Post by kaygee on Mar 21, 2005 21:50:49 GMT -6
Just wanted to put out there that College Basketball recruiting in the 1980s and early 1990s was whole lot different than it is now!!! This was the time that College basketball was just starting to become a big-time business and money maker. The 1982 NCAA Tournament with UNC (Jordan) and Georgetown (Ewing) really put college basketball on the map as well as in ensuing years with the likes of Indiana (Knight & Alford), Syracuse (Coleman & Seikaly), Louisville (Pervis Ellison), etc. The race to get the top recruits to have the top programs became insane. I have heard stories of cash, houses, cars, assistant coaches having apartments in recruits hometowns, etc. IF YOU THINK THE MOVIE "BLUE CHIPS" WITH NICK NOLTE< SHAQ AND PENNY HARDAWAY WAS NOT DEPICTING WHAT COLLEGE BASKETBALL WAS LIKE BACK THEN...YOU ARE SADLY MISTAKEN!!! I would guarantee that almost all the big-time schools during the 1980s and early 90s were guilty of MAJOR recruiting violations including Illinois, Iowa, etc., it just became a matter of who got caught and who didn't. Recruiting violations still goes on in some manners probably, but the scandals that have surfaced ie. Myron Piggie in K.C. that involved Kareem & JaROn Rush, the Fab Five winnings being expunged from the record book because of boosters helping CWebb, etc. having changed this dramatically...not stopped recruiting violations, but lessened them. I am not saying all this just because I am UWM fan who is an alum and hasn't been in and around the basketball team for 10 years, because I also grew up in Illinois and my bedroom as a child was full of the orange and blue of the Illini and was in awe of Kendall Gill, Nick Anderson, Kenny Battle, Stephen Bardo, Marcus Liberty, etc. I remember the Deon Thomas thing and believe me I remember being disappointed when Rashard Griffith didn't choose the Illini! It's over and done with!!! Did Jimmy Collins and the Illini break some rules back then...probably. Did Bruce Pearl and Iowa break some rules back then...probably. Did Michigan, Michigan State, etc. break some rules back then...probably. There is always two sides to every story...in this case there is many sides to the story ---- Collins, Pearl, Thomas, Simeon Coach Hambric, Deon's Family & Friends, Tom Davis, Lou Henson, etc. All I know is that my favorite team growing up (who I still watch all the time and root for every time they play the Badgers) and the Panthers who became my team ten years ago are going to be fun to watch on Thursday night. I love watching the likes of Dee Brown and company and respect UWM alum Bruce Weber...so I can't wait to watch Ed and Joah and company give all they got against the No. 1 team in the land! This game is going to be a cross between a track meet, a tennis match and WWE wrestling! As a fan of both teams and as a huge fan of college basketball...is it Thursday yet?
