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COACHES THAT DO ILLEGAL THINGS SHOULD BE KICKED OUT

John Beilein does not think that the type of corruption that was revealed recently thanks to an FBI investigation into the world of college basketball is particularly extensive within the game. But, he adds, those who are doing unlawful things as they try to lure recruits should be prosecuted and punished to the full extent of the law.

Beilein States that College Basketball is His Life

Beilein said that if felonies were being committed, whoever was guilty should be removed from the business. The Michigan coach added that college basketball was his reason for living, and that is should absolutely be kept clean. This element should be eradicated, and that although he hoped that the FBI findings pointed to limited, and isolated, criminal elements within the game, he was going to have to wait and see like the rest of us.  

What punters who enjoy betting on college basketball focusing momentarily on Caulfield Cup Betting in the run up to the race may have missed is that ten people were actually arrested last week, with four of this group including high-major assistant coaches. This followed a two-year federal investigation that made use of not only wiretaps, but undercover agents as well in an attempt to expose criminality.

Bribing Seems to be Rife

Among a number of allegations is that over US$250 000 changed hands in the form of bribes that lured recruits to choose certain schools to play for. Rick Pitino, coach for Louisville, got placed on unpaid leave the day after the news broke. Although he is apparently one of the unnamed coaches in the FBI affidavits, Pitino has denied any kind of wrongdoing, however he has now been replaced.

The Sport Has its Bad Elements

In the first public address of after the announcement of the investigation, Beilein said that, although he doesn’t believe this behaviour is widespread, he understands that it takes all kinds. He added that he did not feel that college basketball was crumbling, but that there were almost certainly rogue elements, as there would be in any industry. There is crime in every sector, from sports to sportsbetting and everything in between, and cracking down on it is essential.

Beilein’s Unsullied Reputation Speaks for Him

There are few coaches with a better reputation in college basketball than Beilein. A group of college basketball coaches were anonymously polled in August by CBS Sports, as to which coach they felt most fully operated within the strictures set by the NCAA rulebook. Beilein received a total of 26.6% of the vote, 16% more than any of his fellows.

When asked about this, Beilein brushed off the totals with a joke, but said that he has personally attempted to institute a culture of compliance in his program that begins with him and then radiates through his assistants, of which he has two for this season. Recruits who were looking for the kind of payouts that the FBI’s findings described didn’t stay in Michigan very long, Beilein said. Whether it is parents or prospects, he added, no one was asking him for any such thing. He said that were it ever to occur they would simply be removed from the list at once.

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