Thursday, August 27, 2009
What Derrick Rose Knows
U of M and sports media should focus on the go-to guy.
Posted by John Branston on Thu, Aug 27, 2009 at 4:00 AM
The meeting that sealed the fate of the University of Memphis basketball program with the NCAA cops took place in November 2007.
Basketball fans and the public know only that former Tiger Derrick Rose was questioned about his ACT and SAT scores at that meeting by university officials and coaches. Earlier that year, Rose took the ACT three times in Chicago and the SAT once in Detroit, where he finally made a score that gave him eligibility to play basketball.
The university took Rose at his word that he didn't have anyone take the test for him, even though entrance test performance over four tries in a short time is as predictable as a bench press, sprint time, or vertical jump. The 2007-2008 season had not started. There was still time to keep Rose off the team, but he played, and the rest is history.
Coach John Calipari, athletic director R.C. Johnson, and President Shirley Raines are taking the heat for the NCAA's decision to strip Memphis of its 38 wins and championship game banner. But Rose is the one who should be on the hot seat. The university's appeal of the NCAA decision has about as much chance as an 80-foot heave. The person who should take the last shot is Rose.
Rose knows what scores he made on the SAT and ACT even though those scores are blacked out in public documents and cannot be released by the testing services without his permission.
Rose knows whether someone took one or more of the tests for him, causing the score to be canceled, which happens to only one out of 6,000 tests.
Rose knows why he took the SAT in Detroit.
Rose knows what Calipari and U of M coaches told him after he had failed to make a high enough score on the ACT three times.
Rose knows what any outside adviser told him about this problem that could make or break his college career, which was his audition for his professional career.
Rose knows what his own handwriting looks like. He knows he could easily disprove or prove the findings of forensic document examiner Lee Ann Harmless in a September 2008 report that concludes he probably had someone else take the SAT.
Rose knows what he was asked and what he answered during that meeting in Memphis in November, which, like the SAT score and the handwriting analysis, has been completely eliminated from the publicly available university response.
Rose knows why he refused to take part in any investigations by the testing service or the NCAA on six occasions in 2008 and 2009.
Rose knows why he didn't answer certified letters from the Educational Testing Service that were sent to his home in Chicago in April and May of 2008 offering him three ways to clear his name. Rose knows why he declined to meet with NCAA investigators in June of 2008, August of 2008, January of 2009, and March of 2009 — all dates before the NCAA sanctions were imposed.
Rose knows that his cooperation, if he has nothing to hide, could have taken the heat off the University of Memphis. And he knows that if he does have something to hide, his cooperation could identify others who deserve blame or vindication.
Rose knows why his only "explanation" to date consists of a few brief comments saying he took his own tests.
It would be wildly inaccurate to call the University of Memphis Rose's alma mater and a stretch to suggest he was a student athlete in any meaningful sense of the word. He was an entertainer who made a lot of money for the university and himself.
But he is a man, too, who, like the rest of us, has to face himself in the mirror every day. If he does nothing, no matter how great a professional ballplayer he becomes, he will always be known as the ineligible player who cost Memphis a season that branded its basketball program as an outlaw.
If he fully explains himself, it won't be easy. It will be harder than making those free throws at the end of the Kansas game.
But superstars want the ball at crunch time.
Come on, Derrick, you're the man. Tell what happened before the clock runs out on the appeal. A lot of damage has been done, but you can still clear it up. Take the ball.
Comments (11)
Showing 1-11 of 11
Can the U of M sue Mr. Rose for fraud? The question of whether (in civil court) a judge would come to the same conclusion the NCAA did about his test scores is a very interesting one.
Certainly between the school having to return the post season bonuses, and the damage to it's reputation, Mr. Rose has clearly done measurable financial damage to the university - and done so intentionally.
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better: don't know yet, but a former judge and a local attorney have asked me the same thing this week.
Unless he's legally bound to do so Derrick Rose is never going to spill the beans. He is a jaded millionaire celebrity now and above this petty little college scandal he himself created.
On the surface, the thought of the U of M suing Derrick Rose might sound sensible. But c'mon. Think of the likely recruiting repurcussions...Would most top national recruits seriously consider playing for a school known for suing an ex-player?
As the saying goes, this too shall pass...Suing Derrick Rose would simply prolong the pain and exacerbate the negative ramifactions.
Wrong, wrong wrong.
Rose may be a saint, may be a sinner. It’s not relevant.
He is a young man with massive skills. He was denied access to the job market by collusion between the NBA and NCAA.
He was forced to go with the fraud that benefits the NCAA and NBA, the universities and billionaire businessmen, providing either big entertainment profits or a free farm system.
Recurring in this issue is the hypocrisy of universities who spend abundant energies in the fraud of the student/athlete myth, often milking their own student populations. Memphis hired a known cheat as coach and he delivered the product and repeated his fraud.
Derrick Rose owes Memphis nothing. He performed well in excess of expectations. Local sports fans got their rocks off.
Calipari bailed out to bigger profits and inevitable deceits. U of M administrators are caught and shown as at best as incompetents.
What are y’all complaining about?
yeah -- how do you sue Rose if one of your employees -- Calipari -- was complicit in the alleged fraud? Rose was a teenager at the time and going along with what his hoops guardians were setting up for him. The real suspects here are likely some combination of Reggie Rose, William Wesley, and John Calipari, and I think it's plausible that Derrick Rose himself didn't know exactly how his eligibility was taken care of.
Branston and Straight Shooter have excellent points. But where was The Flyer and The CA and the rest of the media when all this happened? Pretty much singing the highest praises for the whole cast of snake oil salesmen, twits and liars! - and slinging mud at the "naysayers" who were right all along.
Wrong is wrong. He should have just answered their questions in the beginning. Every player knows what the requirements are to be a b-ball player. He's no exception. No one said he's not a good player. In fact, he's an excellant one. But.......Should he have kept playing knowing that when this came out about him eventually,( EXPECIALLY AFTER THEY STARTED QUESTIONING HIM,) he could ruin the season for the rest of the team? No, he shouldn't have. He should have told the truth and went on with what ever he had to do. In stead it cost alot of players everything. I agree with phlo. He'll make more off talk shows, then he ever will basketball now.
WOW! Why should anyone criticize rose for what the University of Memphis did? They recruited HIM... not the other way around. If they truly thought that he couldn't pass a test, and maybe he can't, the final decision rests upon them. Rose did what many unprivileged youths would have done in his shoes, which is anything to get ahead. He's the youngest MVP ever and he may not be able to pass a ACT or a SAT but at least he's smart enough to realize that about himself. Should he just be honest and upfront and become some McDonald's night shift worker(he may not be able to pass a high school test after all)? What Rose did wasn't the righteous thing to do, but it was the right thing to do for himself and for his family who are the only people on his mind. Bottom line, Rose should not be punished for a decision that ultimately didn't fall on his shoulders. Coach Calipari and the University of Memphis basketball program chose to seek him out and put him into the lineup, and by doing so they chose to go with whatever consequences that came from that decision.
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