I am surprised that there wasn't more coverage of this.
. . . .
I saw this on Thursday but with the football season opener upon us I didn't want to lose focus or dampen the anticipation of the season getting underway. I am not really sure what to make of this but DC Trojan said it best... this looks suspiciously like a smoking gun.
From the LA Times:
The NBA Players Assn. announced Friday that its disciplinary committee had suspended agent Calvin Andrews for one year after discovering unspecified recruiting improprieties regarding former USC basketball star O.J. Mayo.
The disciplinary committee also reserved the right to take further action against Andrews and other agents found to have engaged in any wrongdoing by other agencies investigating allegations that Andrews funneled money to Mayo through an intermediary before and during his one year at USC. The allegations have prompted probes by the NCAA, Pacific 10 Conference, FBI, Internal Revenue Service and U.S. Attorney's office.
The big question to me here is what information did the NBAPA receive that showed that Andrews broke the rules and did it come from the NCAA?
Did it come from Mayo?
While I am happy that the NBAPA took some action based on whatever information they obtained this really is incomplete. I would really like to know exactly what Andrews was punished for and how it is tied to USC.
Knowing exactly what infractions Andrews was punished for would go a long way to seeing if the punishment fits the crime and if the NBAPA is really serious about cracking down on these sorts of vultures or if this "punishment" is just window dressing. This doesn't absolve Mayo at all, if anything it turns the heat up under Mayo. Did Mayo accept improper benefits putting USC basketball in dire straits when we are just starting to make a name for ourselves? (I could care less what the clowns from across town think about where we stand, this is about what we do to make basketball something other than a second sport for us.)
My original concern and anger still stands. How could anyone in Heritage Hall allow Rodney Guillory access to the Basketball program when he was a known bad apple in jeopardizing the eligibility of former USC player Jeff Trepangier. Add to that past experience the knowledge that large swathes of youth basketball are known to be rotten, and ask again - why was there not closer attention paid at the beginning when it might have done some good?
The lack of coverage on this revelation really has me scratching my head. If Mayo didn't receive something improper, why punish Andrews? Because it's hard to think of a scenario that would get Andrews punished without Mayo also being culpable.