2010 Duke Player buys $98k in Jewels

[Masterofreality]

Hmmmmmmmm.

This could become a big, big problem for Duke. Where does a college kid get $30,000 cash to buy bling? Then he welches out on the other $68k that he owes. Is that what they teach at Duke?

This could mean vacating the 2010 National Championship.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ncaab--lance-thomas-lawsuit-could-test-integrity-of-ncaa-.html

I love Dan Wetzel. What a freaking Bulldog.

[xudash]

Holy shit!

This is going to be interesting to watch. To have both Duke and the NCAA in serious indigestion mode at the same time is a wonderful thing.

[XU 87]

To slightly change what one famous coach once said, "The NCAA will be so mad at Duke that they're going to put Elon on probation."

[CinciX12]

A necklace of Jesus' head. Excuse me while I go spend the next hour laughing.

[gladdenguy]

Would much rather have this problem than what we have at Xavier. I'll take this anyday over the last 9 months here.

[XULucho27]

Would much rather have this problem than what we have at Xavier. I'll take this anyday over the last 9 months here.

You'd rather have a possible NCAA probe into what could be $30,000 worth of impermissible benefits than the brawl and the Dez situation? Apples and oranges, man. Still, I don't think the former is really an enviable situation either.

Regardless, it's not like the NCAA is going to do anything to Duke.

[xudash]

You'd rather have a possible NCAA probe into what could be $30,000 worth of impermissible benefits than the brawl and the Dez situation? Apples and oranges, man. Still, I don't think the former is really an enviable situation either.

Regardless, it's not like the NCAA is going to do anything to Duke.

Not withstanding what appears to be a remarkable screwup involving UNC, I'm not sure you can be that confident about Duke coming away from this unscathed.

The player used poor judgment; that's clear enough. However, are we to believe that he obtained all of that stuff and put it into a shoebox until he left Durham? Otherwise, as soon as he walked out the front door of that jeweler, with a balance due, credit was extended.

I am not sure that the NCAA can do nothing in this case. Either way, it's fair to believe that an s-storm is going to develop over this.

[Juice]

A necklace of Jesus' head. Excuse me while I go spend the next hour laughing.

You are obviously not too familiar with the "Jesus piece"

1020

[xavierj]

You'd rather have a possible NCAA probe into what could be $30,000 worth of impermissible benefits than the brawl and the Dez situation? Apples and oranges, man. Still, I don't think the former is really an enviable situation either.

Regardless, it's not like the NCAA is going to do anything to Duke.

I would say the hit Xavier is taking and will continue to take will have a much larger impact than the slap on the wrist probation that Duke could get and what UCONN is going through. Probation is not that bad if you look at the history of it and what it does to your program. UC went on probation a couple of times but it was no big deal compared to the situation they found themselves in with Bob and Nancy.

[X-band '01]

It wouldn't be the first time Duke has been in the NCAA crosshairs - didn't they get off scot-free after the Myron Piggie fiasco?

[Masterofreality]

I would say the hit Xavier is taking and will continue to take will have a much larger impact than the slap on the wrist probation that Duke could get and what UCONN is going through. Probation is not that bad if you look at the history of it and what it does to your program. UC went on probation a couple of times but it was no big deal compared to the situation they found themselves in with Bob and Nancy.

WE may think it's bigger, but that's because we're obsessed with all things Xavier.

The fact is that Xavier is a blip on the national radar. Duke is Duke and UCon is UCon with a much bigger national footprint. The North Carolina story got much more play than the Dez story did, even though NC somehow got off. If the NCAA decides t nail Duke, it wil be huge on the national stage.

While we Xavier people may think that we have had a huge reputation hit nationally, that is just not the case. The Dez story is already over. Gonzo. If Duke has a major scandal, that will resound for a long, long time.

[paulxu]

The player used poor judgment; that's clear enough. However, are we to believe that he obtained all of that stuff and put it into a shoebox until he left Durham?

I'm pretty sure his RA knew about it.

[xubrew]

To slightly change what one famous coach once said, "The NCAA will be so mad at Duke that they're going to put Elon on probation."

That famous coach was Jerry Tarkanian. It's a funny quote, but it's also a crock. Jerry Tarkanian is hardly an embodiment of someone who always followed the rules and ended up getting screwed anyway. On top of that, his UNLV team was one of the highest profile programs in NCAA history. Other than Michigan's Fab Five (who also got nailed) I don't know if there has ever been a more popular team in college basketball history than those UNLV teams. They were much more like Duke and Kentucky than they were like Elon or Cleveland State. Another thing that makes the quote so ridiculous is that Kentucky DID get nailed right about the time he made the comment. They received a TV ban and an NCAA Tournament ban for I believe three years.

