(03-22-2015 08:34 AM)Former Lurker Wrote: clearly the best over the past 5 years.
No, that's all in the definition of best. Championships? Uconn. Most lotto picks? Yes, probably UK.
What people have a problem with is how Cal operates and has operated throughout his career. And now he's even more brazen.
Look up "word wide wes". He has been power brokering NBA players for decades and now he's routing kids to UK for Cal. Between his agent like activities and UK's new NBA "combine" at the start of the year, you don't even have to wonder about payments or boosters or other back room nonsense. It's basically out in the open now.
From my perspective, the Cam Newton farce was the turning point for NCAA oversight. They had the goods on that guy, with money clearly going to his father, and it's decided that if they can't prove Cam knew about the cash, it's not a problem. The reality was that taking down a major SEC program in Auburn - and possibly working back to an even larger one in Florida (what, they got him for free but Auburn had to pay?) meant that the NCAA would be antagonizing a conference that increasingly controlled the college football landscape, and was sabre rattling about separating from the NCAA altogether to form their own league with their own rules - obviously including player payments.
Now a CBB blue blood - UNC - is caught flouting the rules to keep its players eligible, just a few years after its football program was revealed to do the same thing, and they're not even prohibited from playing in the tournament. O$U gets caught dirty and it gets a one year postseason ban - taking effect after their bowl game of course, where they may use the paid players in question. And they land Urban Meyer as a consolation.
That's why you see the vitriol against UK. You can't admire a program that has all the advantages to begin with and then cheats so blatantly on top of it. And as Cincy fans in particular, we who love to whine about the quality of our recruits - you watch Mick forge strong relationships with Marquise Teague, or Kemba Walker (yes, there have always been rumblings about Calhoun) only to lose them to programs who seem to play by a different set of rules.
Why don't we respect UK or OSU? Because the Washington Generals at least know what they're there for, meanwhile we're told that everything is on the up and up. Just try a little harder. Build some new facilities. Cheer louder. In my heart of hearts I know that doesn't get you there. You can built a mostly clean program and compete. But there's never going to be an even playing field. Personally I'd rather see a clean program, but then I believe in moral victories. Yesterday was one.