OK, there have been a number of off-season stories on NCAA basketball I've ignored (at least on this board), but this one cries out for a report. Seems like, back in December 2009, some 3 months before Coach K and his Blue Devils won their 4th National Championship, starting senior forward Lance Thomas walked into a Manhattan jewelry store and "bought" nearly $100,000 worth of diamond bling. I say "bought" because he gave the store $30,000, with the bill of sale stipulating that the balance of $67,800 be paid in full within 15 days. To date, closing in on 3 years now, said balance has NOT been paid, and the store has just filed suit against Thomas to recoup its losses.

The potential questions this could raise in the minds of NCAA investigators are numerous. First, where did a college student get $30,000 to blow on diamonds? Second, why would any merchant allow a 21-year-old student to obtain a $67+K unsecured loan, based upon a handshake? Third, was any of the above based upon this student's status as a "star" player of a powerhouse program, with the presumed assumption of his future earning potential? If any, and I emphasize, ANY!, of these questions lead to the conclusion that Lance Thomas received improper benefits, solicited or not, due to his position as a Duke player, it will be seen as a serious violation of NCAA rules regarding such benefits, and could even lead to THE VACATION OF DUKE'S 2010 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!!!

Smoke that over, and we'll discuss anon.
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So, no comment at all, from either haters or lovers of the Blue Devils? I guess that's appropriate, seeing as how some critics have expressed the opinion that the NCAA will be making " no comment" also, as it it Coach K and Duke, not Coach Cal and . . . well, any school. :-)
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Cleveland State is going to get hammered!!!!


Or we can take the approach, nothing to see here, move along.:-)
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I'd agree with that, if for no other reason than it's Cleveland freakin' State. :-)


In other breaking news regarding former Duke stars, Harvard head coach Tommy Amaker has, during his 5-year tenure, turned the Crimson from laughingstocks into Ivy contenders, leading them last season to their first NCAA Tourney appearance since . . . God, since Truman stopped the buck! Well, looks less likely he'll do so again this season, as he will be without his two co-captains, Brandyn Curry and Kyle Casey. Seems they, along with 120+ other Haa'vaad students, were implicated in a cheating scandal with a "take-home final exam". (Yeah, like an honor code's gonna help with THAT!)

All in all, not a good week for Coach K.
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This just in. Lance Thomas has reportedly reached an agreement with the jeweler for a settlement. As neither the former player nor the merchant have made any sort of statement regarding this issue, and as neither seem likely to, and as the NCAA has no power to subpoena either party, it seems unlikely at this point that the NCAA shall be able to find a smoking gun proving any sort of violation . . . thus, prompting actions against the Duke basketball program.

Ya think mebbe Coach K's honest enough to stand up and make, if not a confession, at least a plausible explanation? Ehhh, not in his wheelhouse. He learned from Bobby Knight that bricks are meant to be thrown at others, not taken to one's own noggin, deservedly or no.
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