I can't believe he was cleared.
His handler built a HS team around him, literally. Doesn't seem even remotely fair.
Report: Labissiere ruled eligible by NCAA ↗
Meanwhile... we wait while the NCAA delays Diallo while they try to translate letters written in Bambara.
@drgnslayr Maybe UK's alumni have bigger cans of grease for the NCAA gears than we have.
Everything reported was hearsay though. And they must have not have found the money trail to prove anything really did happen. You have what looks to be a situation where a kid from a poor upbringing was allegedly being taken advantage of, its hard to want to punish a kid for no apparent wrong-doing. I'm glad the NCAA didn't overstep its bounds in this situation.
As far as Diallo, even if the result is negative, KU is likely to exhaust its options appealing which could take even longer. I still think that they are currently already appealing a negative decision which necessitated the additional info from Mali. Maybe I'm wrong, but I've already prepared myself for the worst. Self has been coy in the past or not forthcoming about these situations before. We don't know all the details, we may never get all of them.
It will be a sham if Diallo gets punished
Imagine my complete lack of shock at Lab getting cleared in a context of what occasionally appears like a Nike/Cal/Westley/Rose/CAA/NCAA/SEC/ESPN complex, whether or not it actually is.
@drgnslayr Again, I say this is outrageous! Its down right twisted and criminal. Skal didnt even go to a real school!! How does he get cleared and the multilingual Diallo doesnt? Its just not right.
Idiot Skal kid should have stayed on the urine soaked streets of Haiti.
@Lulufulu Not cool and not appropriate. If you want to put someone on blast, put Skal's handler on blast for being as shady as hell. Don't rip a kid that's been through more hardship in his life than you could imagine and wants to try and give himself and his family a better life.
You do realize that Skal is also multi lingual, right? Also, he attended a regular school for academics and the one his handler created for sports since he was not cleared to play in the regular school due to his transfer; this is why he did not have problems with his HS record and transcripts, his issue is related to his handler trying to make money off him...much like Cam Newton's father did.
@Texas-Hawk-10 Im not apologizing for my opinion. I rarely rock the boat here, I think I get one free pass. Skal does retain some blame though for having said shady handler, manager, coach, what have you.
@JayHawkFanToo The school his "handler" created for sports...yah Im sure thats a stellar program, totally focused on legally accredited classes. Pardon my skepticism.
Man that Nike money must be laced in gold. As everybody knows the American dollar is worthless.
"Everything reported was hearsay though"
I'm definitely not against Lab.
But how does that work? It is a matter of record that his handler developed a team/league for him to play in. Who sponsored that? If it isn't sanctioned with approval from the NCAA like AAU and HS ball is, why isn't the entire thing considered a benefit? It is definitely a benefit on many levels. Who paid for their uniforms, gym rentals, shoes, cost of transportation to and from, probably hotel rooms somewhere, etc.?
Did you not read my post? Labissiere took ALL of his classes at a regular school and ONLY played basketball for the made up school since because of his transfer he was deemed ineligible to play basketball for the school where he did his academic work.
Again, the made up school where he played basketball did not offer any classes, only a basketball team...and not very good at that. This is why he did not have NCAA problems with his academic school work.
It is a very bizarre case, it seemed that the one guy that whistle-blowed on the situation (saying his handler was shopping him for money) was in fact the guy that was interested in getting involved and shopping Skal for money if that makes sense.
The nature of the fake team & just all the rumors & reports certainly implied some guilt on someone's part. It makes it easier to be frustrated when we have our own situation that hasn't been resolved. It won't feel right if Skal is eligible & Diallo is not regardless of how different their situations are.
@JayHawkFanToo Ok, thanks for clearing that up. I still smell a rat though.