UC's Strickland coming to grips with NCAA ruling
Jan. 22, 2014


Jamaree Strickland / Provided, Ashley Kempher/ UC

Written by
Bill Koch

When the University of Cincinnati Bearcats take the floor against Central Florida Thursday at Fifth Third Arena, Jamaree Strickland will be seated behind the basket at the north end of the building in Section 114, Row 6, Seat 1.

That’s where Strickland watches every UC home game, relegated to the role of a fan because the NCAA would not accept eight courses that Strickland took at MetWest High School in Oakland, Calif., which made the 6-foot-11, 270-pound center ineligible to play during his freshman year.

That would be bad enough but the NCAA won’t let him practice either. Or eat a team meal. Or stay in the hotel the night before a home game with the rest of the team. He can’t even be around if the coaches are instructing the players.

In effect, Strickland, 19, is part of the UC program but not part of the team. He has done his best to accept his fate, but it eats at him constantly.

“I don’t know why they would do this to a person’s life,” Strickland said. “I obviously came here to play basketball and now I can’t play. Now I’m just here.”

No. 15 UC (17-2, 6-0 in the American Athletic Conference) has won its last 10 games and will face the Knights (9-7, 1-4) as the hottest team in the American (tipoff 9 p.m.) Strickland roots for the Bearcats to keep it going but every time he watches them play, he believes he could help them to be an even better team.

“That’s what was really killing me,” Strickland said. “That was the biggest part. Jack (Justin Jackson) is doing a really good job at the four and five, but that’s not his natural position. I feel like I have a very good body. I could help move people so Jack could be open.”

UC coach Mick Cronin feels the void, too.

“It’s definitely affected our rebounding,” Cronin said. “It’s affected our depth on the interior. Anybody that we play that has big, big size, it can be tough on us.”

Strickland spent his first two years of high school at McClymonds High in Oakland. He transferred to MetWest his junior year because he and his parents considered it a better academic school. He had no idea there would be a problem with accreditation.

He was forced to sit out his junior year after he tore his ACL and missed all but six games of his senior year after complications from the surgery required that he undergo another surgery. Last year he played at Queen City Prep in Harrisburg, N.C., where he averaged 21 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots.

When Strickland signed with UC, associate head coach Larry Davis thought he had unearthed a diamond in the rough.

But UC discovered last January that there might be a problem with the courses and went to work to supply the NCAA with more than 2,000 pages of documentation, according to Davis. The school appealed the NCAA ruling several times but each time it was denied.

And each time, Strickland would get his hopes up only to see them dashed.

“We thought for sure the worst-case scenario would be that he would get a scholarship and not be able to play but at least be able to practice at least half the year,” Davis said.

When the worst-case scenario turned out to be much worse, Strickland became depressed and his school work suffered. He’s on scholarship, doing fine now academically, and seems to have come to grips with the situation, but it’s still a struggle.

His only basketball activity occurs when UC’s practice is over. That’s when he goes to the gym with a student manager and shoots “until I can’t shoot no more. That’s basically all I can do.”

Strickland said there were times when he considered chucking the whole thing and returning to Oakland but he didn’t because then, he said, “I would lose everything I ever worked for in basketball.”

“It was a lot harder on him early in the season,” Cronin said, “because he was holding out hope through December that he was going to win on appeal. The not knowing is tough on anybody in anything in life when you just don’t know what the future holds. I think going home for Christmas helped him. His smile is back. I think he sees light at the end of the tunnel

Strickland’s best friend now is the passage of time as he counts the days until this season is over and he can be fully a part of the UC program.

“I know after this certain amount of time I’m going to be out there practicing with them and time has flown by because it’s January now and this all started in September,” Strickland said. “I know time is the key to everything. My mental state is better right now. I can focus on getting past this day to get to the next day to be closer to the day I play.”

In the meantime, you can find Strickland in Section 114 at Fifth Third Arena.

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20140...CAA-ruling

I feel sorry for the kid. He would have onviously been logging some important minutes for us this year with our size issues and now that Lawrence is out. Hate to hear he transferred to a "better" academic school only to have his credits denied. Can't believe he is not even allowed to practice.

