NYTimes article on Baylor and Drew

[CelisHorn]

Commentary: Baylor in gray area in recruiting ethics

Hiring of prospect's former AAU coach raises questions.

By Thayer Evans
THE NEW YORK TIMES
Sunday, March 15, 2009

OKLAHOMA CITY ? With its stunning run to Saturday's championship game of the Big 12 tournament, Baylor has become one of the more unlikely stories of the young postseason.

Along the way, the ninth-seeded Bears avenged a loss to eighth-seeded Nebraska, shocked top-seeded Kansas and ended a 24-game losing streak to fifth-seeded Texas. They lost to third-seeded Missouri on Saturday with an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament on the line.

Their performance in the past week under Scott Drew, their sixth-year coach, has helped salvage respectability for a disappointing team that last season made its first appearance in the NCAA tournament since 1988.

Yet the biggest story line surrounding the private Baptist-affiliated university was off the court. In July, Baylor hired Dwon Clifton to fill its newly created post of director of player development, a nonrecruiting position. Clifton is the former Amateur Athletic Union coach of point guard John Wall, who attends high school in Raleigh, N.C., and is the top prep player in 2009, according to Rivals.com.

While the hiring of AAU coaches has become commonplace in college basketball, it was a curious move for Baylor because it is considered an ethical gray area.

Baylor was placed on five years' probation by the NCAA through 2010 for infractions committed by Drew's predecessor, Dave Bliss. During an investigation of the 2003 murder of the Baylor player Patrick Dennehy by a former teammate, the NCAA discovered that Bliss and some of his assistants had violated rules and then attempted to cover up the violations.

Wall visited Baylor last week. He is believed to be considering Duke, Kansas, Memphis, Miami and North Carolina State. Baylor may not have the deepest basketball traditions, but Clifton's hiring could be attractive to Wall.

Wall could not reached for comment, but in a March 9 Rivals.com report, he said that his top choice was Memphis. He plans to announce his decision next month.

Clifton, a former player at Clemson and North Carolina-Greensboro, did not have any collegiate coaching experience when he was hired last summer. For two summers before then, he coached the D-One Sports Basketball 17-and-under travel team that was anchored by Wall.

Drew would not discuss Clifton's hiring, saying, "We have a press release for it."

In that release, Clifton said he received interest from several other programs but credited his decision to accept the Baylor position to assistant coach Matthew Driscoll. Clifton was recruited to play at Clemson by Driscoll.

Drew praised Clifton's work with senior forward Kevin Rodgers. "He's had a great impact for our team," Drew said.

Asked why Clifton ended up at Baylor, Drew laughed. "I'll leave that one out," he said.

But Texas coach Rick Barnes did not. He said he vehemently disagreed with the practice of hiring a recruit's AAU coach.

"We don't believe in doing that," Barnes said. "We just don't. Obviously, if we wanted to do it, we could do it."

Missouri coach Mike Anderson said of hiring a recruit's AAU coach: "A lot of guys do it, man, for different reasons. It's something that I guess that's really starting to happen a lot. It is what it is. Let me put it that way."

Before leaving Texas A&M for Kentucky after the 2006-07 season, former Aggies head coach Billy Gillispie hired Byron Smith as an assistant. Smith was the head coach of the successful Houston Swoosh AAU team that included 7-foot star DeAndre Jordan.

Jordan signed with the Aggies, playing for one season before leaving for the NBA. After assisting Mark Turgeon, Gillispie's replacement at A&M, during Jordan's only season with the Aggies, Smith left the bench to become a senior athletic assistant at A&M.

Barnes said the practice sent a bad message: "Basically what they're saying is that the university is allowing that to happen. I think it goes back to administrators that let that happen."

Barnes said he had not competed much against Drew for players recently. "There's a line that he knows that he can't cross with me," Barnes said. "He knows that. He definitely knows that."

He added, "Again, they can have their own recruiting practices and how they want to do it."

http://www.statesman.com/sports/cont...315sptcol.html

[Jack Bauer]

Way to take a dump on our tourney run! What was this story, like 3 months ago?

[BaylorOkie]

Jeez, not this AGAIN! Can anyone who is not as lazy as me link this guy to the numerous discussions that have already occured on this topic?

Ugh.

[xiledinok]

It is good business. Who cares! There is nothing illegal about it, so you are a college basketball program. Recruiting is the key.

[ftblbob5]

This was a story when the hire was made. It will be a story when national signing day comes and Wall makes his collegiate decision. To try to make it a story tied to our team's efforts in the Big XII tournament reeks of trashy journalism.

