 |
|
     
|
Verbal Commitments, Ohio History & Kid Battles Cancer - May 08, 2008
posted by: Josh
• I think Mike White needs to know that his story in Sunday's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette made me cry. If you read it, you'll probably cry too. White shares the tale of 18-year-old John Challis, a kid dying of cancer. On April 24, the frail 5-foot-5 teenager was permitted to pinch hit in a high school baseball game and you know what? He got a hit. John doesn't have much time left - doctors actually expected he would be gone by now. But he still dresses with the baseball team, and last fall, he was permitted to take a couple of snaps with the football team he used to play on. John won't ever be an NCAA student-athlete, but his inspirational story has inspired classmates and opponents that are headed on to compete in the collegiate ranks. His impact will reverberate throughout his own community, as well as others, as his legacy will continue to live on even after he dies. • I'm not the only one who thinks the verbal commitments between coaches and eighth graders are absurd. In fact, an eighth grader who verbally committed to USC last spring didn't play all that well during his freshman year in high school, and his coach thinks the pressure may have gotten to him. • When Ohio State took to the football field for the first time in 1890, the Wolverines of Michigan were not on the opposing sideline. In fact, the Buckeyes played their first-ever game against Ohio Wesleyan on May 3, 1890, in front of about 600 fans. Almost 125 years later, the two schools don't play one another anymore, but they are celebrating their history. Last weekend, pep bands, cheerleaders, coaches and university presidents took part in a ceremony on the Ohio Wesleyan campus to commemorate the game that took place so long ago. • Congratulations to Fresno State softball coach Margie Wright, who became the first coach in her sport to win 1,300 career games. The Bulldogs are 47-9 this season and Wright is 1,300-455-3 during her career, which has included 23 years at Fresno State and a national title. • Boston College ice hockey standout Nathan Gerbe has elected to leave school early, signing a three-year deal with the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday to forgo his final year of eligibility. Gerbe led the Eagles to the national championship last month and was the runner-up for the Hobey Baker Award. You can't fault Gerbe for taking the seven-figure deal offered by the Sabres, but it's interesting to see the differences in contracts provided to elite basketball and football rookies as opposed to the top hockey rookies. 
CommentsLook I understand the point that you and others don't think the recruiting of eighth graders is good but look at the culture of the sport (men's basketball). On the men's side there are huge multi-million dollar contracted coaches you are talking about. The pressure to win is incredible. They don't often get fired for an APR before they would for losing. They take the risk to get the next big thing. Recruiting is always a gamble regardless of age. Damon Bailey was offered in the 8th grade many years ago at Indiana - this is not a new concept. The sport is so high profile now it is more newsworthy. Why don't we talk about female tennis players going pro in their young teens or female gymnasts being done internationally before they ever go to college because there is no overall interest like there is in high profile college basketball. It's not changing any time soon. This has been going on for a long time. I would also like to know how many of the comments against it are college men's basketball coaches or top flight basketball recruits? In response to JMs post, the reason why we are not focusing on female or male tennis players or female gymnastics is that their sports are not that high profile. The media puts the hype on the sport of basketball more than they do with tennis and gymnastics. Plus from a tennis player's standpoint, it is harder to go pro and be successful at that level in tennis. Where as in basketball, if the coach or GM feels that they are what the team needs, then they will formulate a gameplan around that one athlete. Tennis is an individual sport and they have to work hard at getting to the pro level. Nowadays it seems that if there is hype following you, you will get looked at and get that offer from a college that only 1 in 10 high school athletes gets. Nolan that was my point the reason we talk about basketball is because of the media hype. It has only intensified over the years with the increased access due to hundreds of cable channels solely dedicated to sports and the internet. This has been going on for a while but people (media) didn't have the access it has now to make it some big deal. So you think it is easier to make pro basketball? I would like to see the participation numbers in tennis versus basketball and see what the better odds are. It has been noted many times on this site alone how hard it is for someone to go to the NBA. It's hard to go pro in any sport. The issue here is that verbal commitments don't mean anything, especially when we're talking about 13-year-olds who haven't played a high school game yet. It doesn't make sense. It might not make sense to you but to many when they give their word they see it as a binding agreement. There are some that go against those agreements but for the most part they are honored. Offering a 13 year old is similar for an NBA team to select an 18 now 19 year old on hope that they will be the next big thing like a Lebron or Kobe. Even if someone is a great high school senior it does not mean they will be a good college player. I guess that's what makes this so absurd to me. JM, you said: "Even if someone is a great high school senior it does not mean they will be a good college player." But how on this earth can we or should we predict how an eighth grader will play in college if we can't predict how a high school senior will perform at the next level? It is dealing in the what if? You cannot wait to see because at that level a coach will be fired if they do not win long before their contract is up. They have to take that chance. Which is exactly why the verbals make no sense...if a coach is fired three years after making a verbal commitment with a 13-year-old, that commitment means absolutely nothing at all. Post a Comment |
  
It is up for the school to do drug testing on students, but it is up to the NCAA/Athletics to do drug testing on student-athletes.
- Shawn D.
   
|
