Dan Wolken of USA today believes the NCAA is trying to send a clear message to Kansas head coach Bill Self.
Wolken’s opinion is that the NCAA wants Self out of college basketball.
Here’s an excerpt of his thoughts:
But make no mistake about what is happening right now: The NCAA wants Self out of college basketball, and it is firing directly at him with all the power it’s got.
Had NCAA investigators chosen to go after Self merely for looking the other way or not properly monitoring his program, he could feel a little more secure about his future in college basketball. Plenty of coaches have been popped on that technicality, served their time in the penalty box and returned to normal operation.
But the allegations against Self go much further, implicating him both directly and tacitly in the corruption that was carried out by T.J. Gassnola, a “consultant” in the Adidas grassroots basketball system who admitted in federal court that he made payments to the families of several high-profile recruits, including two who ended up at Kansas.
The bottom line to all of it is this: Over and over in the Notice of Allegations, the NCAA accuses Self and Kansas assistant Kurtis Townsend of not only knowing that Gassnola and others at Adidas were working to recruit players to Kansas but that they welcomed the help and, in some cases, actively encouraged it.
The technical sticking point Kansas will dispute is the NCAA classifying Adidas and consultants like Gassnola as Kansas boosters, which automatically turns interactions that might have seemed normal into violations.
