http://www.daily-chronicle.com/articles/...orts04.txt
Silas calls NIU an option
By John Sahly - jsahly@daily-chronicle.com
Mar 21, 2008
Quote:Xavier Silas is a basketball player without a team, and that's a problem that might be rectified in the near future.
Silas, a 6-foot-5-inch sophomore guard, was kicked off the University of Colorado basketball team on Feb. 22. Silas told reporters the reason wasn't because he was in any kind of social, legal or academic trouble. Coach Jeff Bzdelik told the Rocky Mountain News the decision was made in “the best interest of the future of (CU) basketball.”
With that behind him, Silas may find a home at Northern Illinois.
Silas was originally recruited to Colorado when current NIU basketball coach Ricardo Patton was coach there. When Colorado's compliance department cleared him to be recruited again, Silas said Northern Illinois was the first school to contact him.
When contacted on Thursday, Silas said Northern Illinois was a “very good possibility.”
“I have a good relationship with the coaching staff and we are all on the same page,” Silas said. “Coach Patton and I have a very good relationship, when he was here I could go to him for anything.”
Silas also added that the coaching staff's goals and the challenge of turning around NIU, which went 6-22 in Patton's first season, is what attracts him to the program.
Silas was third on the Buffaloes in scoring with 9.7 points per game when Bzdelik let Silas go. Silas started in 19 of 23 games this season, and in 48 career games averaged 10.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists.
What are the rules related to being "kicked off the team"? Can he play next year or does he have to wait a year?
being "kicked off" the team does not effect his eligibility but if he transfers to NIU or any other D 1 program he has to sit the obligatory 1 year and would have 2 years left--providing he is in good academic standing
Doesnt sound too bad...bring him in ricardo
Seems like a good player. I'd love to have him in a Huskie uniform.
cagy cager Wrote:being "kicked off" the team does not effect his eligibility but if he transfers to NIU or any other D 1 program he has to sit the obligatory 1 year and would have 2 years left--providing he is in good academic standing
I wonder if he can petition the NCAA though. If he wasn't given a reason to being kicked off the team then he shouldn't lose any eligibility when transferring. Not his fault Bzdelik seems to be getting rid of all of Patton's recruits so quickly. This Bzdelik sounds like one mean dude with the way he keeps on getting rid of players that aren't his own.
exactly. if your kicked off the team, for NO REASON GIVIN, other than "best interest of the program", why would you have to wait a year to play at another school? maybe he can appeal to the NCAA and get a ruling on this. it wouldn't be fair to the student-athlete to be punished by having to sit in this case.
There is a reason, but they are not saying. Please.
HuskiemobileMan Wrote:There is a reason, but they are not saying. Please.
I wouldn't be so sure. Bzdelik already got rid of four of Patton's players prior to the season. Sounds like Bzdelik was using Silas as a scapegoat for his abysmal season. There may have been some tension there because he may not have been performing on the court to Bzdelik's standards, but who was?
Check out this article by Scout.com on the situation.
http://colorado.scout.com/2/731354.html
DSniu41 Wrote:exactly. if your kicked off the team, for NO REASON GIVIN, other than "best interest of the program", why would you have to wait a year to play at another school? maybe he can appeal to the NCAA and get a ruling on this. it wouldn't be fair to the student-athlete to be punished by having to sit in this case.
Dream on.................
If you transfer, you transfer and then you sit unless your original program was dissolved.
Why do you have to wait?
Think about it - I want out and don't want to wait to play so I act like an a$$ or whatever and get kicked off. Now I'm scott free to go anyplace - dosen't work like that with the NCAA.
He'll sit wherever he goes if it's D1.
6'5 wing player, averaged 11 points and 3.5 rebounds a game at a Big 12 school over a span of 48 games/2 seasons...bring him on.
sportsfan Wrote:DSniu41 Wrote:exactly. if your kicked off the team, for NO REASON GIVIN, other than "best interest of the program", why would you have to wait a year to play at another school? maybe he can appeal to the NCAA and get a ruling on this. it wouldn't be fair to the student-athlete to be punished by having to sit in this case.
