UConn's losing two scholarships; the NCAA will say it's about bad academics but it's really about bad basketball

by Andrew Porter on May 21, 2011 5:43 PM EDT in UConn Huskies Basketball

What do Ben Eaves, Marcus Johnson, Doug Wiggins, Curtis Kelly, Hasheem Thabeet and Nate Miles all have in common? They're all former members of the basketball team that count against the Huskies Academic Progress Rate since they attended UConn (no matter how briefly in some cases) and didn't graduate.

When the official APR scores are released on Tuesday UConn will have a four-year average of 893, which is so far below the NCAA-mandated minimum score of 925 that the Huskies will be docked two scholarships. The APR measurement starts with the 2006-07 school year and runs through 2009-10.

If you're looking for culprits to blame your starting point should be the 2006-07 recruiting class. That seven-member group has been a headache from the start (with the exception of helping boost the Huskies into the 2009 FInal Four) and transfers like Eaves, Johnson and Kelley hurt UConn's APR no matter what they do at their next school. They came to Storrs and didn't graduate from there so UConn gets nailed.

If you have a second finger to point feel free to direct it at the ever-present headache that is Nate MIles who never even wore a practice uniform for the Huskies but will still count against UConn's APR score for four years because he enrolled at the school.

It's tempting to look at this and decry the academic state of the basketball team, but that'd be the wrong move. This isn't about academics, this is about basketball. Players who stay at UConn can and do graduate. Kemba Walker did it in three years. Charles Okwandu and Donnell Beverly got their degrees too. UConn isn't in trouble because players don't graduate. UConn is in trouble because the NCAA punishes schools whose incoming freshmen transfer out and UConn has had a high number of transfers in recent years.

There are reasonable points to be made about Jim Calhoun bringing in too many guys who can't cut it at UConn's level, and we can have that discussion if you want. Just keep in mind that the reason UConn has lost two scholarships isn't because guys like Eaves and Johnson couldn't cut it in the classroom. It's because they couldn't cut it on the court.

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yeah basically your post is 100% wrong

see this link.

A school is not punished for having an athlete turn pro and leave school early, assuming that player leaves in good academic standing.

You and Calhoun have both blamed transfers/early entrants and that’s bullshit. Schools aren’t punished for transfers or early entrants. They lost the scholarships because players transfers or left for the draft while not in good academic standing.

by On the Banks on May 21, 2011 7:34 PM EDT reply actions

Wrong.

Each player is able to earn two points. One for remaining eligible and one for returning to the school. As such every transfer hurts UConn.

You’re right that if a player leaves early and is in good standing they don’t count against the school’s APR, but I’d posit that remaining in good standing is almost impossible for an NBA prospect. They need to remain registered for classes through the tournament (which takes them past the add/drop period) but the second they decide to go pro they need to submit to a combination of intense physical training and team workouts that makes keeping a regular class schedule damn near impossible. Do some pull it off? Sure, and that’s great for them. However if they don’t pull it off the school gets docked both points for their early entry.

TheUConnBlog.com

by Andrew Porter on May 21, 2011 10:16 PM EDT up reply actions

nope, you're wrong

look at this.

The NCAA Division I Committee on Academic Performance has approved an automatic adjustment to the calculation of the NCAA Division I Academic Progress Rate (APR) to discount the lost retention point in those instances when a student-athlete transfers. Requests for transfer student-athletes who meet all criteria for the automatic adjustment of the retention point should be submitted at the same time as an institution’s APR data through the NCAA Division I Academic Performance Program (APP) data collection system and not the Legislative Services Database for the Internet (LSDBi) waiver portal.

Review of such an adjustment request is dependent on a student-athlete meeting the following criteria:

1. The student-athlete transferred immediately to another four-year institution (i.e., the next
available regular academic term), which must be supported by documentation of the
student-athlete’s full-time enrollment and matriculation at the second institution in the
next regular academic term;

2. The student-athlete attended the original institution for a minimum of one academic year prior to the transfer;

3. The student-athlete earned the eligibility point in the last term of enrollment prior to the
transfer; and

4. The student-athlete presented a cumulative grade-point average of 2.6 or higher at the
time of transfer from the original institution.

