Lucca - What Now?

[LindenCy]

What I don't understand is the wording....he was "reinstated", but nothing changed. How is that reinstated?

 

[superfan]

(upon hearing the news and me rampaging down the hall)
Flag Guy: You okay?
Me: Naw man. I'm pretty f***'n far from okay.
Flag Guy: What now?
Me: What now? Let me tell you what now. I'ma call a couple hard, pipe-hittin' CF'ers who'll head over to Indianapolis with me and go to work on the homes there with a pair of pliers and a blow torch. You hear me talkin', Myles Brand? I ain't through with you by a DAMN SIGHT. I'ma get medieval on your ***.

(No, that conversation didn't really happen. Had to say it because of the title of the thread.)

Seriously, I'd be happy if CA would show up:

A.) All in orange jumpsuits
B.) All with signs

Or, better yet. Get a bunch of yellow duct tape, and have everybody put "FREE LUCCA" in tape on their shirt .

 

[LindenCy]

I like the idea (both of them ).

(upon hearing the news and me rampaging down the hall)
Flag Guy: You okay?
Me: Naw man. I'm pretty ****'n far from okay.
Flag Guy: What now?
Me: What now? Let me tell you what now. I'ma call a couple hard, pipe-hittin' CF'ers who'll head over to Indianapolis with me and go to work on the homes there with a pair of pliers and a blow torch. You hear me talkin', Myles Brand? I ain't through with you by a DAMN SIGHT. I'ma get medieval on your ***.

(No, that conversation didn't really happen. Had to say it because of the title of the thread.)

Seriously, I'd be happy if CA would show up:

A.) All in orange jumpsuits
B.) All with signs

Or, better yet. Get a bunch of yellow duct tape, and have everybody put "FREE LUCCA" in tape on their shirt .

 

[MJAnderson]

I would take my chances. We have a full compliment of schollies this year, and look what it has gotten us. :sad: IMO, thirteen scholarships is more than you need anyway. It creates situations where players (like Brister) are unhappy with their lack of playing time. Nearly all of the kids today want to start playing right away. We'd be better off with 10 scholarship players and a few solid walkons (like UNI's Josten).

Going back to my original idea. Everything has a cost and a benefit. In this case, I think the benefits would outweigh the costs. First, the national attention we would receive would force the NCAA to change this silly rule. To suspend Lucca and players like him who did not receive benefits for the same amount of time as players who did receive benefits is unfair and disproportional. Second, Lucca did nothing wrong and should not be punished. By playing him in defiance of this stupid NCAA ruling, ISU would be showing that it cares about its players... more than it cares about a corrupt organization. I believe the national attention would put a positive spotlight on ISU - not a negative one. That can only help with our future recruiting, etc. Any penalties received for doing the right thing can be overcome. It doesn't look like we're going anywhere this year anyway. We have little to lose.

I think it would be funny and make a statement if we did play him, but I would think it would ultimately hurt our program. I don't think it is the way to show that we care about our players. Playing Lucca would probably get the whole team some sort of suspension. Being under suspension for a few years would hurt recruiting. I think this is something that Pollard and the ISU fans need to make a big stink about. GMac and the rest of the team have plenty of other problems to figure out.

 

[tejasclone]

I think it would be funny and make a statement if we did play him, but I would think it would ultimately hurt our program. I don't think it is the way to show that we care about our players. Playing Lucca would probably get the whole team some sort of suspension. Being under suspension for a few years would hurt recruiting. I think this is something that Pollard and the ISU fans need to make a big stink about. GMac and the rest of the team have plenty of other problems to figure out.

Yeah, it might be interesting/fun to be defiant and watch us extend our collective middle finger towards the NCAA, and it might bring us some attention for a little while, but long-term it would do greater detriment to our program than it would in the short term. Plus, we have to remember that Lucca--"wunderkind" though he may be--is still one man, and there are other guys on the team right now. Playing Lucca despite the NCAA's decision would be like asking all the other guys on the team to mail in the entire season, and after they've played just 5 games, with still a lot to play for, that's unfair to everyone else.

 

[Kyle]

Or, better yet. Get a bunch of yellow duct tape, and have everybody put "FREE LUCCA" in tape on their shirt .

This sounds very doable. It could easily be done at the game itself and would require relatively little organization compared to many of the other alternatives.

 

[Kyle]

Here's some stuff I got by googling "foreign NCAA basketball players." It appears there was a big attempt to enforce this rule in 2001 that generated some attention. There may be some leads in these that can be followed. I'm curious what happened to a lot of the players mentioned in these articles.

NCAA’s new target: foreign hoopsters - The Stanford Daily Online

Amateurism and hypocrisy - NCAA's enforcement of amateur standing of foreign college basketball players - Brief Article Sporting News, The - Find Articles

The Chronicle of Higher Education

 

[ianoconnor]

lol, how about in front of NCAA headquarters?

I have family in Indy... we'll have a place to stay :wink:

 

[Flag Guy]

I have family in Indy... we'll have a place to stay :wink:

Sweet, everyone grab your torch, pitchfork, some rags and bottles of cheap vodka, and meet at Hilton in 2 hours for a road trip. We'll stop for Mt. Dew on the way so we can take care of business afterwards

In accordance with prophesy

 

[psycln11]

Here's some stuff I got by googling "foreign NCAA basketball players." It appears there was a big attempt to enforce this rule in 2001 that generated some attention. There may be some leads in these that can be followed. I'm curious what happened to a lot of the players mentioned in these articles.

NCAA’s new target: foreign hoopsters - The Stanford Daily Online

Amateurism and hypocrisy - NCAA's enforcement of amateur standing of foreign college basketball players - Brief Article Sporting News, The - Find Articles

The Chronicle of Higher Education

From the first article linked...gotta love this!!