Think about it - I want out and don't want to wait to play so I act like an a$$ or whatever and get kicked off. Now I'm scott free to go anyplace - dosen't work like that with the NCAA.
He'll sit wherever he goes if it's D1.
He was already starting. From looking at their roster he was their third best player this season. The other two ahead of him were seniors that Patton recruited.
It all depends exactly why he was kicked off the team. If there is any reason even close to being a real reason, the NCAA will make him sit out a year. If there's not, then maybe he could play next year. I have a VERY hard time beliving that a team would kick their 3rd leading scoring off the team for no reason.
In any event, this would be a great guy to get. He could be a beast in the MAC.
I just checked Colorado's 2008 recruiting class. They only have three seniors yet they signed five recruits. Letting Silas go frees up that 4th scholarship and it also allows Bzdelik to use Silas as a scapegoat for their season.
epasnoopy Wrote:I just checked Colorado's 2008 recruiting class. They only have three seniors yet they signed four recruits. Letting Silas go frees up that 4th scholarship and it also allows Bzdelik to use Silas as a scapegoat for their season.
Very interesting...
TheNEWguy Wrote:epasnoopy Wrote:I just checked Colorado's 2008 recruiting class. They only have three seniors yet they signed four recruits. Letting Silas go frees up that 4th scholarship and it also allows Bzdelik to use Silas as a scapegoat for their season.
Very interesting...
My bad, i went by Rivals and they we were wrong. I just looked up the signing class on CU's page and it says they signed
five.
http://www.cubuffs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?...ID=1322178
epasnoopy Wrote:I just checked Colorado's 2008 recruiting class. They only have three seniors yet they signed four recruits. Letting Silas go frees up that 4th scholarship and it also allows Bzdelik to use Silas as a scapegoat for their season.
I love how you've just jumped to a conclusion about Bzdelik when you don't know the entire story and will likely never know his (or Colorado's) side of things.
Anyway, per an article about Silas being kicked off, there were already 5 open scholarships for signees when Silas was kicked off and Colorado signed 5 kids. They didn't need to kick Silas off to sign their class.
Guys kicked off the team prior to Silas opened up the scholarships that were eventually used.
Finally, he didn't need to kick him off the team in the middle of the year to open up the scholarship. He could have simply chosen to not renew the kids scholarship for next year; obviously, he had a problem with the kid (or kids) that goes beyond how well they play basketball.
UIHuskie Wrote:epasnoopy Wrote:I just checked Colorado's 2008 recruiting class. They only have three seniors yet they signed four recruits. Letting Silas go frees up that 4th scholarship and it also allows Bzdelik to use Silas as a scapegoat for their season.
I love how you've just jumped to a conclusion about Bzdelik when you don't know the entire story and will likely never know his (or Colorado's) side of things.
Anyway, per an article about Silas being kicked off, there were already 5 open scholarships for signees when Silas was kicked off and Colorado signed 5 kids. They didn't need to kick Silas off to sign their class.
Guys kicked off the team prior to Silas opened up the scholarships that were eventually used.
Fair enough, i thought he had already used those scholarships when he had already gotten rid of four of Patton's recruits before the season started.
Btw, it was Scout.com that used the idea that Silas was being used as a scapegoat.
epasnoopy Wrote:Btw, it was Scout.com that used the idea that Silas was being used as a scapegoat.
To be totally honest, I think the truth is probably somewhere in the middle. Anytime you get a new coach, there can be tension or hard feelings on the part of the kids.
It doesn't sound like Silas is really a bad kid, he just may not have gotten along with Bzdelik and it's possible he didn't handle it well.
That's not to say that Bzdelik didn't take advantage of that to try and clean house at the same time.
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