Mark Smith cleared to play for Missouri this season

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#51      

ChiefGritty

Chicago, IL
That is absolutely absurd. Mizzou fans have been saying they've heard he was granted the waiver based on Illinois/Underwood supporting him being able to play right away so the truth probably lies somewhere in between

It's great that our coaching staff would be supportive in that way, but that shouldn't matter.
 
#52      

sbillini

st petersburg, fl
Is illinois even allowed to comment on Mark smith anymore?

Has this type of situation happened before? I'm guessing it isn't the first time a player claimed mistreatment to get a waiver and got it. Is the NCAA not obligated to investigate and verify (I know, I'm probably giving them too much credit)? If this was true (and I'm sure it isn't), then isn't the NCAA willfully putting other players at risk of abusive coaches by not formally investigating? seems like there should be more to this story.
 
#53      
If this is true, that is hot garbage. Clownzo is a piece. If you go back to when he was hired at missy, he was saying crap about Illinois. He has like a weird Illinois complex and keeps playing us. It happened way back when he announced he was going to play at Purdue over Illinois. Man, I hope Trent blows them apart this year

Bet you can't link anything Martin has supposedly said about Illinois in a bad way. If you don't like Missouri basketball or even Martin that's fine, but no need to make things up about him. He is actually one of the good guys in college basketball.
 
#54      
TC said he had some scoop but I never heard back from him
 
#55      
I'm thrilled about this. They'll spend extra time on film and in practice on how to exploit MS's defense. I also see BU pulling Trent, DMW, Ayo, and Feliz aside and saying something like "You need to put everything you have in the game if you're on Smith."
 
#58      
The treadmill is abuse per se, no other proof needed, lol.

I was actually thinking that the waiver based upon the non-objection of the prior team is probably a needed positive development in college BB as the players who don't work out for whatever reason should not be forced to sit for a year to transfer. Since a player is not as attractive to other teams because they have to burn a scholarship year to take a transfer, this penalizes only the player for a mutually bad decision between the player and the coach in recruiting him. Not really fair and should be avoided if possible.

It actually makes BU look good if he OK'd the waiver, as that makes it look like less of a risk to a player's career to choose the Illini. If it does not work out, the player can expect to be allowed to transfer without penalty.
 
#59      
The treadmill is abuse per se, no other proof needed, lol.

I was actually thinking that the waiver based upon the non-objection of the prior team is probably a needed positive development in college BB as the players who don't work out for whatever reason should not be forced to sit for a year to transfer. Since a player is not as attractive to other teams because they have to burn a scholarship year to take a transfer, this penalizes only the player for a mutually bad decision between the player and the coach in recruiting him. Not really fair and should be avoided if possible.

It actually makes BU look good if he OK'd the waiver, as that makes it look like less of a risk to a player's career to choose the Illini. If it does not work out, the player can expect to be allowed to transfer without penalty.

And remember, Illinois didn't put any restrictions on where Mark could transfer last year either.
 
#61      

SampsonRelpenk

Edwardsville, IL
#Mizzou AD Jim Sterk says on @550KTRS football pregame show that Mark Smith’s waiver was supported by Illinois, and specifically mentioned #Illini AD Josh Whitman as being helpful in the process.
https://twitter.com/Ben_Fred/
I've never, ever heard of the departed school having anything whatsoever to do with a transfer sitting out a year or not. I don't understand.
 
#62      

JFGsCoffeeMug

BU:1 Trash cans:0
Chicago
Bad fit. Poor coaching. Health issues. I can accept all of that without additional evidence.

But if people are going to throw around the word "abuse," then they better have a solid basis for that allegation. You don't ruin people's lives and careers and set horrible future precedent for the sake of a waiver. That's short-sighted and irresponsible.
 
