University of Kentucky Men's Basketball -- 7th Edition

[WVRed]

Originally Posted by LexRedsFan

NCAA rules against fun, saying no TV or radio.

Uh....what? How is a team with no UK association under the jurisdiction of the NCAA? Isn't this like saying an NBA preseason game can't be on TV?

Here's what all Big Brother has handed down.

1. There can be no television or radio coverage of the event.

2. Joe B Hall is not allowed to be the coach of the “UK team”

3. Calipari is not allowed to invite the school’s former players to the game in order to honor them.

4. The team cannot be called the “UK legends”, instead having to be referred to as a generic group brought together to play the Dominican Republic.

I'd love to see colleges adopt the superconferences format proposed by Calipari, if nothing else than to see the NCAA crumble.

[Scrap Irony]

This is not going to help the perception that the NCAA is out to get UK.

It's also a stupid decision.

This is a fantastic idea by Calipari to celebrate Kentucky history. Only Calipari is actually an NCAA employee or need abide by NCAA rules. (How they rule that a retired coach cannot coach players with no eligibility to take away defies any common sense.)

I try to discuss rationally the NCAA and its decisions. However. this smacks of "revenge" for pointing out the stupidity of the former NCAA decision about Calipari's wins. It also makes it hard to defend that particular governing body.

Who does this hurt?

How does it help?

I just don't get it.

Truly stupid.

[Scrap Irony]

Just to review, the last three decisions by NCAA officials, as related to Kentucky:

1. Enes Kanter is denied eligibility in a decision that was derided by most reporters, media, and unbiased "experts" as unfair. The NCAA President claimed that every university knew he would be ineligible from the get-go, conveniently forgetting that Kanter verballed to his own university (with he as president).

2. NCAA win czar writes five-page letter about serious problem with Kentucky's win total and celebration of Calipari's 500th win. Stink ensues, with many UK fans taking to the 'net showing selective enforcement of win issue. NCAA denies selective enforcement charge, but refuses to take on other teams or demand apology for their "mistakes".

3. Now this.

Perhaps Kentucky fans have a point. At the very least, it looks like someone in the NCAA doesn't like Cal. At all. And is out to hammer him for every. little. thing. they can find.

The good news in this for UK fans is that this is all piddly, irritating crap. As hard as they seem to be looking, they can't seem to find anything.

[dabvu2498]

So they ended up having the exhibition game on TV? Too bad. That was some vintage NCAA bashing, all for naught.

[Scrap Irony]

Originally Posted by dabvu2498

So they ended up having the exhibition game on TV? Too bad. That was some vintage NCAA bashing, all for naught.

Remember, sports fans, former UK players could have jeopardized Kentucky's chances. Players with no ties to the university, save that they once played for it. And they weren't allowed to be "praised" or "honored" by the university, as that would also be a possible violation.

Meanwhile, Duke is able to play against another national team (China) on ESPN. They were allowed to play as Duke with Duke uniforms. On TV. With, I assume Mike K. coaching them.

I don't know if Duke was allowed to show their exhibition on their own television network. Kentucky wasn't. (A local channel covered the game with a makeshift announcing team and local network production values.)

The NCAA can go suck an egg.

It's still a remarkably stupid decision that smacks of favoritism.

[dabvu2498]

You forget that Eloy Vargas plays at UK?

[Hoosier Red]

Originally Posted by Scrap Irony

Remember, sports fans, former UK players could have jeopardized Kentucky's chances. Players with no ties to the university, save that they once played for it. And they weren't allowed to be "praised" or "honored" by the university, as that would also be a possible violation.

Meanwhile, Duke is able to play against another national team (China) on ESPN. They were allowed to play as Duke with Duke uniforms. On TV. With, I assume Mike K. coaching them.

I don't know if Duke was allowed to show their exhibition on their own television network. Kentucky wasn't. (A local channel covered the game with a makeshift announcing team and local network production values.)

The NCAA can go suck an egg.

It's still a remarkably stupid decision that smacks of favoritism.

Duke was playing their international trip. Doesn't every school do that once every 3 or 4 years?
I agree that the NCAA limiting the TV for UK's greats exhibitions seems silly. But let's not drag Duke into this. There are plenty of other opportunities for the NCAA to show them favoritism.

[Scrap Irony]

Originally Posted by dabvu2498

You forget that Eloy Vargas plays at UK?

Other team, dab. The one Calipari is coaching (and apparently NCAA kosher).

What business is it of the NCAA to say the former Kentucky players couldn't wear uniforms with Kentucky on them? Or be feted?