In other words

In 2005, the APR system was altered so that teams would no longer be punished for players who leave college early to play professionally, as long as those leaving did so in good academic standing. Then, in 2008, the system was changed again so that teams would no longer be punished for players who transfer to compete for other institutions, as long as those transferring away earned at least a 2.6 grade point average.

Calhoun is a liar. You are naive for believing him.

by On the Banks on May 22, 2011 12:48 AM EDT up reply actions

Well since you're going to be so confrontational

You’re also wrong. Well at least partially.

2. The student-athlete attended the original institution for a minimum of one academic year prior to the transfer;

Guess who’s still hurting UConn’s APR despite never even putting on so much as a practice jersey?

Also, Darius Smith did not transfer to a four year university, College of Southern Idaho (and yes I checked to see if they were one. Read their wiki page here). Jamaal Trice went to Midland College (a juco school) after his transfer. Both of them don’t meet criteria one.

So that is three players right there that cost UConn in the APR just because they transferred or in the case of Miles, never even played.

Now, onto the professional thing. I am going to have to agree that for the most part Andrew is probably right about those leaving for the pros.

I’d posit that remaining in good standing is almost impossible for an NBA prospect

Why would anyone set to make millions of dollars really care about doing anything in class their last semester? I know I wouldn’t. So saying he is flat out wrong on that is ridiculous. That’s an opinion on the situation with those moving on early to the professional leagues negatively affecting UConn’s APR because they don’t give a rat’s ass about school at that point.

Lastly, I have to question what “in good academic standing” means while a student-athlete is at the original institution. Because the fourth point in that list is very specific about the grade point average. Yet no where else that I have seen does it indicate what the GPA needs to be for a player to get that point towards APR for good academic standing while at school. So based off that, I can see it being possible that some of these transfers could have been in “good academic standing” if they had stayed at UConn, but because they transferred they got held to a higher standard of GPA. In which case again, since they sucked at basketball and left they are still hurting UConn’s APR.

Your link does have a caveat on that 2.6 GPA, whereby a transfer student could still earn those points if

they presents a cumulative grade-point average at the original institution of at least 2.0 and satisfies a rigorous review of academic factors.

But who knows what that really means, because its impossible to interpret what the NCAA means by “rigorous review” considering their track record of inconsistency.

And since you like to throw insults in at the end. Calhoun is not really a liar. You are a douche for having a blind hatred of him.

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by derbyguy on May 22, 2011 2:37 AM EDT up reply actions

I don't have a blind hatred for Calhoun

I think he lied about not having knowledge of the Nate Miles case. If I didn’t know what was going on, he is completely inept. I don’t believe that, so he must be lying.

He is also lying about APR and grad rates. No one put a gun to Calhoun’s head and forced him to recruit poor students and/or not invest enough in academic support. Plenty of programs have transfers. UConn is in a uniquely poor position, and as head of the men’s basketball program the buck stops with Calhoun.

Here are last year’s numbers.

Men’s Basketball West Virginia University WV 2008 – 2009 990
Men’s Basketball DePaul University IL 2008 – 2009 987
Men’s Basketball University of Notre Dame IN 2008 – 2009 983
Men’s Basketball Villanova University PA 2008 – 2009 980
Men’s Basketball Marquette University WI 2008 – 2009 975
Men’s Basketball Rutgers, State Univ of New Jersey, New Brunswick NJ 2008 – 2009 963
Men’s Basketball University of Pittsburgh PA 2008 – 2009 962
Men’s Basketball St. John’s University (New York) NY 2008 – 2009 961
Men’s Basketball University of Louisville KY 2008 – 2009 951
Men’s Basketball University of Cincinnati OH 2008 – 2009 945
Men’s Basketball Georgetown University DC 2008 – 2009 937
Men’s Basketball Seton Hall University NJ 2008 – 2009 936
Men’s Basketball Providence College RI 2008 – 2009 935
Men’s Basketball University of Connecticut CT 2008 – 2009 930
Men’s Basketball University of South Florida FL 2008 – 2009 915
Men’s Basketball Syracuse University NY 2008 – 2009 912

There doesn’t really seem to be a relationship between winning and APR, so there goes the excuse that UConn has to do this to compete. Asking UConn to stay over 925 is hardly an unreasonable burden if everyone else can do it.

by On the Banks on May 22, 2011 10:10 AM EDT up reply actions

Hmm

Not sure if you got the gist of my post.

