Comments on: Not Again

By: Greg Miller

Greg Miller — Sun, 18 Jan 2015 00:08:45 +0000

Were you at the 5OT game? I was there with my 11 year old daughter. My kids also know that we stay until the Alma mater song is played. I did, however, have that feeling after Louisville made a basket with 45 seconds to go that we could not win. I was just staying because I want to support the team win or lose. Right after that Louisville basket probably 1-2 thousand people left. You are right those games do not happen often but that will probably go down as the best athletic game I have watched (part of that experience is that it is a memory I will share with my daughter forever. It was almost two hours of pure excitement. Whenever I mention it to her, it puts a smile on her face. Given that experience it might even rank higher than the 1988 ND vs Miami football game (my freshman year). It was also interesting to see the difference in coaching between Mike Brey (supporting and cheering his team) and Pitino (berating his team even as they would come down the floor for the winning shot at the end of each overtime.

To the topic at hand: On one hand it would be nice that these things did not happen and hopefully the student athletes are getting plenty of support. Each athlete still has to do the work. We all have made and will continue to make mistakes. Getting through Notre Dame was hard enough and I did not have to dedicate time to a sport, band or ROTC.

By: Phil Loscoe

Phil Loscoe — Sat, 17 Jan 2015 22:52:23 +0000

I’m sorry. No real fan leave a game with 10 minutes left just because his team is not playing well on that particular day. That’s just weak. I don’t care how you attempt to rationalize it, that’s the very definition of a fair weather fan. That’s not a compliment.

By: flirish

flirish — Fri, 16 Jan 2015 03:22:22 +0000

I agree that other schools have had similar issues but clearly there has been a bit of an epidemic at ND over the past three years. I don’t think we should look the other way but I also think the school should take a good look at what is going on and consider what their fault in the situation is. Is there enough support for the athletes? Something is wrong

By: Bill DiPiero

Bill DiPiero — Thu, 15 Jan 2015 17:56:45 +0000

The timing on Auguste’s suspension is puzzling … Seems late to be announcing this if the issue was from last semester. Don’t grades come out prior to Christmas? I suppose if a student was granted an incomplete and was given time to complete an assignment over the break and then didn’t meet the requirement that a delayed suspension would make sense.
Nevertheless, the ND B-ball smoke and mirror show is well underway again with last night’s game proving once again that Coach B and staff are still spectacularly creative (ala ‘the Burn’ when Hansbrough played) at finding ways to compete and win.

By: Kevin O'Neill

Kevin O'Neill — Wed, 14 Jan 2015 22:51:22 +0000

In reply to Robert Butler.

It actually does happen at other schools. Examples:

– Before the season started, the NCAA determined that UCLA freshman Jonah Bolden was a partial qualifier and therefore ineligible to play this season. UCLA had expected the highly rated forward to be in the playing rotation this season.

– Just a few weeks ago, UCLA sophomore forward Wanaah Bail was ruled academically ineligible. He will miss the remainder of the season. In a related story, Bail’s parents will be flogged for naming him “Wannah.”

– Florida State played Notre Dame without its leading scorer, junior guard Aaron Thomas, who had just been declared out for the remainder of the season because of grades.

– SMU starter Markus Kennedy was ineligible for the first semester because of academics.

– St. John’s forward Keith Thomas, an incoming transfer from Westchester Community College, has been academically ineligible for the 2014-15 season. Lavin gave him a scholarship despite an ongoing transcript scandal at Westchester.

– Two weeks later at St. John’s, 7-foot center Adonis De La Rosa, was declared ineligible because of suspicious test scores. De La Rosa was initially cleared by the NCAA, but his status changed following a review of his SAT scores.

– Georgetown had to play the second half of last season without center Josh Smith because of grades.

– Western Carolina senior guard James Sinclair was just ruled academically ineligible and was slated to miss the remainder of the season. Then WCU reinstated him two days later. Supposedly they counted an “F” twice. Much better now.

– Michigan’s Mitch McGary tested positive for marijuana. Rather than face a suspension, he declared for the NBA draft leaving Michigan without a good big man this season. McGary has spent most of this season in the NBDL.

This is Google search pages 1 and 2. There is plenty more where these came from. It’s surprising how many schools have to deal with academic issues… or maybe it isn’t.

By: Robert Butler

Robert Butler — Wed, 14 Jan 2015 21:38:43 +0000

Kevin, what has happened to the ND support system for athletes? This stuff happens waytoo much. ND has a very good bb team. This stuff can’t keep happening. Are the rules at ND way to strict. This just doesn’t happen at other schools. There wouldn’t even be a report of problems at many other schools.

By: Ed Graham '83

Ed Graham '83 — Wed, 14 Jan 2015 20:53:28 +0000

Kevin:

Just a brief note on Tom Hawkins. I had the dubious distinction of having a seat in the Coliseum this past November for the “beat down” that USC gave ND. It was extremely disappointing to see the lack of spirit and competitiveness generally exhibited on the field that day. The only redeeming moments of the first time experience at the Coliseum were provided by Tommy Hawkins as I had the unique pleasure of sitting next to him. In the course of the afternoon, we struck up a conversation. I marveled at the stories of old, including Tommy’s personal athletic accomplishments both at Notre Dame and in professional basketball. I learned about the unusual path he took to Notre Dame, and I spoke to him of my admiration for his color commentary with Haray Kalas on Notre Dame broadcasts.

But the single most important memory of my contact with him will be the unquestionable appreciation he holds for his Notre Dame experience. His story-telling was captivating, and detailed, as he spoke about the unrivaled environment created in the Old Fieldhouse and the “spirit” of the Notre Dame student body that supported those Notre Dame basketball teams.

It was a difficult experience to watch the play on the field that day, but it was well worth the price of the ticket just to be in his company. As a true testament to the loyalty of this Notre Dame man, my wife and I left the Coliseum that day as the 3rd Quarter ended like many other Notre Dame fans. Not Tommy………no, he remained in the same seat with an undivided loyalty to his beloved Notre Dame. I left Tommy’s presence at that time, but not without offering my remarks about my admiration for his loyalty to Old Notre Dame. He is a most deserving recipient of this distinctive honor! I hope the response on Saturday will be loud and raucous much like the experiences he described in the Fieldhouse as a player!