OT: Skal Labissiere eligibility

[RipCity]

Really hope he never plays for UK. They need to come back down to Earth and see what it's like to have to work to succeed, not just recruit to succeed.

Yeah usually I wouldn't agree, but Skal is a guaranteed lottery pick. Kentucky taking a big hit this year would be great. Seems like a nice kid though, so I wouldn't root against him individually.

 

[HooperScooper]

Good article on the kid from Luke Winn of SI.com. Pretty long and I'm not that interested to read it but figured I'd post it. Kid went through a lot to get here. If there's any issue with his eligibility it's Hamilton to blame. Remember the kid is coming from the poorest country in the western hemisphere after an earthquake. Can't really blame them for trying to do whatever they can to make it here.

http://www.si.com/college-basketbal...e-kentucky-wildcats-freshman-haiti-earthquake

 

[Yankees32123]

Yeah usually I wouldn't agree, but Skal is a guaranteed lottery pick. Kentucky taking a big hit this year would be great. Seems like a nice kid though, so I wouldn't root against him individually.

Definitely shouldn't root against him. He's gone through a lot, is a nice kid, and seems to have been exploited by his guardian and Calimari.

 

[intlzncster]

Definitely shouldn't root against him. He's gone through a lot, is a nice kid, and seems to have been exploited by his guardian and Calimari.

I dislike Cal vehemently, but how exactly did he do that? By accepting him into school? Is there anyone else who could have done anything differently? At least he gets the UK draft hype bump, not that he needs it.

 

[80shusky]

He's a nice story and he had a tough go for sure but I wouldn't feel bad for him. Before long he will be rolling around naked in millions of dollars and and won't feel bad for us at all. Unfortunately the fact that he can't just go play in the league now is the problem.

 

[Walker11]

I'm happy for the kid. Hopefully his guardian never gets his hands on another prospect. Hopefully UK has an underwhelming season.

 

[sledog]

I think i read a heart-warming story aobut him in SA at a MD's office. Sounded scripted.

 

[mauconnfan]

Sorry "projected top draft pick" and making bad decisions in so many ways doesn't make me fell bad for there kid. That's on him and his people.

Never doubted he would be playing though . May not be if he chose UConn.

 

[Leebo]

What bad decisions did Skal make?

 

[4in16]

What bad decisions did Skal make?

Playing for the squid.

 

[Leebo]

Playing for the squid.

Well, we can all agree that that's a bad decision, but he means decisions pertaining to his previous eligibility concerns presumably.

 

[mauconnfan]

What bad decisions did Skal make?

The people he chose to assist him. These kids have meetings about life and off the court decisions everywhere they go when they are big time AAU kids, all the time. Let's not treat an 18-19 year old like he doesn't know anything that's happening in his life. They aren't that stupid.

 

[Leebo]

He was an eighth grader when he "chose the people to assist him."

i.e. moved here from Haiti with minimal English ability.

And he's eligible, so how bad of a decision was it, really?

 

[Walker11]

The people he chose to assist him. These kids have meetings about life and off the court decisions everywhere they go when they are big time AAU kids, all the time. Let's not treat an 18-19 year old like he doesn't know anything that's happening in his life. They aren't that stupid.

Respectfully, this is incredibly wrong.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

I dislike Cal vehemently, but how exactly did he do that? By accepting him into school? Is there anyone else who could have done anything differently? At least he gets the UK draft hype bump, not that he needs it.

When Calipari signs a highly touted recruit it's "exploitation." Sure, it sounds dumb and makes no sense, but it's how it goes around here.

 

[4in16]

Well, we can all agree that that's a bad decision, but he means decisions pertaining to his previous eligibility concerns presumably.

I know it was a joke.

 

[Leebo]

I considered giving you a forced "har har," but I thought that might be too d*ckish and I'm told that I'm often too d*ckish.

 

[HooperScooper]

The people he chose to assist him. These kids have meetings about life and off the court decisions everywhere they go when they are big time AAU kids, all the time. Let's not treat an 18-19 year old like he doesn't know anything that's happening in his life. They aren't that stupid.

Read the SI article I posted above.

http://www.si.com/college-basketbal...e-kentucky-wildcats-freshman-haiti-earthquake

The family came to the U.S. after an earthquake destroyed everything they had in Haiti, which is the poorest country in the western hemisphere. Put yourself in their shoes. I'm sure at that point they were grasping for anyone to help them. Can't really blame them. Maybe you can blame Hamilton for trying to make money off the kid. But tough to blame the family and the kid for being taken advantage of.

 

[Jaker]

just follow the $$$$$$

 

[80shusky]

For purely selfish reasons I wanted UK to lose Skal this year however I'm happy the kid is getting what he wants. If not, he could probably have played in Europe for a year and made plenty of money and the been drafted and made plenty more. It is really the system that is failing kids like Skal and changing college basketball. He should be allowed to play in the NBA this year. Kids are allowed to skip college and go get jobs in other industries why should this be different? It would not eliminate but would temper the one and done situation by a lot. Interesting that some coaches want to eliminate instant eligibility for grad students because they aren't really trying to get an education but think it is ok for talented freshmen who would otherwise go straight to the league and have no intention of getting a degree play in college.

 

[huskyharry]

The Squid owns the NCAA

 

[mauconnfan]

Read the SI article I posted above.

http://www.si.com/college-basketbal...e-kentucky-wildcats-freshman-haiti-earthquake

The family came to the U.S. after an earthquake destroyed everything they had in Haiti, which is the poorest country in the western hemisphere. Put yourself in their shoes. I'm sure at that point they were grasping for anyone to help them. Can't really blame them. Maybe you can blame Hamilton for trying to make money off the kid. But tough to blame the family and the kid for being taken advantage of.

Take mine back, glad the kid is playing! Just not for FF

 

[DogMania]

Why do I feel that if he was a UConn recruit he'd be banned for life, while at Kentucky he's cleared to play without having to sit out a single game?

With that said, I'm very happy that he's able to pursue his dream and hopefully take care of his family financially forever. I just wish it was happening anywhere other than Kentucky.

 

[ctchamps]

Happy for the kid! But he would have been just fine playing overseas for one year.

If this process determined he is eligible I support it. Would love to see a detailed report of the NCAA process that supports his eligibility but I expect the NCAA to hide behind the privacy act and just issue a simple statement leaving us to wonder if the process was legitimate.

If I'm SMU, I would think strongly about going all in and hiring a powerful legal team to examine if the process in the determination for Labissiere was the same as for Mudiay. Of course I'm showing my hand here. I'm skeptical the process was even handed.

 

[JonnyRI]

Can we stop using the term guardian? The guy is best case his agent, worst case a pure leach (what's another term for squid?).