You’re also wrong. Well at least partially.

You contend that Calhoun is a liar about the APR score being affected by players going pro early and transferring because as you’ve quoted numerous times, if those players are in good standing academically the NCAA changed the rules to make sure that didn’t happen.

However, those players transferring have to meet the four criteria you listed in one of your posts. I was merely pointing out that at least two of the players that transferred (Smith and Trice) didn’t necessarily cost the school in the APR score because they transferred in bad academic standing, but because they didn’t go to a four-year institution. That my friend is the APR score being negatively affected by transfers, who could have still been in good academic standing.

I think he lied about not having knowledge of the Nate Miles case. If I didn’t know what was going on, he is completely inept. I don’t believe that, so he must be lying.

Congratulations, I really don’t care that you think he is lying about this. Not what we are talking about.

Overall, UConn’s APR is clearly too low and yes that falls on Calhoun. And the only way for it to be that low is to have some players not be in good academic standing. However, some of the transfers (who left because they played basketball poorly, not necessarily because they were poor students) have a negative effect on the APR, just because they transferred.

Also, the GSR score hasn’t been brought up until this post by you. My responses have only been in regards to APR score and will continue as such since that is what we had been talking about.

by derbyguy on May 22, 2011 11:15 AM EDT up reply actions

?

I guess the part I don’t get about Miles is that he was expelled from school, yet we still have him held against us. What were we supposed to do? Keep him through the end of the semester so the school could kick him out still in good academic standing? And how does it work that schools like Kentucky have kids come in for, in essence, one semester? Not pointing fingers (yet), I’m just unclear on the concept.

Of course, if Calhoun didn’t get in this habit of putting guys on the waiver wire at the end of every season, this wouldn’t be nearly the problem.

by fcmonk on May 21, 2011 9:20 PM EDT reply actions

I'm kind of curious

what qualifies as “good academic standing,” because that seems like the only reason the APR is so bad, as On The Banks alludes to.

For UConn’s APR to be this bad, I would think that a pretty good number of those transfers would have to have been not in good academic standing – but they have to be accepted to whatever school they’re transferring to, no? How does Transfer X get into Transfer University if he flunked out/didn’t attend classes his last semester at UConn?

Then again, I’m guessing that Dyson, Sticks and Gavin all didn’t graduate, which was probably a killer.

Either way, I’m sure I’m confusing something, because it doesn’t make sense the way I’m thinking about it.

TheUConnBlog.com

Thoroughly enjoying life atop the Big East.

by Kevin Meacham on May 21, 2011 9:38 PM EDT up reply actions

Maybe you answered your own question (and mine), although the answer is another question

Do we know for a fact that the cause of the low APR is only due to the transfers?

Also, in regards to the transfers. As Andrew linked above, each player earns two points. Although his semantics are a little off. In the website he linked the exact quote is

Each student-athlete receiving athletically related financial aid earns one retention point for staying in school and one eligibility point for being academically eligible

Does “staying in school” mean the player must be staying at the school he was playing for, in our case UConn, or does the fact that he is still in school somewhere means we still get that point?

by derbyguy on May 21, 2011 10:39 PM EDT up reply actions

One thing I don't understand with the APR score

How is it calculated? It seems pretty straightforward when you read the description on the NCAA website.

A team’s total points are divided by points possible and then multiplied by one thousand to equal the team’s Academic Progress Rate score.