Name a mid-major or low major program that has really gotten creamed. If you look at all the recent cases in Miami football, Oklahoma basketball, Indiana basketball, Penn State football, USC football, USC basketball, Memphis basketball, UConn basketball, and Ohio State football ALL are major programs in major sports. The fact of the matter is major programs get hit harder. UCF is the only non-major program I can think of who has managed to get itself in serious trouble, and coincidentally, that happened just after they announced their move to the Big East.

Remember when Alabama State was actually changing the grades that were submitted by professors to get kids eligible?? Nothing serious happened to them.

Remember when Arkansas State had been certifying players incorrectly for eight years?? Nothing really happened to them.

IUPUI did the same thing, and nothing really happened to them.

Remeber when Texas A&M Corpus Christi knowing incorrectly certified players AND committed recruiting violations for putting players on unofficial visits up in hotels?? Nothing happened.

Had any of that happened at a major program, the NCAA would have killed them. I know that the quote is funny, but the guy that said it is hardly a victim, and it's actually very far away from reality. The major programs are dealt with more severely. Jackson State's basketball team had lower APR scores than UConn, and they received a waiver from the NCAA that allows them to play. UConn is banned from the postseason. That should tell you more than just a little bit.

[X-band '01]

I remember women's tennis at Boise State (someone playing for 5 seasons) putting their entire athletics program under the NCAA crosshairs, even for simple secondary violations that likely would never have been reported without the aforementioned major infraction.

[xubrew]

If this is what it looks like, I'm guessing Duke is in trouble. They went after Ohio State's football team for what appeared to be less serious than this. Ohio State's players were selling their own gifts that were legally given to them. This guy was receiving illegal gifts.

[X-band '01]

Duke would only get Ohio State-like penalties if Coach K and his staff tried to cover this up like Tressel did.

[xubrew]

Duke would only get Ohio State-like penalties if Coach K and his staff tried to cover this up like Tressel did.

Good point. I think something will happen to them, but you're right about it not being as serious as Ohio State. Didn't think about that.

[waggy]

C'mon the guys at OSU sold some memorabilia. The guy at Duke was carry $30K.

[STL_XUfan]

C'mon the guys at OSU sold some memorabilia. The guy at Duke was carry $30K.

The infraction doesn't matter as much as the cover up. College students will be dumb, the wrath of the NCAA comes down when the administration is dumb.

[waggy]

The infraction doesn't matter as much as the cover up. College students will be dumb, the wrath of the NCAA comes down when the administration is dumb.

Okay, but the implication is that guys at Duke are getting greased large sums of money, which imo is a much bigger issue. I'm getting very close to being done with college sports.

[STL_XUfan]

Okay, but the implication is that guys at Duke are getting greased large sums of money, which imo is a much bigger issue. I'm getting very close to being done with college sports.

And if that comes out, especially a patern that shows the school should have been aware, they will get hammered. If it is true that a booster gave him 30k cash, and the player has the chance to throw that booster under the bus to save his own ass, it will come out.

[xudash]

The infraction doesn't matter as much as the cover up. College students will be dumb, the wrath of the NCAA comes down when the administration is dumb.

I completely agree with this.

However, let's take the next step, which would suggest the possibility of Duke being tied to this more closely than they would otherwise like to be.

A student-athlete has in his possession approximately $100k of fine jewelry and no one, absolutely no one at Duke knows about it, because, well because the student-athlete was so effective at acquiring $100k worth of jewelry and keeping it completely to himself. A young man has a major "look at me I'm cooler than even I can fathom" moment and he keeps it to himself?

Imagine any student, whether a student-athlete or not, coming back to campus with a $100k of bling, packing it into a shoe box and placing it deeply in his or her closet, and going about their business on campus from there, without ever telling one person, not even their closest friend, about it.

Human nature tells me that more than just the purchaser knew about the transaction soon after it had taken place. I can't prove that. Yet I have to imagine that the news of this event somehow eventually made it back to the athletic offices.

This used to be so much easier for the NCAA. I recall visiting friends at Ohio State one weekend and seing Cornelius Green tooling down High Street in a brand new Lincoln Mark IV. No one thought anything about it. Then again, they wouldn't dare bother Woody about it, but I digress.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/1976_Lincoln_Continental_Mark_IV.jpg

[paulxu]

Somebody will post a picture on facebook of this kid in his bling.

(maybe this is like being "on deam.")

[xubrew]

And if that comes out, especially a patern that shows the school should have been aware, they will get hammered. If it is true that a booster gave him 30k cash, and the player has the chance to throw that booster under the bus to save his own ass, it will come out.

I think the kid is gone. He doesn't have to save his own ass. He could tell the NCAA to go screw themselves and there won't be any consequences. Same with whoever gave him the money. If you're not part of the membership, the NCAA can't touch you. They can only go after Duke.

Dash, I get what you're saying, but the reality is that if a compliance officer went out to the school's parking lot and was asked to identify which cars belonged to which players, they wouldn't be able to do it. Outside of practice, games and team functions, they just don't see these guys. I'm sure this guy is flashing his bling all over the bars and parties, but compliance officers and coaches don't go to student bars or parties. If they do, then everyone would talk about how it's wrong that they're fraterninzing with the players that way. In all honesty, that would probably get turned in as a violation for exceeding the time of contact coaches are allowed to have with their players.

