CJ Signs w/ Kentucky. Iowa Claiming Tampering? Level II Violation when 3rd Party Contacts a School When Athlete Discussed Enrolled at Another School
- Thread starter Franisdaman
- Start date
CJ Fredrick is no longer a Hawkeye so goodbye , good luck or good riddance. Let’s please move on, he is no longer relevant to Iowa basketball or for that matter Iowa basketball threads IMO.
Everyone is looking at this from a perspective of what CJ should have done.
Like, “He lied.” Last winter obviously he was exploring transferring. I guess you all think a player should tell his coach, “I might stay, but I’m also thinking about transferring.“ That just isn’t gonna happen. It’s a situation where the player’s interest and the coach/institution’s interest are opposed. And CJ did what was best for him as he saw it, which was to explore transferring but also to keep his place at Iowa in case he didn’t like what he heard in pre-transfer talks.
The more important question, which I don’t see getting much attention is: Why did he choose to transfer? Wasn’t CJ the shining example of the idea that someone out there loved Fran as a coach?
Like, “He lied.” Last winter obviously he was exploring transferring. I guess you all think a player should tell his coach, “I might stay, but I’m also thinking about transferring.“ That just isn’t gonna happen. It’s a situation where the player’s interest and the coach/institution’s interest are opposed. And CJ did what was best for him as he saw it, which was to explore transferring but also to keep his place at Iowa in case he didn’t like what he heard in pre-transfer talks.
The more important question, which I don’t see getting much attention is: Why did he choose to transfer? Wasn’t CJ the shining example of the idea that someone out there loved Fran as a coach?
I would guess that there are enough people involved in carrying messages between the two parties that nothing is provable. This game ain't new and these coaches know the stakes
Fran, turn it down a notch or two. We're all entitled to an opinion.
Except, if he was thinking about transferring, he owed it to his coach ad teammates to be honest. When one looks at the last two months of the season, in retrospect, I have to wonder if he was actually out there to help the Hawks win, or whether he was just biding time, or what he was thinking, exactly.
No way players are going to start telling their coaches they are thinking about leaving. Transferring is one of the few times the player will be empowered to do what he wants to do and CJ played it close to the vest...he only let certain friends and teammates know what he was going to do.
When Fran has interviewed or had conversations with other schools while he has been a coach do you think he should tell the players each time that happens?
CJ played it so close to the vest that rumors started flying in Jan/Feb......
You nailed it.
Chad Leistikow (the Register's Hawkeye beat writer), on his HawkCentral radio show, said that CJ told everyone (Fran & teammates) he was coming back and then blindsided them with the news he wanted out.
Here is that HawkCentral podcast. The link to the entire thing is at the end of this post.
After you read this and hear for yourself, if I were you, I would go with what Chad Leistikow stated on air. He has legitimate sources and this is what he reported.
Go to the very middle, bottom of the web page for the timer. At the 13:20 mark Chad said the following: (1) Iowa hasn't even issued an official press release; instead they issued a 1 sentence statement on social media after his name went into the portal. (2) based on his sources, Chad said the team felt confident that CJ would be returning. The rumors were addressed within the team and by CJ. Chad stated that he does believe the decision CJ made on Sunday April 18 where he told Coach McCaffery and his teammates that he was leaving (and entering the transfer portal) did catch them ALL off guard.
Mark Emmert said he started hearing the rumors of CJ to Kentucky from more than 1 source as soon as the season ended (on March 22 Iowa lost to Oregon).
Mark reveals in this podcast that he is also Facebook friends with Joe Fredrick so Mark saw the same Joe Fredrick Facebook posts that have been posted in this thread. Mark concluded in March, based on the Joe Fredrick Facebook posts, that it was highly probable CJ was moving on.
Chad said CJ's exit has been very tense, where it's a relationship that ended really badly and really suddenly. Mark then wondered what was left of the relationship between Fran and Joe. Mark said CJ was going to Iowa games as a child; Joe would take him.