But when I went to do the math on how many “points” UConn didn’t get for the 2009-2010 season, it didn’t make sense to me. UConn’s score was 826. There are 13 scholarships for basketball, so the possible points are 26. 82.6% of 26 is 21.476, which is not a whole number…

Anyone have any idea how that works?

by derbyguy on May 22, 2011 2:43 AM EDT reply actions

Not sure but I imagine it's a percentage

so if UConn had 10 players worth a total of 20 points and they got 19 of them they’d have a score of 950.

I’m not sure if each player is worth two points per semester or two points per year.

TheUConnBlog.com

by Andrew Porter on May 22, 2011 10:06 AM EDT up reply actions

Wasnt there a graduation clause in Calhoun's contract?

Is it based on the APR?

Good talk.
Casual Hoya

by Hire Esherick on May 22, 2011 3:26 PM EDT reply actions

I believe so.

Also, I may have misinterpreted this from another board, but someone was saying that the APR is a self-reported thing, i.e. the university keeps track of it and submits it to the NCAA. Which, if true, would possibly be another brick in the wall between Hathaway and Calhoun. Pure speculation.

This seems like it should be the simplest thing in the world to keep track of, but the more I read about it, the more confusing it is.

by fcmonk on May 22, 2011 5:56 PM EDT up reply actions

Yes

if the school doesn’t meet it’s APR requirements he loses his bonus. Normally that’s a tough penalty but it’s really tough when you lose your national title bonus.

TheUConnBlog.com

by Andrew Porter on May 22, 2011 9:52 PM EDT up reply actions

Bad, Bad, Bad

To everyone who says UConn needs to recruit cheats to win, you’re wrong. If anything, it’s the less competitive schools that need to recruit these poor academic players/poor characters to stay competitive. Want a primary example? Look at Binghamton. But UConn is a good enough school that they can refuse to take in those players who are far below the academic standards (and then watch them go to the schools like Binghamton) and instead take in players like Kemba, like Beverly, who can play well and not hurt you academically. It’s interesting to note that in the 2008-09 figures, three of the bottom five schools in the BE failed to make the NCAA tournament, compared to just two of the top 11. Why? Because USF isn’t going to get someone who’s a star player capable of meeting the (minimal) academic standards required to play at schools like West Virginia and Notre Dame (first and third, respectively). That is because given the choice between Notre Dame and USF, the obvious choice for a talented basketball player is the Irish. So USF has to scoop up the rejects, who are either the bad players, or the bad academic students/ex-cons. But UConn doesn’t have that excuse (not that I excuse it when USF does it, but at least they can try to make that claim). We’ve seen that they can do better, with Kemba graduating in three years, and two other seniors earning degrees this year. Now they need to recruit guys like THAT instead of guys like Nate Miles, and we’ll do fine.

UConn Class of 2014. Author of the blog Gregory's Gallery of UConn Games, where I chronicle every UConn game I'm at. Read it at http://greguconngames.wordpress.com

by gregoryuconn on May 23, 2011 3:24 PM EDT reply actions

Shout out to

Darius Smith and Mandeldove for costing us 2 scholarships. Of course it would be Mandeldove. OF COURSE!

"The worst thing you can do, at least this is what my friends tell me, is to come after me," Calhoun said. "I'm usually better at coming out of the corner than I am up on the pedestal. I haven't been on many pedestals, by the way. I'm a natural underdog, I guess -- sometimes for no apparent reason. And if I can't be the underdog, I'll make myself the underdog, somehow or other."

by uconncountry on May 25, 2011 10:21 AM EDT reply actions

When I look at the empty seat on the bench next year

it’ll be just like he never left.

TheUConnBlog.com

by Andrew Porter on May 25, 2011 11:29 AM EDT up reply actions

Here's a question:

Let’s hypothetically say that Mandeldove wakes up this summer and thinks that he should get his degree. He signs up for however many credits he needs to graduate, completes them, and walks in April ‘12. Would that affect the APR in a positive way, i.e., removing one negative, making it a positive and kicking up the score a notch? Or are we going to stay fucked? How we got into this mess is murky enough, but some of how to get out isn’t as clear either.

by fcmonk on May 25, 2011 6:24 PM EDT up reply actions