What’s wrong with college basketball?
THIS IS REALLY GOOD. You’ll see, even though it is “anonymous”, it’s still not 100% accurate… but it’s pretty good. Coaches will still be self-serving and self protective even when being anonymous. It’s as close as I’ve seen to the “truth” though.
By Dana O’Neil ESPN.com
The image of college basketball has taken a beating in recent years, with rumors, murmurs and innuendo about cheating spreading like wildfire. Cynics believe no one is trying to follow the NCAA rulebook and that the game has fallen victim to the begging hands of agents, runners and hangers-on looking to collect on the next NBA star.
Is it that bad? What are the real problems? And is the NCAA doing enough to fix those problems?
To get the answers, ESPN.com went to the sources. During the EYBL Peach Jam last week, we interviewed 20 high-profile head coaches, representing each of the six power conferences. With the promise of full anonymity, we asked them to tell the truth about their sport.
And they did.
What is your least favorite part of summer recruiting?
No one likes the constant travel, the bad basketball and the emphasis on individual skills instead of team play.
Coaches travel everywhere to watch high school kids in July, but can’t keep an eye on their own.
But of the coaches surveyed, many — eight of the 20 — cited the time away from campus and their own players as the biggest problem with the summertime.
“I have my team over for a barbecue before I leave in July,” one coach said. “Little do they know it’s a farewell, not a welcome barbecue.”
“You walk into a living room and promise a mother that you’ll be there for her son,” said another. “And as soon as they get on campus, you’re gone.”
“They’re all on campus and I’m on the road,” added another. “If they do something stupid, I’m going to get fired — but I can’t be there to see what they’re doing.”
Some other popular grievances:
“What don’t I like? All of it. I don’t think there should be summer recruiting, period. They want to clean it up? Get rid of it.”
“I’ll tell you another problem — 70 percent of the kids we’re sitting here watching should be in summer school. They shouldn’t be here.”
“What don’t I like about summer? Everything. The babysitting, the ass-kissing. Does that cover it?”