The entire podcast:
Hawk Central Podcast | iHeartRadio
The Hawk Central Podcast from The Des Moines Register and 1460 KXnO
Last edited:
And how many of those rumors emanated from CJ and Iowa City? CJ's uncle is the one who was saying things and making social media posts that fueled the fire. CJ told VERY few people about his desires and intentions.
Don't you love how Legend pretends to be program insider with breaking news? He made a very general statement above that CJ told VERY few people about his desires and intentions. Well, duh, anybody could figure that out; the very few people included Joe and probably his parents. So, that's 3 people. It's not exactly earth shattering news.
What a bunch of irrelevant BS this guy posts.
cc: @Moral
Total BS. If CJ and his uncle were conspiring to leave Iowa and had made a deal with Kentucky, he owed it to his coach, not a few friends, to let him know of his plans. You could tell by the terse send off the program gave CJ that they were unhappy about the way he handled his leaving the team and I don't blame them.
So are you implying that his uncle was working without CJ's knowledge? Of course CJ told very few people that he had been tampered with by Kentucky where he was planning on going. That would have acknowledge breaking the tampering rules as CJ was not yet in the portal. You act like CJ was an innocent in all this.
It's clear CJ lied to his teammates and coaches up until the day he told them he was leaving
Does this bickering really matter? C.J.'s gone to another school. 10 pages and still going. He's gone, not a Hawkeye anymore. Does it really matter if C.J. stiffed Iowa? Nothing is going to change what is already done. Neither Franisdaman or Legend12 or anyone else posting in this tread is ever going to bring back C.J. He's gone, let it go!
You don't see coach Fran or any of his staff going to the media and still complaining about how this all went down do you? No, you don't, but all the butt hurt Iowa fans are still bitching about it because an off injured Iowa starter that averaged just over 7 points a game left to go to another school near his home town. Big fing deal!
I'll guarantee you that someone on the current roster will gladly take the departed players minutes and probably cover his lost stats too.
Did I mention that C.J. is gone? Yep, he's gone, gone, gone. Let's go another 10 or 20 pages to really show how we feel about how he left Iowa instead of talking about the players that are still on the roster and will be providing us Iowa fans will new threads to talk about. I'm excited about the upcoming season with a roster of players that want to be here and not about players that no longer are Hawkeyes.....
Ive never implied CJ was totally innocent, only that he did what he should have done and kept things between him, his family, and those teammates and friends he trusted the most.
You do realize there is no evidence of tampering, right? CJ was a starter on a top 10 team...Joe knew he’d pretty much get to pick and choose the school he wanted to go to, and that was backed up by the offers and interest he received when he entered the portal. Joe wanted him to go to KY where he’d be close to home and away from some of the issues CJ was dealing with at Iowa.
Another legendary take.
@Moral @TheTruthTheWholeTruth @DewHawk , I thought you would enjoy this one. No evidence of tampering he says. And feel free to go back to the orig post as a reminder of what actually went down (including UI Compliance's tweet).
One other item of note that has not really been stated...this was not a case of CJ going to Kentucky so he left Iowa. This was a case of CJ leaving Iowa so he went to Kentucky.
Why do you say that? Genuinely curious.
IMO, CJ was leaving Iowa for one place and one place only, Kentucky. If Kentucky doesn’t show interest in CJ, he’s back in Iowa’s starting lineup next year.
If CJ was leaving Iowa, so he went to Kentucky, he doesn’t lie to his coach up until the very last minute. CJ doesn’t wait as long as he did to enter the portal if he’s leaving Iowa, just to leave Iowa.
edit. Fixed my WOB
Last edited:
Try not to let the decisions of 18-22 year old college kids impact you so much going forward. Either that or seek some type of help.
These plus the posts from Uncle Joe create a pretty solid paper trail of impropriety. Maybe not enough for a "beyond a reasonable doubt" standard like in a criminal case, but certainly a preponderance.
It is pretty clear what happened. CJ wanted to play for hometown kentucky. Kentucky had interest but couldnt state for sure that there would be a spot open. Instead of communicating this to the hawks, CJ told the team that he wasn't planning to transfer. Once Kentucky saw how the transfer portal unfolded, they decided to offer CJ an official spot under the table, and CJ decided to transfer. Based on all of the comments from players and coaches and media and family members, I think most people would agree that this was how things shaked out.