How can that make any sense at all to anyone?

As for Duke, should it matter where you're playing? If one team can't do it, why should another be allowed?

[dabvu2498]

Originally Posted by Scrap Irony

Other team, dab. The one Calipari is coaching (and apparently NCAA kosher).

What business is it of the NCAA to say the former Kentucky players couldn't wear uniforms with Kentucky on them? Or be feted?

How can that make any sense at all to anyone?

As for Duke, should it matter where you're playing? If one team can't do it, why should another be allowed?

I meant that Vargas' participation in this was more of a concern to the NCAA than the ex-UK guys.

Also, I'd say the fact that all this was thrown together in a couple weeks' time limited the NCAA's ability to review what was actually going on. Now if they hadn't allowed it to be televised at all or not allowed Hall to coach, that would have been silly. But I have no real issue with the NCAA keeping this from being an official university sanctioned event.

And let's not forget that 3 games (I think) from UK's official summer trip to Canada were allowed to be broadcast last year.

[Scrap Irony]

And that's the problem I have with it-- the arbitrary nature of the rules and how they're enforced.

Just so I know: how is celebrating former Kentucky players now in the pros, allowing them to wear a uniform that reads "Kentucky" on it, and allowing the state to watch said players on the BBN going to lead to highjinks down the road, dab?

I honestly can't see how it could. The NCAA doesn't have a dog in this fight, so what does it matter? Why would they stick their nose in the matter to begin with?

[Scrap Irony]

Originally Posted by dabvu2498

I meant that Vargas' participation in this was more of a concern to the NCAA than the ex-UK guys.

Vargas has been okayed to do this. There's never been a rule against an amateur player being on his home team's national team. I can't see how that has anything at all to do with this.

[dabvu2498]

Originally Posted by Scrap Irony

Vargas has been okayed to do this. There's never been a rule against an amateur player being on his home team's national team. I can't see how that has anything at all to do with this.

Do you think the NCAA would have allowed a publicized, televised, ticketed scrimmage between the current UK squad and the squad of UK pros?

Because Vargas' participation as a member of the DR team made the NCAA an issue at all. If neither he nor Cal (to a much, much, much lesser extent) is participating in this thing, then the NCAA has literally no say-so whatsoever.

And I'd still say the timing of the thing is why there wasn't more coverage available.

[dabvu2498]

On paper, the NCAA wants Kentucky to have the same advantageswith regards to their alumni as Kentucky State.

[WVRed]

Originally Posted by dabvu2498

I meant that Vargas' participation in this was more of a concern to the NCAA than the ex-UK guys.

Also, I'd say the fact that all this was thrown together in a couple weeks' time limited the NCAA's ability to review what was actually going on. Now if they hadn't allowed it to be televised at all or not allowed Hall to coach, that would have been silly. But I have no real issue with the NCAA keeping this from being an official university sanctioned event.

And let's not forget that 3 games (I think) from UK's official summer trip to Canada were allowed to be broadcast last year.

Two games were broadcast, one was a daytime game. They were on the Fox Regional network that I wouldn't have gotten to have seen but I was on vacation and visited family who had the game.

I have more of a problem with the game being broadcast on the Worldwide Leader.

[Scrap Irony]

Originally Posted by dabvu2498

Do you think the NCAA would have allowed a publicized, televised, ticketed scrimmage between the current UK squad and the squad of UK pros?

Because Vargas' participation as a member of the DR team made the NCAA an issue at all. If neither he nor Cal (to a much, much, much lesser extent) is participating in this thing, then the NCAA has literally no say-so whatsoever.

And I'd still say the timing of the thing is why there wasn't more coverage available.

Calipari has been okayed as coach of the DR team. Vargas has been okayed as a DR team participant. The NCAA has historically allowed those players free reign in who they play and whether or not it's on television. In fact, there haven't been much of any rules regarding this type of thing because the NCAA hasn't historically cared one way or another. Why the change now?

Again, what does it matter who that team plays? Who does this hurt? Who could it possibly help? No one.

Or, to put a bit of a historical spin on it, Christian Laettner, as a member of the original Dream Team, played exhibitions against pros and college teams alike. The college all-star team game was televised, and, as far as I know, no one on either team was declared ineligible. Mike K. was an assistant coach on that 92 team.

In 1996, Tim Duncan and other college all-stars played Dream Team III. Twice. On ABC. The NCAA had no problem with allowing those players to remain eligible.

In short, it doesn't matter that Vargas is a member of the UK team when he's playing for his national team. Or at least it doesn't matter for other teams. Why is it different here?