tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7038796146239392494.post5907016991144675683..comments2024-01-30T07:56:42.814-05:00Comments on Ballin' is a Habit: Northern Illinois won't allow Sean Kowal to pursue a graduate degree in TheologyTroy Machirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00566402816544978732noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7038796146239392494.post-65854619519248690622010-10-17T11:02:06.541-04:002010-10-17T11:02:06.541-04:00dude, no one goes to NIU and expects to go to the ...dude, no one goes to NIU and expects to go to the league after being a fifth year senior. doesn't happenAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7038796146239392494.post-36740932835365841102010-07-31T01:39:59.799-04:002010-07-31T01:39:59.799-04:00I dunno... Seems to me like the guy is already bei...I dunno... Seems to me like the guy is already being rewarded for being a student. He's got the degree and didn't have to pay for it, right?<br /><br />I just have a harder time accepting Kowal's situation as a major hardship compared with say, Walter Pitchford and DePaul or even Eniel Polynice and Ole Miss. In Pitchford's case, he signed his LOI to a coach who then got fired. He should definitely have been released. In Polynice's case, he wasn't really wanted back at Ole Miss. <br /><br />But this one, this is far different. In the middle of the summer, kid decides he wants to bail on his team for greener pastures. If making that decision is well within his rights (and it is), it is also well within the rights of Patton to think about how losing that kid is going to make it more difficult for him to accomplish the thing that he's at that university to do: you know, win basketball games.MK-Ultrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12824010014207235803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7038796146239392494.post-62037180471532267762010-07-31T00:54:01.503-04:002010-07-31T00:54:01.503-04:00First, the title of your post is a bit steep, don&...First, the title of your post is a bit steep, don't you think? I doubt't think NIU has a problem with him wanting to study theology. <br /><br />NIU might just feel slighted by a kid who is looking to transfer for the second time in what? Three years I highly doubt this has anything to do with his choice of study. <br /><br />In a nutshell, what I'm gettting at is that over the course of the summer more and more programs are trying to hold guys from transfering out.<br /><br />I kinda agree. If the coaches and programs are doing the hard work to get the kids there, I can kinda understand if they'd want to do their best to keep them there. <br /><br />That sheet of paper they sign is more than just a permission slip.<br /><br />College players are investments. Scholarships are alot of money, and I doubt athletic programs, Mid-Major or not, like to see kids dance around with them.<br /><br />But I dunno, that's just me.Troy Machirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00566402816544978732noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7038796146239392494.post-40613548065310371402010-07-30T23:38:53.769-04:002010-07-30T23:38:53.769-04:00But the point is that these guys are student-athle...But the point is that these guys are student-athletes. If the graduate degree that they want is offered at the school they attended for undergrad, then great. But if not, then why not reward the student-athletes that are real students?Rob Dausterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11844446177379050450noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7038796146239392494.post-42059334189633034862010-07-30T20:06:23.973-04:002010-07-30T20:06:23.973-04:00I certainly agree, with the rule in place allowing...I certainly agree, with the rule in place allowing kids to transfer w/o penalty after completing their undergraduate degree, the coach and the program should definitely release him from his scholarship.<br /><br />And, if the goal here is to make life better and easier for the student-athlete, the caveat in the NCAA rule that allows the coach to withhold release from the scholarship needs to be removed.<br /><br />But more to the point, I just have mixed feelings about the rule in general. Sure, it is a good reward for these kids who complete their degrees early, but it is also a bit of a punch in the gut to a program that has worked with and developed the athlete part of the student-athlete to have them bail on the program to trade up to a bigger institution for their final year.<br /><br />I think I'd rather the rule didn't exist at all.MK-Ultrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12824010014207235803noreply@blogger.com