All this was done behind closed doors and, because it was done without Iowa's knowledge, Fran and Co. were caught completely with their pants down and unable to make headway with other transfers. A kid can transfer to other schools, sure, but the way it was handled was poor and, on Kentucky's behalf, improper. Kentucky was able to have its cake and eat it too completely at Iowa's expense.
I have been disappointed that Fredrick is leaving, and I am frustrated with the way it seems to have gone down. That said, I think it's worth noting that Toussaint, Garza, Ogundele, Wieskamp, Nunge, Keegan Murray, and Perkins have all responded with words of encouragement on Instagram. (As well as Ryan Kriener, Riley Till, and Maishe Dailey, fwiw). (I might have missed a few others.)
Those are all guys who know CJ and the overall situation far better than any of us. If they can get over it and wish CJ the best, the rest of us probably can too.
Those are all guys who know CJ and the overall situation far better than any of us. If they can get over it and wish CJ the best, the rest of us probably can too.
Where did my post telling @Franisdaman to let it go that CJ is transferring disappear to?
Someone must be sensitive this morning.
Someone must be sensitive this morning.
LOL
Uncle Joe is in everyone's ear......CJ's, Fran's...........now Fran doesn't have to deal with his complaints any more
I don't hold it against guys like Nunge to transfer for the reason(s) he did. I get it. The CJF situations seems different. At least I haven't heard anything where there are good reasons why he left (family issues, etc.). It's not like he wasn't getting PT or something like that.
I guess everyone is titled to transfer if that's what they want, but in my mind, CJF is a turncoat and this doesn't endear him to me, so I won't be rooting for him. He's a Kentucky player now. No more, no less. Call it sour grapes if you want, but tell me why I should be a CJF fan the way he bolted for greener pastures.
As for Kentucky and Calipari.. Tampering wouldn't surprise me one bit. We all know Calipari's reputation as a squeaky clean recruiter. LOL.
I guess everyone is titled to transfer if that's what they want, but in my mind, CJF is a turncoat and this doesn't endear him to me, so I won't be rooting for him. He's a Kentucky player now. No more, no less. Call it sour grapes if you want, but tell me why I should be a CJF fan the way he bolted for greener pastures.
As for Kentucky and Calipari.. Tampering wouldn't surprise me one bit. We all know Calipari's reputation as a squeaky clean recruiter. LOL.
Disappointing you wont be rooting for Rebraca this season too if that is how you really feel.
I'll be rooting for him because he's an IOWA player now. I wouldn't expect North Dakota fans to root for him since he left their program. You understand the difference between rooting for an incoming transfer and someone who left your program, right?
If you want to root for CJF in Kentucky games, go right ahead. I'll pass.
Because he's a Hawkeye now. I'll root for anyone in an IOWA jersey. Players that leave, meh, whatever. I don't feel obligated to care much more about those who leave. I believe this is clear enough of an explanation.
Any more questions?
Last edited:
Nunge was honest from the very beginning about his intentions. CJ was not.
what bugs me the most is the Chad Leistikow reporting where CJ had addressed the Kentucky rumors and lied to this teammates and coaches when he said he was returning to Iowa. CJ had met with Fran at least 2 times after the season ended. That is why a few days prior to CJ announcing he was leaving, in a press conference, Fran stated CJ would not require foot surgery, was about to return to on court activities and was chomping at the bit.
And all other reports indicate the Fredricks were talking to Kentucky as early as February. So, CJ basically bailed on this team months before season's end.
And that is why it does not feel right to you. In addition, there was tampering involved, which is against NCAA rules. But Cal has never been a proponent of following the rules. The whole thing...CJ the liar, CJ the quitter, and slime ball Cal, is simply disgusting.
But I guess, bottom line, CJ has proven that he will lie to your face, so perhaps he and Cal are a perfect fit. I hope CJ, Cal and the Kentucky fans get all the karma they deserve.
