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Men's assistant Ira Bowman mentioned in bribary scheme


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9 hours ago, Mikey said:

I don't see any way to have avoided this current situation. It wasn't known until this week and so far, nobody in authority is even saying whether our guy did anything wrong or not.

You ask the questions and get the candidates to sign the disclosures and that's about it I guess...but someone who will cheat will also lie so even doing a reasonable background check does not tell much unless a person seems to be living above their means.  Just hope he has not been dipping into that bank account that the other coach referred to.

AU basketball has a checkered history and at this point most media consider us automatically guilty.....even if AU can eventually prove no involvement. 

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It's clear that AU had no involvement. Penn, the university, didn't either except that they were unknowingly used. This one is between a kid's father and the Penn BB coach at the time. Bowman's involvement is odd to say the least. I guess we'll find out in time.

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12 hours ago, 3rdgeneration said:

Wowzers! We are all a little grumpy today. Including me. Today is the first anniversary of my father's death. I'm sad.

Also, I just hate the fact that we are connected once again, in whatever small way, to yet another scandal. I hate that Auburn can be drawn into this latest conversation. Heard Auburn mentioned, in a snarky way, today on Sirius XM. They said something like, "Is anyone surprised this is happening at Auburn?"

So folks, serious talk, how do we avoid this? Is it so pervasive that no one avoids it? Is there something wrong with our vetting process for coaches? I heard that now there is an IMG coach involved. Can Cadillac be tainted as well? I mean, I doubt it, but all of this is too close for comfort with me. Why can't it be Bama or UGA coaches with dubious connections? Arrrrgggghhh!

First, it is indeed too pervasive to avoid these days especially in the basketball recruiting environment that's been established for a decades now.

Second, and I sincerely mean no ill will or harm in what I'm about to type...[I LOVE BRUCE] .................BUT, Auburn chose to hire a head basketball coach who was finishing out a 3 yr show cause when he hit campus.  Now, folks will make apologies for Bruce's run in with the NCAA (it was only a BBQ) - but he chose to lie to the NCAA investigators and he chose to urge others to lie as well which landed deep dodo and in unemployment line while he served his 3 yr show cause.  Had he chosen to be truthful, the punishment would've been minor likely a secondary violation in the eyes of the NCAA with UT serving nothing more than some reduced recruiting visits or reduced evaluation period.  BUT things turned out poorly because of BP's dishonesty.

Third,  this is the second "issue" of impropriety that has hit our Basketball program since the new coaching regime was hired.  Auburn is recruiting better than ever before, AU's "brand" is more widespread and has gained the attention highly talented recruits like never before.  Auburn is a heavy hitter on the recruiting trail.  And Bruce may have hired Ira Bowman because of his relationship with a top recruit.

Four, Since BP was brought in AU has terminated an Asst HC (Persons), 2 asst's (Jordan VerHulst/Frankie Sullivan), benched 2 Players (Wiley/Purifoy) for an entire season, and now has suspended ANOTHER Asst Coach (Bowman)....

SO, when media people make what we consider off color/snarky comments like  "Is anyone surprised this is happening to Auburn?"  the snarky comments are justified.

Alright, y'all are welcome to bash me I can take it, because this is JMHO.

 

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I will say this, if we were to be involved with any of this mess, outside of Chuck Person, this is the manner in which I would want to be involved.

We have a coach that took over a bribery scheme to basically sneak a kid past standard grade/testing requirements  at another school. This is flatly not an NCAA violation which I think should clear AU of anything, with him doing this at another school being another big time point in our favor.

Doesn't speak well to Bowman's character, however. But these guys in the coaching industry have been playing a dirty a game for decades of course there are some shady guys out there

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9 minutes ago, Tiger said:

I will say this, if we were to be involved with any of this mess, outside of Chuck Person, this is the manner in which I would want to be involved.

We have a coach that took over a bribe scheme to basically sneak a kid past standard grade/testing requirements  at another school. This is flatly not an NCAA violation which I think should clear AU of anything, with him doing this at another school is another big time point in our favor.

Doesn't speak well to Bowman's character, however. But these guys in the coaching industry have been playing a dirty a game for decades of course there are 

There you go!  Auburn hired a HC with questionable character, who hired people with questionable character (Persons/VerHulst/Sullivan/Bowman) who recruited a couple of kids with parents with questionable character (Wiley/Purifoy.)

Honestly, I don't think the entirety of high school basketball has a ounce of character left in it  The parents selling their kids, the HS coaches & specifically AAU coaches work the channels with the shoe companies, they have their hands out, the street agent pimps are the middle men and want a cut....it's a vicious cycle and it's become the only way colleges can recruit decent talent right now.  

