but not as many as top Nike programs.

Self moves toward signing guys that have gone to multiple high schools due to the phenomenon of closing schools; this leads to more delays in NCAA and B12 clearance; top Nike programs can sign fewer of these, because of larger recruiting base.

Self tries picking up more transfers and also some OADs from imploding programs. This works for a time, but then the NCAA appears to shift away from disciplining programs and toward using delayed "clearance" process to deal with recruiting abuses. At the same time, more coaches engage in Self's transfer signing tactic so transfers to KU plateau. Further, OADs from imploding programs dry up, as rising reliance on clearance process lessens frequency of programs imploding from NCAA infractions. And later disciplined programs like Syracuse hardly appear to skip a beat in recruiting, nor suffer wide spread transfers, as a result of infractions. Further more coaches appear to embrace OAD signing. Net Self has fewer transfers, fewer OADS from imploding programs, and more competition for fewer nonNike OADs.

Self appears to resort to signing still more players from multi high school backgrounds, which means longer clearance times.

Running out of moves to end run a shrunken recruiting base coinciding with signing with Adidas, Adidas appears to get more aggressive about signing top endorsement talent in the NBA with huge deals; awareness of these new huge deals appears to filter down to Nike lean recruits and encourages some to shift brand leans and consider Adidas college programs to better position for post college shoe deals.

Adidas-KU and Adidas-Self sign certain superstar and reputed early Nike lean Wiggins away from Nike programs AND sign potential superstar Embiid--a reputed foreign Nike lean to Nike Florida and Nike Donovan.

These signings of Wigs and Embiid might be viewed as an Adidas program poaching Nike leans--two potentially huge future endorser-type players.

Apparent Nike long stacks start.

2-3 OAD/TAD Adidas program rosters suddenly then at competitive disadvantage with 4-10 draft choice stacks.

Rick Pitino reputedly notes agent and agent runner mechanism for channeling some players toward some schools with some brands, as well as some reputed asymmetry in recruiting pools related to brands.

Self appears to counter apparent long stack strategy with pursuit and signing more foreign players with complicated school backgrounds. More clearance delays.

Apparent Long stack strategy quickly modified to apparent medium stack strategy apparently perhaps to get broader stack coverage of conferences and lower profile of stacking strategy and reduce appearance of unfairness.

Adidas-KU struggles more and more to sign top players. KU's reliance on recruits from complicated academic backgrounds rises. More clearance problems.

The above is speculation and opining and hypothesizing on appearances by a layman fan without insider knowledge of actual recruiting. No conspiracies are expressed or implied. All is assumed to be legal, or part of regulatory grey areas. Your take may differ and be just as possibly correct. More and more we need credible pro journalists with resources to dig in.

@ParisHawk

"Now this year, Self expects / hopes that Diallo will be available to play this year, but maybe not right away. In case there is a delay in clearing Diallo, how can Self avoid having to prepare two different teams: the one with Diallo and the one without?"

Great insight!

The good news for Mickelson is that every minute of PT he gets, it helps build his stat line. He really needs to pen in some numbers on the stat line for his attempt to jump to the next level after Kansas... Int'l ball.

I think he definitely opened up some doors after his performance in WUG. Foreign players and coaches will remember him, and he has some prime footage for helping him get noticed in other countries.

And who is to say that he couldn't be a positive if Cheick never qualifies?

@drgnslayr Just listened to a podcast with Jesse Newell and Jason King from B/R. Spoke on this very topic. Self shouldn't have to vary his approach too much, Mickelson can fill in nicely for Diallo and it is still too early in the season to worry about it. Jesse also spoke on the significance of Bilas' support for Diallo to get cleared. Thats basically it in a nutshell.

I agree. I think its still too early to be concerned. Coach can still plan ahead for both teams, with and without Diallo. Mickelson is the better option if we dont have Diallo to start the season, Which We Should!! Its madness. I hope Bilas continues to push for Diallo to get cleared.

@drgnslayr He's gonna qualify.

@Lulufulu

I don't know what to believe in the news....

But... I believe YOU! He is going to qualify!

I have seen some recent chatter on Kobie Eubanks being ineligible again to attend Alabama because of his credits from Our Savior not being accepted.. Jerry Meyer has "reliable" source that this is in fact what is the problem for him. And further commented on how this doesn't look good for Diallo. While I believe he's assuming the part of Diallo from Eubanks situation with the school ties he doesn't offer any direct knowledge of Diallo's current situation other than assumption by association

@BeddieKU23

Uh-oh.

The scariest part about this is that KE did an extra year of HS because of the uncertainty at that time and STILL was not cleared. He originally was part of the 2014 class and reclassified to 2015 because of the eligibility concerns. Yikes.

@RockkChalkk

If KE is in fact ineligible again there really has to be some incompetent people that haven't steered this kid to right avenues to be eligible. Missing 1 year happens, but missing another after going to prep school and not being eligible just seems unfair. The guidelines for getting his eligibility should have been clearly layed out for this kid by both the NCAA & whatever school he attended to work on these issues. I know I would be upset if this happened to my child/me.

@BeddieKU23 Just saw this.

The Crimson Tide's going to have an interesting and challenging 2015-16, and now we know the journey will commence without four-star 2015 prospect Kobie Eubanks, who was not cleared in time for the start of the academic year. As such, he will not play hoops in Tuscaloosa. Eubanks, who was the best incoming freshman Alabama had, did not get the go-ahead from the NCAA after it reviewed his transcripts from Delray Beach, Fla.'s Elev8 Sports Institute in addition to his previous marks at prior stops in high school.

