Tennessee is the #2 team in the country thanks in large part to the NCAA. You see, last summer the NCAA allowed Tyler Smith to transfer to the Vols from Iowa without having to sit out a year. The rationale was that his father was diagnosed with cancer and he wanted to seem him play. Ok, they did a humanitarian thing.
However, think of the repercussions for Iowa and beyond. Iowa lost is leading returning score and it is a good bet that if he was told he would have to sit out he would have stayed put. I can see going home to be with a sick parent. It makes sense. Look at Kevin Coble from Northwestern who missed the first part of the school year to be at home with his sick mother. Can he get back a year if he appeals? Based on Tyler Smith he should.
Furthermore, Bruce Pearl recruited Smith out of high school, but was spurned. Why was it not important to have his father see him play then? Look, I am not being cold hearted, but precedent has been set. All players should be able to leave without penalty if a new coach comes in and if a parent is sick. It is dangerous waters being tread when kids can leave at the drop of a hat without penalty.
Finally, I am in total favor that the rule should be changed to allow players to transfer when coaches are fired before the end of their contract. Perhaps that would give Administrators reason to uphold a contract that they signed.
Speaking of firing, stay tuned on Kelvin Sampson. Fox Sports has reported that he is gone. Indiana denies it and will have an announcement later today. Meanwhile, Sampson is still running practice. In my opinion let him finish the year and then see where the chips fall. My bet is if he goes deep into the tourney they will overlook his transgressions, just as they did for Bob Knight for so many years. Fire him now and they risk a chance of a lawsuit like the one Jim OBrien just won against Ohio State.