When will he be able to be part of the team?

heart goes out to the young man as well. it would suck to be told you can't do what you love because of a small indiscretion

(01-23-2014 09:56 AM)Lush Wrote:  heart goes out to the young man as well. it would suck to be told you can't do what you love because of a small indiscretion

I'm not even sure indiscretion is the right word. Some of the classes he took in high school included out of the classroom work. Kinda like a co-op program, but for high school instead of college. It's a good school. Some of his classmates went to Ivy League schools I believe. So it's not like the curriculum is a sham. But the NCAA didn't accept those specific classes as legitimate.

(01-23-2014 10:06 AM)Overrated Wrote:  

(01-23-2014 09:56 AM)Lush Wrote:  heart goes out to the young man as well. it would suck to be told you can't do what you love because of a small indiscretion

I'm not even sure indiscretion is the right word. Some of the classes he took in high school included out of the classroom work. Kinda like a co-op program, but for high school instead of college. It's a good school. Some of his classmates went to Ivy League schools I believe. So it's not like the curriculum is a sham. But the NCAA didn't accept those specific classes as legitimate.

i was positive it wasn't the right word, but i had no other recourse. i ain't getting smarter that's for sure. but from that picture of jamaree looks like we won't have to worry about his weight being a problem. does that jersey look kinda tight?

I look at how this young man is being treated by the NCAA and then think about those bogus propaganda commercials they run on TV about how they're there for student-athletes. Makes me sick.

"doing fine now" academically. So he's taking college level courses and doing well. Why not allow him to practice ETC so he
will be incented to STAY IN SCHOOL?? Or is that way to logical for the NCAA?

(01-23-2014 11:36 AM)BearcatBeta Wrote:  "doing fine now" academically. So he's taking college level courses and doing well. Why not allow him to practice ETC so he
will be incented to STAY IN SCHOOL?? Or is that way to logical for the NCAA?

Logic and NCAA is an oxymoron.

by not even letting him practice is sadistic. in what way is allowing jamaree to practice doing anyone any harm?

(01-23-2014 09:33 AM)Bearcatbdub Wrote:  When will he be able to be part of the team?

Once the summer practice sessions start.

To me, you either make the cut & get into a school or you don't... This is ridiculous. Jamaree not being allowed to practice is just cruel & makes no sense. Who makes that rule? He's a 19 year old kid 1,000 miles from home with no friends or family in Cincy & now he can't even be with his teammates. Just deny a kid admission rather than this. No way he would have signed up for it. He would have gone juco & played. This is exactly how kids end up in trouble.

Does he lose this year of eligibility?

The entire thing sucks.

And if you saw this kid when he was hanging out with his teammates at the tailgates, he looked like he absolutely loved being with those guys. Keeping him away from them for no good reason is ridiculous. What greater good is served?

(01-23-2014 08:34 PM)Bearcat Otto Wrote:  Does he lose this year of eligibility?

I don't believe so - his clock is running but he should have 4 years remaining.

(01-23-2014 08:34 PM)Bearcat Otto Wrote:  Does he lose this year of eligibility?

Instead of 5 years to play 4, he has 4 years to play 4.

Since he is in no way part of the team (does not practice, travel, stay at motel, etc) why should he only get 4 years for 4? Why shouldn't he get 5 for 4?

if Duke, Kentucky or North Carolina had signed Strickland, he'd have been found Eligible before the season even started.

(01-24-2014 05:24 AM)ctipton Wrote:  Since he is in no way part of the team (does not practice, travel, stay at motel, etc) why should he only get 4 years for 4? Why shouldn't he get 5 for 4?

I guess because he is on scholarship this year? I don't know. The NCAA doesn't make sense.

Twitter is trending with the #FreeJamaree hashtag. Mike Decourcey, Jay Bilas, and several other sports writers have picked up on it. Good stuff to whoever started that.

(01-23-2014 09:56 AM)Lush Wrote:  heart goes out to the young man as well. it would suck to be told you can't do what you love because of a small indiscretion

Yup...UC's old friend "The Shaft" once again surfaced via the NCAA

The NCAA is like herpes...it's just a gift that keeps on giving really.