 

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35 minutes ago, keesler said:

There you go!  Auburn hired a HC with questionable character, who hired people with questionable character (Persons/VerHulst/Sullivan/Bowman) who recruited a couple of kids with parents with questionable character (Wiley/Purifoy.)

Honestly, I don't think the entirety of high school basketball has a ounce of character left in it  The parents selling their kids, the HS coaches & specifically AAU coaches work the channels with the shoe companies, they have their hands out, the street agent pimps are the middle men and want a cut....it's a vicious cycle and it's become the only way colleges can recruit decent talent right now.  

 

Lol for some reason the last few words of my post were deleted but I'm glad you got the point. Hey I'm really just glad we hired a guy who can win playing the recruiting game that everyone else is playing without being egregious (LSU's rise vs our 4 year build for example doesn't do Will Wade any favors right now). It's just dumb, unlucky timing that the FBI stuff happened during our rise and Person was caught in it as this had nothing to do with the paying of recruits. I don't think Bruce is out there doing anything worse than anyone else and I think when you turn a hell hole program like AU into a winner you're going to have to play in the mud anyway -- especially initially. I also would be very surprised if Bruce is ever talking blatantly about "offers" (not scholarships) to recruits like Wade -- not saying we are squeaky clean obviously but Bruce's run-ins have been BBQ sandwich related and lying about it rather than this other stuff going on across the nation. 

 

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23 minutes ago, keesler said:

There you go!  Auburn hired a HC with questionable character, who hired people with questionable character (Persons/VerHulst/Sullivan/Bowman) who recruited a couple of kids with parents with questionable character (Wiley/Purifoy.)

Honestly, I don't think the entirety of high school basketball has a ounce of character left in it  The parents selling their kids, the HS coaches & specifically AAU coaches work the channels with the shoe companies, they have their hands out, the street agent pimps are the middle men and want a cut....it's a vicious cycle and it's become the only way colleges can recruit decent talent right now.  

 

It's probably nasty all the way around but we have been involved in more than our share of issues going back to Cliff.....and the sad thing is that if you go to the trophy case you will notice that we have very little to show for it in the way of success. 

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1 minute ago, Tiger said:

Lol for some reason the last few words of my post were deleted but I'm glad you got the point. Hey I'm really just glad we hired a guy who can win playing the recruiting game that everyone else is playing without being egregious (LSU's rise vs our 4 year build for example doesn't do Will Wade any favors right now). It's just dumb, unlucky timing that the FBI stuff happened during our rise and Person was caught in it as this had nothing to do with the paying of recruits. I don't think Bruce is out there doing anything worse than anyone else and I think when you turn a hell hole program like AU into a winner you're going to have to play in the mud anyway -- especially initially. I also would be very surprised if Bruce is ever talking to blatantly about "offers" (not scholarships) to recruits like Wade -- not saying we are squeaky clean obviously but Bruce's run-ins have been BBQ sandwich related and lying about it rather than this other stuff going on across the nation. 

 

I absolutely agree, few HC's choose to get directly involved with the agents/bag men and discuss it on the damn phone, i.e. Will Wade/Sean Miller.

But the antics of guys like Wade show just how prevalent and dirty the system really is, and how HCs are indeed knowledgeable about the system works.  LSU has a KGB'ish Compliance Dept just like ours, they take extraordinary precaution to levels AU's Compliance takes - and the stuff Wade was discussing exposed LSU in a big way.

 

 

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6 minutes ago, keesler said:

I absolutely agree, few HC's choose to get directly involved with the agents/bag men and discuss it on the damn phone, i.e. Will Wade/Sean Miller.

But the antics of guys like Wade show just how prevalent and dirty the system really is, and how HCs are indeed knowledgeable about the system works.  LSU has a KGB'ish Compliance Dept just like ours, they take extraordinary precaution to levels AU's Compliance takes - and the stuff Wade was discussing exposed LSU in a big way.

 

 

Yeah the whole college hoops world is filthy. Without sullying this thread with whether or not athletes should be paid or allowed to capitalize on their likeness etc, the rules are certainly archaic and need some modern thought put behind them to discourage this type of under-the-table shadiness. They didn't know that there would be so much money flowing through football/basketball when the whole concept of amateurism was implemented by the NCAA.

But how fast have things changed? In 2010 we were raked over the coals just for the Cam Newton thing that proved to be false. Now people are getting direct quotes from wiretaps about offering money to recruits and deals for family and handlers and the general consensus is "meh".

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The state of Alabama produces a big crop of top talent in basketball, sometimes kids stay in-state and many times they leave to go elsewhere.  But the under-the-table negotiations are so blatant in this state that it is a hot bed for shady dealings. 

Attend a local AAU game and walk around the parking lot and keep your eyes & ears open and watch the $$ change hands between parents & runners.  It happens right here in Montgomery. 