#63      
If Smith is cleared to play, so be it. My problem with the whole situation is that it was mismanaged from the get go. I know Smith was not a good fit for BU's system and further compounded a bad fit by looking really lost. My point is, when a Mr. Basketball from Illinois commits to the Illini, he's an Illini for better or worse. Find a role for the guy, make him happy. If it becomes a drag on the program, he's a heck of a baseball player, introduce him to the Illini Baseball coach. Just keep him here for the optics of it. By all accounts he was a good character kid who wouldn't have problems with academics, and could become a locker room leader. Now his father is running around mad mouthing the Illini. Nothing good came from this for the Illini.
 
#65      

ChazzReinhold

Mom! The Meatloaf!
If Smith is cleared to play, so be it. My problem with the whole situation is that it was mismanaged from the get go. I know Smith was not a good fit for BU's system and further compounded a bad fit by looking really lost. My point is, when a Mr. Basketball from Illinois commits to the Illini, he's an Illini for better or worse. Find a role for the guy, make him happy. If it becomes a drag on the program, he's a heck of a baseball player, introduce him to the Illini Baseball coach. Just keep him here for the optics of it. By all accounts he was a good character kid who wouldn't have problems with academics, and could become a locker room leader. Now his father is running around mad mouthing the Illini. Nothing good came from this for the Illini.
I find this post to be completely wrong.
 
#66      
If Smith is cleared to play, so be it. My problem with the whole situation is that it was mismanaged from the get go. I know Smith was not a good fit for BU's system and further compounded a bad fit by looking really lost. My point is, when a Mr. Basketball from Illinois commits to the Illini, he's an Illini for better or worse. Find a role for the guy, make him happy. If it becomes a drag on the program, he's a heck of a baseball player, introduce him to the Illini Baseball coach. Just keep him here for the optics of it. By all accounts he was a good character kid who wouldn't have problems with academics, and could become a locker room leader. Now his father is running around mad mouthing the Illini. Nothing good came from this for the Illini.
I didn't think much of it at the time, but my nephew went to the school where Mark Smith's father is the basketball coach or at least was two years back. At the time Mark Smith was considering which school to go to I asked my nephew what his father was like and he told me "he is kind of a hot head". Talk about calling the kettle black about Underwood if this is true.
 
#67      
First of all, there is no rule that says that an NCAA waiver could be granted just based on the departing school (Illinois in this case) not objecting to a transfer playing immediately. The one year sit-out transfer rule has nothing to do with the departing school objecting or not objecting to waiving such year. The departing school has no jurisdiction deciding on whether the transfer can play immediately.

Furthermore, there is absolutely no way that any AD, or any University will admit to a coach "abusing" s student-athlete without taking action against the coach. That would amount to self-admission of guilt and a cover-up, in exchange for supporting a recruit's petition for another school. The legal and financial exposure of such action would be huge, really devastating. Not only would the coach be destroyed, but the AD as well, and the University could face huge negative PR, legal, and financial exposure.

A departing school can help a transfer's petition of a waiver if that waiver is based on medical/psychological evidence by further providing evidence in support of the player's petition. That could obviously happen if the waiver is based on medical/psychological reasons. But a University would never concur to self-incriminating abuse allegations.
 
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#68      
This could be some sort of agreement. Martin/Smith say they're going to go public with "abuse" if U of I fights the claim. NCAA comes calling, U of I says they won't contest it to keep everything quiet and avoid bad press.

Are we crazy here? That would be self-admitting guilt on an official NCAA petition for abuse without taking any action on the coach and cutting a deal with Martin/Smith not to pursue the issue further in the press, a true cover up operation with huge legal and criminal ramifications.

There is a absolutely no-way any University and AD would try to ever do that under current social/legal environment. Not only would the career of the coach be in total jeopardy of sudden death, but the AD would certainly risk his own career and both him and the University could face serious legal and criminal charges for "abuse" and follow-up cover up by cutting a secret deal with a player/coach (Smith/Martin). Absolutely no way.

Not only could such story be easily exposed (as there would be an official waiver on the basis of "abuse" in the NCAA) and subsequent cover-up, but if the coach (any coach) ever faced "abuse" allegations in the future, that NCAA petition and cover up by the AD and the University would certainly resurface with serious legal and criminal charges.
 