I'm not saying that they shouldn't have known about it. I'm saying that I don't think they did know about it. I still think they're going to get hammered, but if it is Duke's stance that they didn't report it because they didn't know, I do not htink that is a lie.

[GoMuskies]

Isn't it a pretty standard practice to require players to register their cars with the compliance office? Too many issues with cars in the past (Samaki Walker at Louisville was the one that hit closest to home for me). That's not to say that a compliance officer would ever know if a player had a car that he didn't register.

[xubrew]

Isn't it a pretty standard practice to require players to register their cars with the compliance office? Too many issues with cars in the past (Samaki Walker at Louisville was the one that hit closest to home for me). That's not to say that a compliance officer would ever know if a player had a car that he didn't register.

Correct, and correct. It is standard practice, and the compliance officer wouldn't know if there was a car they didn't register. And unless he brought his notes with him, he wouldn't know what cars that they did register.

Precision is not my strenght. In a nutshell, I don't think Duke is lying if they say they didn't know.

[waggy]

So Duke doesn't know if they gave a kid $30K? They thought they lost it on the way to the bank?

[xubrew]

So Duke doesn't know if they gave a kid $30K? They thought they lost it on the way to the bank?

Duke doesn't know if a BOOSTER gave him $30k, or if that the store gave him an impermissible loan.

The NCAA now defines a booster to be pretty much anyone.

[Kahns Krazy]

Precision is not my strenght.

+1

[Xman95]

You'd rather have a possible NCAA probe into what could be $30,000 worth of impermissible benefits than the brawl and the Dez situation? Apples and oranges, man. Still, I don't think the former is really an enviable situation either.

Regardless, it's not like the NCAA is going to do anything to Duke.

Exactly. That's why I might agree with GG. Duke will roll on and be just fine. They won't be punished for anything (even if they should be) and this story will be forgotten soon enough. Duke hoops won't take a hit at all. With X, our reputation has been hammered, primarily due to the actions of our own administration. We may not face any sanctions from the NCAA, but our bball team is going to suck giant monkey balls this year - compared to what the norm is at X - and possibly the next few.

[ArizonaXUGrad]

Remember guys, that Reggie Bush's court case with the group that thought they would represent him is what brought the attention of the NCAA. Granted, USC is another school given harsh penelties and they seem fine. Although, I am sure they will get Kiffin in the end.

Just saying that a lawsuit by an outside party (e.g. this jeweler or the agent in Bush's case) has the tendency of bringing everything to light.

My question is why the jeweler waited until 2012 to settle a debt in court first assumed in 2009?

[xudash]

Remember guys, that Reggie Bush's court case with the group that thought they would represent him is what brought the attention of the NCAA. Granted, USC is another school given harsh penelties and they seem fine. Although, I am sure they will get Kiffin in the end.

Just saying that a lawsuit by an outside party (e.g. this jeweler or the agent in Bush's case) has the tendency of bringing everything to light.

My question is why the jeweler waited until 2012 to settle a debt in court first assumed in 2009?

Great gemologist. Forgetful past 15 days.

[STL_XUfan]

I think the kid is gone. He doesn't have to save his own ass. He could tell the NCAA to go screw themselves and there won't be any consequences. Same with whoever gave him the money. If you're not part of the membership, the NCAA can't touch you. They can only go after Duke.

I meant in terms of the lawsuit. If he can say the loan was from the jeweler due to being a duke blue devil he wil


Dash, I get what you're saying, but the reality is that if a compliance officer went out to the school's parking lot and was asked to identify which cars belonged to which players, they wouldn't be able to do it.

I disagree. The office I worked in could tell you exactly what car each player was driving, who the car was registered to, and when it was bought.

[Kahns Krazy]

I disagree. The office I worked in could tell you exactly what car each player was driving, who the car was registered to, and when it was bought.

And they would all be out in the lot, because the cars the kids actually drive aren't the registered ones just sitting there for compliance purposes.

[paulxu]

This will be the last you hear of this case = Duke skates.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/8394858/lance-thomas-former-duke-blue-devils-player-settles-jeweler-report-says

[xubrew]

Probably so....


The Dallas attorney said the terms are confidential, and he reiterated his client's unwillingness to discuss the matter with the NCAA, which is seeking details of the transaction.


NCAA rules require student-athletes and personnel at member schools to cooperate with the organization's inquiries, but there's nothing to compel people who aren't affiliated with those schools to do so.

It makes getting anyone to cooperate in the investigation extremely difficult, which could mean the case will be hard to prove,


Brown said if the settlement agreement prevents any comment to a third party (which would include Duke and the NCAA), then "it is likely that this case will eventually fade away due to an absence of relevant information/evidence about what really happened