[ebear]

It is important that people respond to this article in a commentary section if possible. It is important that the general public understand that Drew is trying to keep up with the Bill Self's of the world.

[RD2WINAGNBEAR86]

I've got three words for the Horns. Two of them are .... the Horns.

Fill in the blank.

RD2

[caesarscott]

Originally Posted by ftblbob5

To try to make it a story tied to our team's efforts in the Big XII tournament reeks of trashy journalism.

well we are talking about the New York Times here. they of Jayson Blair fame.

[Cheoso]

Originally Posted by Jack Bauer

Way to take a dump on our tourney run! What was this story, like 3 months ago?

Speaking of taking a dump, I feel the urge. Anybody got a copy of the NY Times they can lend me? If not, a copy of the Austin American Statesman will do just fine.

[UbuntuBear]

[quote]
Barnes said he had not competed much against Drew for players recently. "There's a line that he knows that he can't cross with me," Barnes said. "He knows that. He definitely knows that."[\quote]

What an arrogant Do*che Bag, that makes yesterday's win just that much better for Baylor Basketball.

[JETHRO]

Typical recruiting rhetoric. I love it when UT takes the "moral high ground." They look clean, but you better believe they have very powerful people and a legion of Texans covering their tracks like its their civic duty. In this case I can finally reply to Barnes by simply saying "Scoreboard." He dishes, he needs to learn to take it (hopfully, for a long time) and not whine.

PS. Why would anyone become a AAU Coach if they felt it would never result in coaching college ball? Don't be shady, but don't be stupid either.

[ValpoCory]

We all know that Rick Barnes calls Scott Drew a cheater behind closed doors, which is not that far removed from calling him unethical on the record, which he implied from the article above.

[Baylor3216]

[quote=UbuntuBear;2766911]

Barnes said he had not competed much against Drew for players recently. "There's a line that he knows that he can't cross with me," Barnes said. "He knows that. He definitely knows that."[\QUOTE]

What an arrogant Do*che Bag, that makes yesterday's win just that much better for Baylor Basketball.

I was just thinking that Ubuntu....Whata fu**in douche. I'm sorry. I guess when Drew got Jerrels and HenDu he knew how not to cross barnes.

I guess when Drew got Anthony Jones, he knew how not to cross barnes.

I guess when Drew backed off the recruit for this year that was kicked off his highschool team but verballed to ut, Drew how not to cross barnes.

barnes is now officially an as*-hat. ut is now almost on par with my joy in beating atm-colleg station.

[ebear]

Honestly, at this point I would just assume John Wall go somewhere else. If he signs with BU, we are going to have some very powerful athletic programs asserting their influence up the NCAA chain of command and, more importantly, in the media.

[xiledinok]

Barnes is upset and generated this story. That's why Celis posted it. They knew it was coming this week.
Stop being scared. Whoopty fxcking do. Recruiting is the most important thing in college sports.
Barnes wouldn't have won as many games without recruiting DJ Augustine or T.J. Ford, a guy who came from a high school program that was all recruited.

[jdon]

The NY Times only practices agenda journalism, and it loves to pick on Christians. If Baylor were a Muslim school, Drew would be praised beyond belief.

I hope Wall comes to Baylor and sticks it to that Longhorn coaching prick.

[Baylor3216]

Originally Posted by ebear

Honestly, at this point I would just assume John Wall go somewhere else. If he signs with BU, we are going to have some very powerful athletic programs asserting their influence up the NCAA chain of command and, more importantly, in the media.

Don't be a puss ebear. Scott Drew has started to shift the power base and people are doing anything they can to prevent it from happening (based on your post, you of all people know this

I say bring in Wall and if they want to say one dam* word about it, they can then bring up the Kansas', KStates, atm-colleg stations and ut's of the world to defend their actions.

BU's winning streak against ut is at 1 and counting....bi*ches...

[Joe Bear 79]

"There's a line that he knows that he can't cross with me," Barnes said. "He knows that. He definitely knows that."

Exactly who the hell does Barnes think he is? Arrogant pri*k!

[ebear]

The AAS left out the last couple of paragraphs of the article....

As excited as Baylor’s players were about playing in the Big 12 championship game, they were even more enthusiastic about the possibility of Wall’s being a teammate next season.

“If you haven’t seen his YouTube clips, you need to,” the redshirt freshman forward Fred Ellis said. “He’s a freak.”

Every day, the Baylor players chide Clifton about bringing in Wall, Ellis said. The Bears senior guard Henry Dugat compared Clifton’s role on the team to that of a manager.

“He’s around when we need him and gives good advice,” Dugat said.

[BackToTeaff]

Yeah well, we can recruit Christians to a Christian university, and you can't Barnes!