I've seen practices held in local church rec centers where everyone bowed their heads and prayed before & after a practice while runners were steady working deals in the stands and in the foyer of the dang church.  A lot of $$ has a way of getting "cleansed" through the churches before it gets distributed to the blessed parents of kids with God given talent around these parts.  Ugly business.

 

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35 minutes ago, Tiger said:

I don't think Bruce is out there doing anything worse than anyone else and I think when you turn a hell hole program like AU into a winner you're going to have to play in the mud anyway

Exactly.  If you're going to get in a street fight (i.e. college basketball recruiting), then you better hire a street fighter (BP).  Or you can be satisfied winning a conference title every 25 or so years.

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The key is to CLEAN the $$$ through non-profits and then get people in place to redistribute the $$ to the poor people in need of "help", the "Black Belt" and the South in general provide a perfect set up of ultra-religious people that are just waiting for Blessings to befall them.  

A tiny portion of the charade is about to come to the surface in another blessed area, south-bond of Alabama.

 

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4 hours ago, keesler said:

The key is to CLEAN the $$$ through non-profits and then get people in place to redistribute the $$ to the poor people in need of "help", the "Black Belt" and the South in general provide a perfect set up of ultra-religious people that are just waiting for Blessings to befall them.  

A tiny portion of the charade is about to come to the surface in another blessed area, south-bond of Alabama.

 

Not sure what you are talking about but most poor areas in the south along with hurricane, flood and tornado ravaged areas should be thankful for the ultra-religious people who come repair their houses and contribute to foodbanks in those backwater towns. 

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49 minutes ago, AU64 said:

Not sure what you are talking about but most poor areas in the south along with hurricane, flood and tornado ravaged areas should be thankful for the ultra-religious people who come repair their houses and contribute to foodbanks in those backwater towns. 

i think he is talking about LSU....a lot nervous people in their fanbase concerning a fraud case where church funds MAY have been redistributed....The university is monitoring the situation but does not know if the LSU athletic department is involved yet

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7 minutes ago, doverstutts said:

i think he is talking about LSU....a lot nervous people in their fanbase concerning a fraud case where church funds MAY have been redistributed....The university is monitoring the situation but does not know if the LSU athletic department is involved yet

OK thanks.......but curious that Wade has asked to be reinstated …..and at the same time says he can't talk to the admin until the trial is over.  Will be interesting to see how the school responds but I don't expect to see him tomorrow night. 

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In think, Wade's public statement kinda sealed his fate with LSU, it would be hard to harbor any goodwill after that firm stance.  He manned up to them, and basically pointed out that LSU was over reacting to unsubstantiated media reports and should put him back on the court and allow him to exercise his constitutional rights.  Its was a bold move on Wade's part.

In reality, this isn't a constitutional issue.  The university has the right to suspend him or terminate his contract, they haven't discriminated against him - they've suspended him with pay.

His actions were unethical, as head of the program and it's his responsibility to uphold the rules & regulations of LSU/SEC/NCAA while fostering a culture of compliance.  He was found having direct involvement with at least one street agents, discussing "offers" and the in's & out's of a recruit getting a better deal than the "rookie minimum" over the phone  >> unethical on so many levels.

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23 hours ago, keesler said:

First, it is indeed too pervasive to avoid these days especially in the basketball recruiting environment that's been established for a decades now.

Second, and I sincerely mean no ill will or harm in what I'm about to type...[I LOVE BRUCE] .................BUT, Auburn chose to hire a head basketball coach who was finishing out a 3 yr show cause when he hit campus.  Now, folks will make apologies for Bruce's run in with the NCAA (it was only a BBQ) - but he chose to lie to the NCAA investigators and he chose to urge others to lie as well which landed deep dodo and in unemployment line while he served his 3 yr show cause.  Had he chosen to be truthful, the punishment would've been minor likely a secondary violation in the eyes of the NCAA with UT serving nothing more than some reduced recruiting visits or reduced evaluation period.  BUT things turned out poorly because of BP's dishonesty.

Third,  this is the second "issue" of impropriety that has hit our Basketball program since the new coaching regime was hired.  Auburn is recruiting better than ever before, AU's "brand" is more widespread and has gained the attention highly talented recruits like never before.  Auburn is a heavy hitter on the recruiting trail.  And Bruce may have hired Ira Bowman because of his relationship with a top recruit.

Four, Since BP was brought in AU has terminated an Asst HC (Persons), 2 asst's (Jordan VerHulst/Frankie Sullivan), benched 2 Players (Wiley/Purifoy) for an entire season, and now has suspended ANOTHER Asst Coach (Bowman)....

SO, when media people make what we consider off color/snarky comments like  "Is anyone surprised this is happening to Auburn?"  the snarky comments are justified.

Alright, y'all are welcome to bash me I can take it, because this is JMHO.

 

Great post. Truth. 

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