#70      
People routinely settle out of court precisely so they don't have to admit anything.

The whole thing is odd . I'd like to hear about similar situations.

There is absolutely no way right now that any University, its President, Provost, AD, or any University administrator would receive even minor allegations of abuse or inappropriate contact (let alone an official NCAA waiver/petition alleging abuse/inappropriate action) and would not conduct a formal investigation. That would be the the stupidest decision a University administration could ever make, let alone try a cover-up. The legal, criminal, and financial ramifications are insurmountable.

They would not only conduct a formal investigation, but would either challenge/deny allegations (if found not true) or take appropriate actions against the accused (if found them valid).
 
#71      

JJB

Chicago, IL
There is absolutely no way right now that any University, its President, Provost, AD, or any University administrator would receive even minor allegations of abuse or inappropriate contact (let alone an official NCAA waiver/petition alleging abuse/inappropriate action) and would not conduct a formal investigation. That would be the the stupidest decision a University administration could ever make, let alone try a cover-up. The legal, criminal, and financial ramifications are insurmountable.

They would not only conduct a formal investigation, but would either challenge/deny allegations (if found not true) or take appropriate actions against the accused (if found them valid).

Exactly. Let's also remember that we have the ghost of Simon Cvijanovic hanging out there, so the administration isn't going to mess around with something like that.
 
#72      
First of all, "abuse" is a vague term that runs a long gamut.

And how do you know that there was no investigation? I'm not saying that there is some cover up. I absolutely believe that if the Smiths brought allegations of "abuse" to Whitman that he would investigate it.

What I'm suggesting is that a player, Mark Smith, makes a claim that he was treated so poorly that he had to transfer out, possibly even to protect his mental health. U of I reviews and says that there is nothing going on that they feel is a problem. When the petition comes in, we quietly acquiesce to avoid a bunch of he said he said stuff. That's not a cover up. That's just recognizing you're facing a lose lose situation over a player that's already gone from the program.

It's funny, you're suggesting earlier that we'll never know why this was granted because of privacy, but a scenario that I present that basically comports with that you slam.

Just because we can't know a range of possible scenarios, especially those related to medical issues, this does not mean that certain things, like the scenario you presented (i.e.,, abuse/inappropriate conduct, follow-up cover up with no denial of such conduct) cannot be eliminated for the reasons explained. Unfortunately, this scenario and innuendos (e.g., abuse/cover-up) has been presented by others as well (on this and other message boards).
 
#73      
Just curious

1. Do you have an example of this?
2. What does this mean? Why would a player have a medical reason that could not be taken care of at the school they left?

Obviously, as I said, medical/psychological issues are protected by privacy laws so I do not believe we will find out the exact petition, unless the athlete himself releases that information publicly on his own.

But to answer your question, there is a whole range of medical/psychological problems that could apply to the waiver requirements, especially with respect to diagnosis and worsening conditions. One example (and again, there is NO evidence that this may be the reason with Mark Smith) could be psychological medical conditions like depression. If a player claims that a specific academic/physical environment caused him to develop depression (or other psychological medical condition), which was getting worse, then that could be a basis for requesting a waiver (under current NCAA rules and laws). The symptoms (or even possible diagnosis) could even be corroborated by the departing school. Many of these medical/psychological conditions are unfortunately very prevalent with increased documented negative incidents at many Universities independent of athletics.
 
#74      
There was no abuse or accusation of abuse. Smith was told he did not fit the system. It was a mutual split and was done with the blessing of the University. No reason he shouldn't be able to play, when you are advised to transfer.
 
#75      

kcib8130

Parts Unknown
There was no abuse or accusation of abuse. Smith was told he did not fit the system. It was a mutual split and was done with the blessing of the University. No reason he shouldn't be able to play, when you are advised to transfer.

Is Te'Jon Lucas playing for UW-Milwaukee this season?
 
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