St. John’s finally had closure from the scandal that wrecked its b-ball program.
St. John’s was placed on two years’ probation and will lose one scholarship next season for making improper payments to a former men’s basketball player.
The NCAA’s committee on infractions on Thursday accepted all of the school’s self-imposed penalties, which included a postseason tournament ban in 2004-05, a reduction of one scholarship in 2005-06 and 2006-07, vacating all wins in which former player Abe Keita participated and returning 90 percent of the money it received from the Big East for participating in the 2002 NCAA Tournament.
St. John’s athletic director Chris Monasch was satisfied with the decision.
“We’re very pleased,” Monasch said. “We feel we have a stronger program in place and there is now a point of emphasis with compliance by the athletic department and the university.”
Keita alleged he was given $300 each month by a member of the basketball staff, and an investigation by the school found evidence to support the claim, violating the NCAA’s “extra-benefit” rules.
The school said the violations involved only one player and that the inquiry involved no current players, coaches or other athletic staff. The school said it believes the funds were provided with a humanitarian intent, but the payments still were judged to be inappropriate and unacceptable.
Committee chairman Gene Marsh credited the cooperation of former director of basketball operations Alex Evans and the quick response by St. John’s officials as reasons more severe sanctions were not issued. Evans admitted wrongdoing during the investigation and testified before the committee in February.
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The infractions occurred when Mike Jarvis was coaching St. John’s. Jarvis was fired in December 2003. Committee officials ruled the payments were made by a former director of basketball operations from September 2000 to February 2004.
Keita also was given $2,400 to help pay tuition in 1999-2000 when he was enrolled at St. John’s but did not academically qualify for a scholarship. The committee ruled St. John’s provided extra benefits to Keita by making special arrangements for him to rent an apartment at a reduced rate.
The committee criticized the university and Jarvis for failing to monitor the financial situation.
So who paid the money? Well that was Evans, the director of basketball operations. Also, known as the position of junior assistant coach. Or as Greg Doyel puts it (May 12):
So of course it was St. John’s director of operations Alex Evans who gave former Red Storm player Abe Keita $300 a month — for 3 1/2 years — for humanitarian expenses like video games and tip money at strip bars. Including a one-time donation of $2,400 for tuition fees, Keita received almost $10,000 from the St. John’s coaching staff.
Oops, sorry. Not from the St. John’s coaching staff. From the St. John’s director of basketball operations.
Of course Keita got the money from — and only from — Evans. Evans was rolling in dough, considering he was a lowly administrative assistant in the most expensive city in America. Evans was probably tipping doormen with $20s and lighting cigarettes with $100s. Made of money, those administrative assistants.
Evans reportedly told the NCAA that Jarvis provided some of the money for Keita, but neither Evans nor the NCAA could prove it.
Of course not. Even if Evans were telling the truth, cash is untraceable — and Jarvis wouldn’t face the NCAA interrogation in person.
So Evans gets a three-year “show cause” penalty from the NCAA, ending his career for the short term and probably for the long haul as well. St. John’s gets two years of probation and a few lost scholarships.
And Mike Jarvis? You can find him on ESPN, talking about college basketball.
Jarvis only responded to the NCAA investigation with written responses and denials. He gets to be a pundit and has no NCAA penalties on him. Mike Jarvis’ son, who was an assistant at St. John’s at the time is now an assistant at Duke. Evans who actually cooperated with the NCAA is essentially done in college basketball.
The lesson from this. Institutions — which are members of the NCAA — have every reason to cooperate with investigations. Individuals do not. In fact, it is arguably in their best interest to be as unhelpful as possible without actively obstructing an investigation.
This is the practical and effective conclusion you can see from basketball scandals.
Consider Baylor several years ago when one player killed the other. As the investigation started, the head coach, worried about the truth coming out about how they were secretly paying tuition for one of the players who was a trying to get his academics fixed. The head coach decided that he and the assistants should try to cover it up in part by spreading rumors/leaking reports that the dead player may have been involved in drug dealing. One assistant, Abar Rouse, realized how sick and insane this was, not to mention illegal, and that as an assistant he probably would have been hung out to dry. He taped some of the discussions. When it all started unraveling, the assistant contacted an attorney who passed it on to a newspaper reporter.
The general public and media thought he did the right thing, and lobbied for Rouse.
Rouse, a Baylor alum, was one of the people Bliss tried to enlist in his pathetic plan. When he hesitated to go along with the script, Rouse says, Bliss showed him a copy of his assistant’s contract, and the clause that gives the head coach complete authority to fire assistants was highlighted. Considering that Rouse had been hired all of 2 1/2 months earlier, a major step up after five years of paying his coaching dues at such out-of-the-way stops as Ranger College, Midwestern State and Cape Fear Community College, it wouldn’t have been surprising if he had been intimidated enough or ambitious enough to keep his mouth shut. Instead, he recorded such damning statements from Bliss that the coach had no choice but to admit his plot.
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If there is any justice, Rouse’s phone will soon start ringing off the hook, with coaching heavyweights such as Mike Krzyzewski or Lute Olson or Roy Williams on the other end, and they will say something like, “Young man, here is my home phone number, and if you need a job, or a recommendation for a job, do not hesitate to use it.”
Even as writers knew that Rouse was doomed.
Indeed the college coaches condemned him for betraying his boss. Hell, Jim Boeheim and the Sainted Coach K went on ESPN’s “Outside the Line” and publicly stated that the assistant crossed the line. The crime being committed and the lies being exposed were irrelevant. It was betraying the boss and head coach that mattered. Loyalty was more important than stopping a disgusting and desperate attempt to drag a dead kid’s name through the mud in hopes of hiding the head coach’s own malfeasance. Those must be the principles Coach K talks about in his AmEx Recruiting Commercial. Take the bullet meant for and deserved by me, or you’ll never work in this business again.
Dave Bliss is now coaching in the CBA. As for Rouse, it took almost a year to land a job as a graduate assistant coach at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas. His annual salary at Baylor was $42,000. He now earns $8000. He is also suing the attorney for releasing the tapes without his permission.
Both Evans and Rouse got screwed by comparison to their bosses for standing up and taking some measure of responsibility. Congratulations to the NCAA for showing the way the system works.
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