In an even more blatant example, USA Basketball paid each member of this summer’s FIBA World Championship For Young Men gold-medal team — a team of 12 collegiate stars including Jason Kapono and Carlos Boozer — $5,000 for their efforts, with the go-ahead given by the NCAA.

 

[Kyle]

Predrag Savovic - Hawaii / Yugoslavia
Served a 7 game suspension
Honolulu Star-Bulletin Sports

Marius Petravicius - South Carolina / Lithuania
Served a 3 game suspension
Player Bio: Marius Petravicius :: Men's Basketball

Gabriel Mikulas - East Carolina / Argentina
Served a 10 game suspension
Goodbye to the best class in ECU history - Sports

Muhammed Lasege - Louisville / Nigeria
The Concordian Sports

Lasege’s story is long and complicated. Having grown up in Nigeria playing basketball, he wanted to come to the U.S. to work on his game. But because of strained relations between the two countries, he wound up going to Russia instead. There he was forced to sign a pro contract (onlytwo years for $9,000), so that he could obtain a VISA and get to Canada. Once in Canada, he signed with the University of Louisville.
The NCAA, though, caught wind of his pro contract, and he was subsequently ruled ineligible. At the time he signed the contract, Lasege said he was unaware of the rules governing NCAA eligibility. He then appealed his suspension, which a Kentucky court overturned, allowing him to play for the Cardinals. The NCAA has continued its appeals, saying that they could not make exceptions to their rule. But recently a court of appeals agreed with the ruling that is allowing Lasege to play right now.

Lasege only played for a year though, as the NCAA eventually did win the court case in National Collegiate Athletics Association v. Lasege, 53 S.W.3d 77 (Ky. 2001).

These situations are not analogous, but the link provides info about a number of U.S. players that personally received improper compensation, and their suspensions (usually a few games)
COLLEGE BASKETBALL; N.C.A.A. Rule Is Resulting In Suspensions And Anger - New York Times

 

[tejasclone]

From the first article linked...gotta love this!!

In an even more blatant example, USA Basketball paid each member of this summer’s FIBA World Championship For Young Men gold-medal team — a team of 12 collegiate stars including Jason Kapono and Carlos Boozer — $5,000 for their efforts, with the go-ahead given by the NCAA.

Oh! So maybe the NCAA just has an axe to grind with us because Lucca didn't ask nice ahead of time that he wasn't breaking any of their precious rules. Oh, wait... he did everything he freakin' thought he needed to do in order to avoid NCAA entanglements! :realmad:

Maybe Lucca, or us, should have just offered them some money in a shady dealing to avoid this mess. What if JP had offered Myles Brand a bribe?

Myles Brand: What's the cargo?
JP: Lucca Staiger. No questions asked.
Myles Brand: What is it, some kind of local trouble?
JP: Let's just say we'd like to avoid any NCAA entanglements.
Myles Brand: Well, that's the real trick, isn't it? And it's going to cost you something extra. 10,000. All in advance.

 

[Flag Guy]

Oh! So maybe the NCAA just has an axe to grind with us because Lucca didn't ask nice ahead of time that he wasn't breaking any of their precious rules. Oh, wait... he did everything he freakin' thought he needed to do in order to avoid NCAA entanglements! :realmad:

Maybe Lucca, or us, should have just offered them some money in a shady dealing to avoid this mess. What if JP had offered Myles Brand a bribe?

Myles Brand: What's the cargo?
JP: Lucca Staiger. No questions asked.
Myles Brand: What is it, some kind of local trouble?
JP: Let's just say we'd like to avoid any NCAA entanglements.
Myles Brand: Well, that's the real trick, isn't it? And it's going to cost you something else? 10,000. All in advance.

JP We'll give you 3000 now, and 17,000 when he plays the whole season

 

[Kyle]

Here's a good article from another thread that discusses the problems with foreign athletes. Note that there are 3 parts.
NCAA Amateur Status For Foreign Student Athletes.

 

[Cyphor]

Yeah, it might be interesting/fun to be defiant and watch us extend our collective middle finger towards the NCAA

This is actually not a bad Idea. What if we all met somewhere on central campus, and raised our middle fingers collectivly towards the east for five minutes while we all chanted. "F*ck fascism! Free Lucca!"

 

[LindenCy]

I would totally support playing him and dealing with the consequences. I know this would not be wise and would probably hurt our program, but when something is wrong, it is wrong and someone has to stand up and be defiant.

 

[Kyle]

I would totally support playing him and dealing with the consequences. I know this would not be wise and would probably hurt our program, but when something is wrong, it is wrong and someone has to stand up and be defiant.

The biggest question is what the penalty would be. If it was just forfeiting the game that wouldn't be that big of a deal. A multi-season post season ban or a loss of scholarships would probably hurt a bit. The fact that it would be rather unprecedented means no one really knows what would happen.

 

[Cyphor]

I remember an inelligable Colorado football player who "accidentally" played for them one year. It was either '98 or '99. The team was forced to forfeit all their wins that season.

 

[CloneCubbie]

I remember an inelligable Colorado football player who "accidentally" played for them one year. It was either '98 or '99. The team was forced to forfeit all their wins that season.

Based on these facts, I'd say that we'd probably end up having to cancel the Mens Bball program in its entirety.

 

[d30fan]

Guys, it's a lost cause. I think you can only hurt ISU in the eyes of the NCAA and invite closer scrutiney of our programs. We already seem to enjoy a special status with them, and goring their goat will only make it worse. Unfortunately, they hold all the marbles.