Over Before It Begins

The college basketball season is great time where you underdogs like George Mason rise up and knock over powerhouse schools such as Duke and players make a name for themselves to the nation and put their schools on the map.

Recently, the time after the season has been filled with scandal and disappointment. Louisville coach Rick Pitino got the ball rolling three weeks after the FinalFour, when he went to the feds to report an extortion attempt made against him by a woman named Karen Sypher, who was accusing him of sexual impropriety.

I'm also not sure that the Pitino story is over, largely because he has yet to publicly answer questions about it. And make no mistake, he has questions to answer. For example, during his public apology Pitino repeatedly referred to "that indiscretion six years ago." And Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich justified the school's decision to keep Pitino by telling my colleague Tim Layden that "one night he made a bad decision, and we've just got to deal with that." If it comes out that Pitino has cheated on his wife on other occasions and given the details of the case you have to wonder if there are going to be more embarrassments for Pitino and Louisville.


In June, USC coach Tim Floyd resigned after an NCAA investigation into O.J. Mayo's recruitment. Later, we were informed of the embarrassing behavior of Carl Henry, the father of Kansas recruits Xavier and C.J. Henry. Carl was so upset that a reporter from the Kansas City Star had the audacity to quote him accurately that he threatened to pull his sons' commitment from Kansas. Bill Self, Kansas head basketball coach, had to visit the Henrys home in Oklahoma to make sure the Henry boys were still coming.

The latest story came this week with the news that the NCAA has removed Memphis 2008 NCAA tournament runner-up appearance because Derrick Rose's SAT score was not valid after the season ended. If Mario Chalmers' three-pointer at the end of regulation in the title game had rimmed out, then we would have had the first case of a basketball national championship being removed because of cheating.

The fact that these stories caused barely a ripple in the sports world shows the state of the game. People just aren't shocked anymore when they hear that something dishonest is going on in summer basketball.

John Calipari's moving to Kentucky should have been a huge gain for college hoops. He's a well-known coach expected to revive one of the nation's most storied programs. Calipari was headed for an impressive legacy, but now he will be forever known as the only coach to have two Final Four appearances vacated by the NCAA.

In case you think this run of bad stories is over, there are plenty more to choose from. The O.J. Mayo case at USC has yet to be decided. Mississippi State is still awaiting word on whether freshman forward Renardo Sidney can play this season. The school has already ruled Sidney academically eligible. Either a high-profile recruit will be forced to sit, or an entire sport will make fun of the NCAA's decision to accept whatever twisted explanation the Sidney family offered to explain how they could live in high-priced neighborhoods in L.A. with no money.

There is also the case going on at UConn regarding the alleged actions of former manager turned Josh Nochimson. That case has not been forgotten about, but because of all the other scandals it is not mention as often. If the allegations reported against UConn are even close to correct, yet another of the nation's most prominent programs is going to get put on years of athletic probation.

We have not even heard the last from Calipari about the penalties against Memphis. We know it is not like him to remain silent. The 2008-2009 college basketball season just ended last march. College basketball needs some shaping up starting from the athletic directors who hire these coaches, down to coaches who are responsible for the players.

Maurice Thomas