From HawkCentral.com:
John Beilein’s sudden, mid-May departure from the University of Michigan — where he led the Wolverines to four Big Ten Conference titles and two national runner-up finishes — for the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers certainly caught national attention.
One of his longtime colleagues and friends, Iowa’s Fran McCaffery, took notice.
“He didn’t like it there. He loved it there,” McCaffery said in an interview with the Des Moines Register this week. “But our game has changed.
“I know he’s disappointed in the state of our game right now. The unethical nature of what’s been going on.”
The news struck a nerve with McCaffery, who actually replaced Beilein as one of the head coaches to serve on the NCAA's Ethics Coalition. Beilein was known for producing excellent college teams without cheating.
“It’s getting harder and harder the way he does it, the way I do it,” McCaffery said. “The way it should be done.”
FBI probes and illegal payments of players have been the most glaring scars in the game. But it seems like more issues than ever are cropping up that tear apart the notion of players experiencing a four-year career at one school.
McCaffery said a new rule this year that players can sign with agents but still return to school is one example of unintended consequences damaging the game. Beilein seemed resigned to losing young stars Ignas Brazdeikis and Jordan Poole, who had hired agents but not officially made an NBA decision.
McCaffery: "Agents signing our players and inserting themselves into the equation — it’s safe to say there’s no agent out there that’s advocating for the University of Michigan. I can tell you that.
"I’m not sure some of those rules were for the better. At the time, we all said, you know what? Change is coming. We embraced the change, and we’ll adjust. I’m not sure the change was good. The new recruiting rules. The interaction with agents. The transfer portal. Grad transfers. There are cases when it’s good; but it creates mega-problems elsewhere.
"And if you weigh the collateral damage with some of the changes that were made versus some of the small amount of good ... we probably should make some changes again.”
TOPIC 2: Are other colleges tampering with players?
Absolutely, McCaffery said. (Keep reading.)
That’s why he is adamantly opposed to the thought that all transfers should be immediately eligible.
Iowa recently lost fourth-year junior Isaiah Moss, who intends to become a graduate transfer at Arkansas.
To be clear, McCaffery didn’t insinuate anything about any program tampering with Moss. But he did relate the conversation to his days at UNC-Greensboro and Siena, and what might’ve happened then if today’s transfer-portal frenzy would have been around.
McCaffery: “If you look at reality, the transfer portal is free agency. Grad transfers are free agency.
“Transferring now has become more of the norm. I had some great players (at UNC-Greensboro and Siena) that would have been tampered with. Recruited right off my team.
“You’re not supposed to do that. But that’s what’s being done. It’s kind of on the low end of the cheating that’s going on. Talking to a guy who might be a grad transfer or talking a guy into transferring. That’s against the rules."
The full story: https://www.hawkcentral.com/story/s...kamp-john-beilein-ncaa-tournament/3665911002/
John Beilein’s sudden, mid-May departure from the University of Michigan — where he led the Wolverines to four Big Ten Conference titles and two national runner-up finishes — for the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers certainly caught national attention.
One of his longtime colleagues and friends, Iowa’s Fran McCaffery, took notice.
“He didn’t like it there. He loved it there,” McCaffery said in an interview with the Des Moines Register this week. “But our game has changed.
“I know he’s disappointed in the state of our game right now. The unethical nature of what’s been going on.”
The news struck a nerve with McCaffery, who actually replaced Beilein as one of the head coaches to serve on the NCAA's Ethics Coalition. Beilein was known for producing excellent college teams without cheating.
“It’s getting harder and harder the way he does it, the way I do it,” McCaffery said. “The way it should be done.”
FBI probes and illegal payments of players have been the most glaring scars in the game. But it seems like more issues than ever are cropping up that tear apart the notion of players experiencing a four-year career at one school.
McCaffery said a new rule this year that players can sign with agents but still return to school is one example of unintended consequences damaging the game. Beilein seemed resigned to losing young stars Ignas Brazdeikis and Jordan Poole, who had hired agents but not officially made an NBA decision.
McCaffery: "Agents signing our players and inserting themselves into the equation — it’s safe to say there’s no agent out there that’s advocating for the University of Michigan. I can tell you that.
"I’m not sure some of those rules were for the better. At the time, we all said, you know what? Change is coming. We embraced the change, and we’ll adjust. I’m not sure the change was good. The new recruiting rules. The interaction with agents. The transfer portal. Grad transfers. There are cases when it’s good; but it creates mega-problems elsewhere.
"And if you weigh the collateral damage with some of the changes that were made versus some of the small amount of good ... we probably should make some changes again.”
TOPIC 2: Are other colleges tampering with players?
Absolutely, McCaffery said. (Keep reading.)
That’s why he is adamantly opposed to the thought that all transfers should be immediately eligible.
Iowa recently lost fourth-year junior Isaiah Moss, who intends to become a graduate transfer at Arkansas.
To be clear, McCaffery didn’t insinuate anything about any program tampering with Moss. But he did relate the conversation to his days at UNC-Greensboro and Siena, and what might’ve happened then if today’s transfer-portal frenzy would have been around.
McCaffery: “If you look at reality, the transfer portal is free agency. Grad transfers are free agency.
“Transferring now has become more of the norm. I had some great players (at UNC-Greensboro and Siena) that would have been tampered with. Recruited right off my team.
“You’re not supposed to do that. But that’s what’s being done. It’s kind of on the low end of the cheating that’s going on. Talking to a guy who might be a grad transfer or talking a guy into transferring. That’s against the rules."
The full story: https://www.hawkcentral.com/story/s...kamp-john-beilein-ncaa-tournament/3665911002/
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