Once a Cheater Who Doesn't Get Punished, Always a Cheater Who Doesn't Get Punished.

The NCAA sucks.

The coaches, colleges, and players are literally being asked to cheat.

This week, the NCAA ruled that Memphis will forfeit all wins from the 07-08 basketball season. Aaaaaand………..that’s it. Oh good. Let’s all just simultaneously forget that the Memphis Tigers went to the championship game that year. SHHH! I’m forgetting. For John Calipari, this is the second time that one of his teams will have to forfeit their Final Four run, the first being his 1996 Massachusetts team (Marcus Camby took “benefits”). The same thing happened for Memphis in 1985. Both were warned of repercussions in the event of future misconduct, and this is what we get.

By the way, the reason for this “punishment” is the infraction committed by a player who has not been named (Derrick Rose). During and after his last high school year, Rose took and failed the ACT three times, all in his hometown of Chicago. Then he…let me make sure I got this right…traveled to Detroit where he passed the SAT one month before he enrolled at Memphis. If this sounds fishy, that’s because it is. Allegedly, Rose’s cousin took the test for him. The NCAA looked into this and decided (conveniently) to find Rose ineligible for the 07-08 season one month AFTER he had finished his one season. Good for them. And everybody.

The Memphis basketball program was charged with failure to monitor and received three years of probation (wrist slap). Calipari, by now a known cheater, was not found guilty of anything. He is now college basketball’s richest coach and is bringing in a highly touted recruiting class to Kentucky. Derrick Rose also came out of the mess completely clean. He played his only college season while ineligible, he was the first pick of the NBA draft, and he is now the starting point guard for the Chicago Bulls.

No one received any actual punishment for this situation. Coaches are not intimidated at all by the ruling, and will continue to cheat on a usual basis. The worst part may be the fact that college students are, in a way, being encouraged to cheat. Derrick Rose had someone else get him into college, and now he is a rich NBA star. I liken the situation to the much tainted USC program, where college stars like O.J. Mayo and Reggie Bush received all kinds of benefits while at school. Reggie Bush allegedly received around $300,000, and his parents were basically given a mansion. These kids are rewarded for cheating. Future college students now expect these kinds of benefits long before they are offered.

The NCAA does not care. They are powerless, except by choice. If you generate wins and money, then you should be okay (Belichick). But if you cheat and do not succeed, then you better watch out.

I’m touchy about this. IU basketball was recently destroyed by a cheater.

Scott