Coach Cal and his Shady Recruiting

Sure, Memphis lost Derrick Rose, CDR, and Joey Dorsey from the team that was a couple made free throws away from a national title, but don't expect the Tigers to fall too far from the top of Conference USA. They already have one of the best recruiting classes in the country, headlined by spring signee Tyreke Evans, but they added to it yesterday when CJ Henry decided to enroll in classes at Memphis, making him eligible to be a walk-on for Coach Cal.

Why, you ask, is it newsworthy to talk about a walk-on for Memphis?

For two reasons. First of all, in 2005, when Henry was a senior in high school, he was one of the most sought after recruits in the country out of Putnam City High in Oklahoma. Memphis wanted him. So did Texas, Kansas and just about every other school in the country. One assistant coach who recruited Henry out of high school told Jeff Goodman

"I loved him," the coach said. "He's a big guard who can score the ball. He's explosive and can really shoot it. He's more of a combo guard, but I think he can play the point. Because of his size and athleticism, I think he can play right away."

The thing is, the kid was also a great baseball player, getting picked 17th overall by the Yankees and lining his pockets with a $1.6 million signing bonus from George Steinbrenner.

Well, that baseball career never panned out. Between vision problems, poor performances, and injuries (this season alone he sprained his neck in an outfield collision and his knee in a collision at home plate), he never quite got on track. But in the contract he signed with the Yankees, it said that the organization would foot the bill if and when Henry decided to go to school. So, after hitting just .234 at single A this year, Henry called Coach Cal and Bill Self (he originally committed to Kansas) to gauge their interest and not 24 hours later, he was enrolled at Memphis and ready to take the court. He's not quite in basketball shape (at 6'4", he's up to about 220 lb), but given how wide open the Memphis backcourt is this year, expect Henry to compete for major minutes.

There is another reason that Memphis and Kansas wanted CJ Henry the second time around, and that is his little brother Xavier (pronounced ZAV-ee-yay), one of the top recruits in the class of 2009 (#3 on Rivals). And it just so happens that his top two schools are, you guessed it, Memphis and Kansas.

Now neither of these programs are averse to shady recruiting tactics and "package deals". Mario Chalmers father, Ronnie, was hired by Kansas the same year that his son decided to play for the Jayhawks and left the position when Mario headed to the league. Memphis is worse. Milt Wagner worked for Memphis for six years as a result of his son DaJuan deciding to play there. Already this summer, Coach Cal has hired Lamont Peterson (the trainer and coach for Evans) and Bilal Blatley (who is very close with 2009 commit Nolan Dennis). He also "allegedly" requested the CEO of FedEx to call the mother of recruit Abdul Gaddy, who happens to be a customer service rep for the company. And all this on the heels of Scott Drew hiring #1 recruit John Wall's AAU coach.

Now to be honest, I am not sure if the CJ Henry decision is a package deal. His family was apparently surprised by his decision, and because it was so quick, it is very possible that CJ Henry knew that since his brother was so coveted by the two schools and he didn't need a scholarship that both schools would jump at the idea of having him on the roster. But there is no way that Coach Cal and Bill Self did not at least have the thought run through their minds that getting CJ would give them an edge for landing Xavier.

Based on how commonplace this practice has become, many people might not realize that it is in fact illegal for a school to hire someone close to a recruit for the specific purpose of trying to get that recruit to attend school. In fact, the NCAA has recently made an effort to crack down on college basketball recruiting, including these package deals. Just this spring, the NCAA created a three-person group devoted entirely to keeping an eye on illicit recruiting practices. Despite all of the blatant violations, no schools have received anything more than a slap on the wrist for it since New Mexico State in 1996, mainly because intent in this type of situation is so hard to prove.

But apparently tougher enforcement is not the only thing the NCAA is looking to improve. They also want tougher legislation. During last year's Final Four, an initial working group, headlined by David Stern and Myles Brand, was brought together to discuss the problems facing youth basketball in this country. In their summary report, they said

When an institution hires an individual who has either coached or is related to a prospect who ultimately enrolls at that institution, there should be a rebuttable presumption that the hiring violates NCAA legislation. This presumption would be triggered if the individual were hired within two years, either before or after, of the prospect's initial enrollment at the institution. The burden would then be on the institution to prove to the enforcement staff that the hiring did not violate NCAA rules.

It sounds like a great idea on paper.

Personally, I am still torn on the issue. Yes, it can be unethical. Yes, it opens up doors for funneling money to players and their families. Yes, there are a lot of instances where this is just another adult sidling up with a talented kid just to try and make some money. But I'm willing to bet that many of these package deals are simply an 18 year old kid wanting to be around people that he knows, to have people he is comfortable with in his life.

Think about it like this. You are a kid from a poor family in Brooklyn. The only time you've ever left New York City is to play in high school and AAU basketball tournaments. You are getting recruited to play all over the country, and eventually decide that going to Duke is the best way to further your career and your education. But Durham is a long way from Brooklyn, and you want people that you know and you trust around you. Your parents can't go because you have three siblings and they need to be in Brooklyn. So who would you and your family be the most comfortable with being down there to help you? How about the AAU or high school coach that helped keep you out of trouble and who has coached, trained, and mentored you for the last four years of your life. But he isn't made of money, so he needs something to pay the bills while he is in Durham, so Coach K offers him a position within the Duke athletic office.

Is that really unethical?