Eubanks originally was a Baylor commitment, then backed off that last November because initial issues with his transcripts prompted a reclassification from the class of 2014 to the class of 2015. In mid-June Eubanks pledged to Bama under its new, Johnson-led regime.

Prior to playing at Elev8, Eubanks was a student at Our Savior New American School, which is based in Long Island, N.Y. A fellow 2015 prospect, Kansas five-star big man Cheick Diallo, also attended the school. Diallo has yet to be cleared by the NCAA to play at KU.

Eubanks' time at American Heritage High School, in Plantation, Fla., has also been a big factor in precluding the prospect from gaining eligibility.

This guy had MANY places that were at play in his eligibility.

So, did Avery Johnson know, or should he have known?

Perhaps the lengthy and misguided discussion on the Diallo foreign schooling now would appear irrelevant.

Diallo attended American Heritage, which is causing Eubanks trouble. And Diallo's recent school, Our Savior, is having its coursework reviewed by the NCAA.

Knew or should have known. It's like a contractor securing scaffolding on a construction site -- he either knew the set up was bad, or he should have known (based on his expertise in the area). If there was no way to know, that's one thing. But when you're involved in recruiting -- at its very core -- it's your job to know.

If we lose Diallo the world does not come to an end. Far, far from it. We are still a national title contender. But now we can expect bad news, prepare for it, but be surprised by good news. Either way, we're a bad ass team.

@HighEliteMajor

Diallo went to American Heritage? was that a typo?

@BeddieKU23 Yes, typed fast and brain cramped .. Eubanks went to Our Savior, where Diallo went, and that coursework is being reviewed by the NCAA. Thanks for noting my idiocy.

Apparently they were not able to get him admitted to Alabama, regardless of the wait for the NCAA to clear him...which it has yet to do; Diallo on the other hand has been admitted to KU and has already taken classes in the Summer and is currently enrolled for the Fall. Looks like two different situations. If I recall correctly Eubanks attended Our Savior only one year and there is chance that those his only good classes and his previous school, where he did the bulk of ho work, is more likely the culprit.

Having said that...it is not that simple...

A prospective student-athlete must complete his or her core-curriculum requirements not later than the high school graduation date of the prospective student-athlete’s class [as determined by the first year of enrollment in high school (ninth grade) or the international equivalent…]. Graduation from high school or secondary school shall be based on the prospective student-athlete’s prescribed educational path in his or her country.

This generally means that a prospect must have finished the NCAA’s 16 require core courses by the time he or she finishes high school. A prospect’s GPA is also more or less locked in based on classes completed before graduation.

There is one exception. An athlete may take up to one core course after graduation, provided he or she graduates on time and completes the extra credit within one year. That could be one year of a course or one semester each of two courses. Athletes who do not graduate on time are not allowed to use this exception.

So, and as I understand, the additional year will get you only one more NCAA required core class and as I read, students that stay the extra year do it to raise their GPAs to compensate for low SAT/ACT score.

The link that @HighEliteMajor provided before lists the NCAA approved classes for every school; if a student chooses to take courses not approved, he has no one to blame but himself. Any prospect that does know this is the equivalent of a smoker that claims he does not know smoking causes cancer.

@JayHawkFanToo probably the ho work! Couldn't resist!!

@Crimsonorblue22

LOL. Good thing I was not drinking coffee otherwise I would need a new keyboard, :)

@HighEliteMajor

I was getting confused that I had missed something with Diallo's schooling. It was in no attempt to call you out we all have brain camps from time to time.

Regardless of the slow paper shuffling of the NCAA I wonder how the Big 12 will rule on Diallo's transcripts. The league did not rule in favor of incoming freshmen McLemore, Anderson and Traylor.

@REHawk The big 12 only rules if Diallo is a "partial qualifier", meaning either ACT or GPA was not OK.

@ParisHawk

You are correct. Because the ACT is a lot more difficult to manipulate, many prospects were getting low scores in the entrance tests and thus the NCAA now uses a formula so a high GPA will compensate (up to point) for low ACT/SAT score. This is one of the reason some prospects go an extra year to prep school, not necessarily to get core classes that they might already have, but to raise the GPA so it can compensate for the low ACT/SAT score they cannot touch.

@Lulufulu Sooooo. should we all brace for not having Diallo this season?

Since Eubanks was deemed ineligible and not allowed to enroll at Bama AND went to the same school as Diallo.
Is it just a matter of time before the NCAA brings the hammer down on KU and Diallo?

Maybe I was wrong to think that Cheick would get cleared.

@Lulufulu

It's not as simple as you think but at the moment we have to be at least aware that he could be ruled ineligible. At this point until a ruling or some concrete evidence comes out, we are all just speculating what's real and what's really happening with him.

As far as Eubanks, Alabama does not allow students to enroll if they are not eligible (which apparently KU does) but at the same time Eubanks is claiming its his ACT score that is the holdup & the NCAA is still currently looking into it. Maybe he receives good word and is let into school but unlike Diallo who has already been cleared by KU admissions and has been taking classes for over a month in College, Eubanks has not been allowed to do anything.

I never thought we would spend our summers dissecting eligibility concerns but here we are, struck again by the NCAA's umbilical cord

@Lulufulu

Eubanks was not deemed ineligible by the NCAA, he simply has not been cleared yet.

@BeddieKU23

Being found eligible by the NCAA and being admitted by a school are not related, If eligibility by the NCAA would be a requirement then every student would have to be cleared by the NCAA, obviously this is not the case. Eubanks clearly did not have the grades to be accepted to Alabama regardless of NCAA clearing him or not, period; school do have some minimum requirements for admission. If the Alabama would not take him, chances are the NCAA will not clear him either...so JuCo...or China... here we go...