2018 LSU Basketball Thread (7 Viewers)

Since the Will Wade situation involved the FBI investigation, I'll post some snippets from an article on The Athletic, which is a subscription site. The article sheds light on the trial and what has come out of it. Will Wade is never mentioned in the article.

NEW YORK — Federal prosecutors have long promised to shed light upon the sordid underbelly of college basketball. And on Thursday, they did just that.

The government used secretly recorded videos of various meetings, many of which took place in Las Vegas during the July 2017 recruiting period, to paint a vivid picture of bragging men promising that they could influence and eventually profit from the immense talent of young athletes. In some videos, these men do more than promise; envelopes filled with cash change hands.
...
You have AAU coaches taking money in attempts to steer their players to certain schools. You have college coaches taking money to steer their players elsewhere. There is money taken, then agreements reneged upon. There’s little recourse for those screwed in the process — because they weren’t supposed to give or get money in the NCAA system in the first place.
...
The tentacles of this trial are now stretching to touch even more schools than previously imagined. On Thursday alone, government witness and former financial adviser Marty Blazer testified that he, Dawkins and the undercover FBI agent personally met in Vegas with assistant coaches at Louisville, Creighton, USC, Oklahoma State, Arizona State, UConn, Clemson, Texas A&M and Alabama. Money went to Corey Barker (TCU), Tony Bland (USC), Lamont Evans (Oklahoma State) and Preston Murphy (Creighton), according to video evidence and also to Blazer’s testimony. Five of the other assistants named were not paid in those particular meetings, though according to Blazer, they were all open to the idea of a relationship in which they were paid to steer their players toward specific business relationships later on.
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To Code, existing relationships were more important than the brand. Only three schools he said he would not let kids go to, and they were Kentucky, Oregon and Kansas — because those schools have strong pre-existing relationships with agents and runners that would dwarf his and lose him his slice of the pie.
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It also looks like this: Fed-Exing $11,000 in a shoebox to the family of Texas A&M’s Robert Williams, as Blazer testified. Or this: Dawkins telling Steve Smith, a Clemson assistant, that he and his partners were prepared to step in and contribute some cash to sway Zion Williamson if Clemson needed them to.
 
Pete Thamel lost all credibility when he tried to pay Tyrann Mathieu to talk **** about Les Miles. I'll wait for actual evidence first. It shouldn't be that hard to find a $300,000 payment to a college kid.

If they do end up firing him, I'm confident that Woody can find a competent replacement.
 
True or not, this is really a big shirtshow.
 
Obviously I don't know the ends and outs of this, but it reads an awful lot like entrapment.
 
I am absolutely 100% convinced that Will Wade offered money to players. He is reportedly on tape offering $300,000 for at least one player. (Naz reid)
He is -
1: crooked
2: an idiot

It’s clear to me that college basketball is a cesspool. Top players are paid to play and if you want the top player, you have to pay. It’s not even questionable. It’s so pervasive that no one even tries to defend it. So really, It’s just a matter of not getting caught.

For Wade to be on tape offering money is just laughable. He knows how it works but he’s a complete lightweight and allowed himself to be recorded.

The questions I have are;
Did alleva know?
Where was he getting the $300,000?

And Alleva brought him back.
 
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So... all of this just sounds to me like a college sports fan either just needs to accept that these illegal 'pay for play' operations are part of what it takes to have winning programs, or just campaign to make it legal and allow schools to buy the championships that make all their fans happy.
It seems to me that the biggest programs have either been discovered making payments to these kids, or they simply haven't been caught doing so yet.
There's too much money involved in college sports not to keep the sports programs thriving... at all cost! ?
 
I am absolutely 100% convinced that Will Wade offered money to players. He is reportedly on tape offering $300,000 for at least one player. (Naz reid)
He is -
1: crooked
2: an idiot

It’s clear to me that college basketball is a cesspool. Top players are paid to play and if you want the top player, you have to pay. It’s not even questionable. It’s so pervasive that no one even tries to defend it. So really, It’s just a matter of not getting caught.

For Wade to be on tape offering money is just laughable. He knows how it works but he’s a complete lightweight and allowed himself to be recorded.

The questions I have are;
Did alleva know?
Where was he getting the $300,000?

And Alleva brought him back.

he offered $325,000...the Zona coach told him he offered $300,000 so if Wade wanted Ried, the ante would have to be upped.

You think Zion Williamson chose Duke for the education??

Its MONEY. period. full stop

NCAA needs to stop protecting the blue bloods and allow others to compete with them. They are protecting the Dukes//NC/Kansas and other programs. Biased. disgusting to me.
 
So... all of this just sounds to me like a college sports fan either just needs to accept that these illegal 'pay for play' operations are part of what it takes to have winning programs, or just campaign to make it legal and allow schools to buy the championships that make all their fans happy.
It seems to me that the biggest programs have either been discovered making payments to these kids, or they simply haven't been caught doing so yet.
There's too much money involved in college sports not to keep the sports programs thriving... at all cost! ?
I’m not sure if making it legal would stop the the payments. If winning and exposure is the objective, why wouldn’t a coach or booster, or ‘agent’ still pay a guy to play for their team?
 
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I’m not sure if making it legal would stop the the payments. If winning and exposure is the objective, why wouldn’t a coach or booster, or ‘agent’ still pay a guy to play for their team?
It's gotten to the point where it really doesn't matter if it's legal or not. The best players are going to the highest bidder, and no rule, policy, or threat/punishment is going to change that. If some investigator has the stones to stick their nose too deep into these activities, they'll either get a wad of hush money or get fitted for some cement shoes.

But no... it's not going to stop, no matter what kind of rules are implemented.
 

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