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Million Dollar Programs

mk23

Senior
Dec 7, 2005
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Would it be totally unreasonable for the university to hire a couple of undercover dudes to police/stalk the players in each big-revenue program? I mean this AA thing really does hurt the chances the football program can FINALLY turn the corner of mediocrity. Why in the hell does it have to come out in the paper/tv before IU has any idea what the knucklehead is up to? Seems to me a well-placed set of eyes could have warned the idiot before the cops came knocking. I'd much rather head this stupidity off at the pass before our program becomes an even bigger national laughing stock.

Before someone comes crying this is a stupid/illegal idea, I ask that common sense take place. Don't even try to tell to me there wasn't a player or two on the team that didn't know this was going on but didn't know how to stop it.
 
Would it be totally unreasonable for the university to hire a couple of undercover dudes to police/stalk the players in each big-revenue program? I mean this AA thing really does hurt the chances the football program can FINALLY turn the corner of mediocrity. Why in the hell does it have to come out in the paper/tv before IU has any idea what the knucklehead is up to? Seems to me a well-placed set of eyes could have warned the idiot before the cops came knocking. I'd much rather head this stupidity off at the pass before our program becomes an even bigger national laughing stock.

Before someone comes crying this is a stupid/illegal idea, I ask that common sense take place. Don't even try to tell to me there wasn't a player or two on the team that didn't know this was going on but didn't know how to stop it.
He deserved to get caught and be stopped. This does not prevent us from becoming successful. Alabama has had 5 arrests this offseason and will keep chugging along.
 
That is a stupid and illegal idea. Much better to lose a player than the whole program by aiding and abetting felons.
 
While I know experience in the matter I am going to go out on a limb and speculate that if one is selling heroin, they must first advertise that they have heroin for sale. And when you can't advertise in the IDS or on the radio, one has to rely on word of mouth. You think anybody else associated with the program knew about this?
 
I refuse to believe that the loss of a single player will crumble the entire team.
IU is not a laughing stock in all of this. It's one guy who made an incredibly bad decision. He had plenty of other football offers. Not like IU was the only institution taking a risk. The school cannot control this anymore so than FSU can control the stupidity of Jameis Winston jumping up on tables in the student union.
Let's stop blaming everything but the person responsible. The victim mentality is alive and well in our society today.
We cannot babysit every troublemaker.
A set of people that have to warn a kid that what he is doing is dangerous and highly illegal?
He knows it.
 
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Yeah, on second thought, I guess I should have said I'd like to have seen a "football adviser" for lack of a better term, uncover this and kick his dumb arse off the team (and out of school) before the cops got to him. Again, I'd bet the ranch SOMEONE associated with the team in some capacity knew about this before it blew up. Sure seems like most corporate mis-steps are dealt with BEFORE the cops come calling. How is the business of big time college football any different?

And lastly, I'm not saying losing this knucklehead will wreck our defense (and our season), but there sure is proof losing just one player can have that effect. Anyone remember #7 going down last year? If attendance dips to 30,000 average when it could have been 50,000, that's a pretty substantial revenue hit. $6.3M sound about right?
 
I would argue that the loss of #7 to an injury last season was a different situation in that he was the hub of the entire offense and we had no trained backup to really step in for him and chart the course of a game by accurately moving the ball downfield.
The loss of a DB, while impactful, will not control the entire direction of the defense. And, we have others who have gained experience back there that it won't be like last season as their first rodeo.
Allen was good but not a one man wrecking crew. Losing Allen won't drop our attendance by 20k.
 
Allen was good and a hard hitter but what he excelled in against the run he lacked in pass coverage. Does it hurt us to lose him, of course but let's not put him too high on the pedestal. I said it before, the difference in great teams and the bad ones is depth. Mainly because you have these situations along with injuries and you need to be able to plug someone talented into that slot. Every team will go through this so its no different than Allen tearing an ACL. IU is still on track to do big things this year because Wilson has built a team of depth.
 
Yeah, on second thought, I guess I should have said I'd like to have seen a "football adviser" for lack of a better term, uncover this and kick his dumb arse off the team (and out of school) before the cops got to him. Again, I'd bet the ranch SOMEONE associated with the team in some capacity knew about this before it blew up. Sure seems like most corporate mis-steps are dealt with BEFORE the cops come calling. How is the business of big time college football any different?

And lastly, I'm not saying losing this knucklehead will wreck our defense (and our season), but there sure is proof losing just one player can have that effect. Anyone remember #7 going down last year? If attendance dips to 30,000 average when it could have been 50,000, that's a pretty substantial revenue hit. $6.3M sound about right?

Plus, the NCAA - in its "wisdom" - limits the amount of time a coach can even be in the intentiona; presence of his players. Coaches can't spend that time checking into what his kids are doing "off the field" - they gotta coach.

IF - and its a big IF, because I lay this problem at the feet of the kid and his family, or for folks who believe it, at the feet of his "village" - I worried about how this got past team knowledge before the arrest, I'd ask my team captains and team leaders how and why.

No doubt other players knew. You can't sell drugs in complete anonymity. And its pretty clear that some junkie who bought from him got caught and ratted him out - that how cops get video of a buy. So he wasn't doing it as a "one time thing."

All in all, football and college were not Allen's main focus, and he has problems (some really new and really biig) that make playing football pretty low on his "need to do" list.

If I was King of IU, and his coaches told me there was anything there worth helping to save, I'd put him on the "unable to play" list, let him continue to go to school on scholarship (assuming the courts allow/let him out), and see if he stills likes the thug life.
Half-a-breath of mis-step and I'd cut him off.

But as a society, we gotta start affirmatively trying to help black male kids born into poverty to avoid the cycle of "ignorance and prison" that is the main - the MAIN - likeliehood of that life. And state instituions are part of that.

Kicking a kid to the curb on his first mistake is not the way out.

Set a high bar.
Give them a chance to develop some character.

As a coach, he's out of the program "officially", but I might dangle a retrun in front of him privately, and run him til he pukes often enough to test his sincerity.

As a judge, I'd make the heroin dealer sit in recovery meetings, silent, identified as a dealer, and make them see their damage done. I'd take 'em to cemeteries where their best customers now live.

But all we do now is stick 'em in prison, make em meaner, and let em out.

Rant over.
 
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