NCAA re: Silvio — more info needed

Wow. Could it be more obvious that the NCAA is telling KU to get lost on the Silvio issue and using this kid to punish us on behalf of all college hoops?

Every single step of the Silvio process has taken longer than anticipated, with an obvious disconnect between what KU is providing and what the NCAA claims it needs to assess the situation. KU takes so much longer than appears necessary to provide info, the NCAA takes forever to even start reviewing, let alone make any decision, and more info is always needed. KU makes legal admissions regarding booster status just to satisfy the NCAA's appeal process, then the NCAA hammers KU for identifying a person as a booster. My goodness, after more than a year of this, including an FBI investigation and a complete trial, could there possibly be any info that hasn't been disclosed??

Now KU and Silvio are in "time crunch" mode. I frankly think what I said before. KU has pissed off the rest of the college sports world by pushing the limits of recruiting and eligibility, and being the highest profile school caught up in the Adidas pay for play scheme. Other schools are more than happy to have KU getting kicked around long enough for all of this to fade away, and the NCAA is obliging by kicking KU around. Note that the FBI Nike trial was barely reported on, and KY, Duke (other than Zion, which was ignored and already faded away) and UNC were rarely if ever mentioned. They hung everything on Sean Miller at AZ and the LSU guy, and not much has come of that.

We are the designated school to take the hit for Adidas, shoe companies in general and the AAU system, but it appears the extent of our punishment will be not getting Silvio back. I guess in the scheme of things, we should just take our lumps, move on, and let Silvio and his "guardian" figure out their future.

I tend to agree, AZ, but I also find it frustrating that we only ever get KU's official press release side of the story. For all we know, KU turned in a crappy appeal written on the back of a cocktail napkin.

It would be nice to hear the NCAA comment on the subject to give their side of things, but that'll never happen. Barring that, I wish some investigative reporter would get on this because it just doesn't add up.

Going from an expected 'response in a week' to 'waiting 4 weeks only to be told to provide more info' just doesn't add up. Either the NCAA is intentionally screwing with us (likely) or KU is trying to play the NCAA by trying to withhold information that might negatively impact the appeal (also possible).

NCAA has made it clear from the beginning that this kid is going to be their scapegoat for the whole mess. They are hoping that Silvio will tire of waiting and just go pro or play in Europe. I say he should stick it out then if the NCAA still screws this up and doesn't do the right thing, sue the NCAA. Maybe it's time someone made an example out of THEM. They are literally ruining this kid's life and he did nothing wrong.

I agree Hawk. I want him to stay and fight because what they have done to him is beyond wrong.

I was talking to someone that is pretty close to things happening at KU yesterday. His thoughts and those expressed by other insiders suggest that KU and/or Silvio need to sue the NCAA over Silvio's case if not resolved in Silvio's favor. Their only concern is if in suing, it opens up issues that are best not raised. The feeling is that the NCAA using Silvio as an example is just plain wrong both morally as well as legally. It would essentially be a legal challenge to the Newton rule.

The NCAA was created by, and works for the schools, right? Do they have so much autonomy that they could abuse Silvio's legal rights to this extent without answering to anyone?

If a handful of presidents from other schools called in and said "enough already, you're treating this kid too unfairly", would the outcome be different?

Makes me think, again, that we're the example for all, and everyone else is keeping their distance and letting the hammer come down on KU and Silvio, in hope that the black cloud will soon be gone over all college basketball.