Wait…what? Duke? No, it can’t be.
Apparently, that is the case. But how could this be? They’re…Duke. Duke doesn’t violate rules. Duke doesn’t do anything wrong. Duke doesn’t even bend the rules. They’re…Duke. Right?
Duke is under investigation by the NCAA to determine whether or not Mike Krzyzewski violated rules by coming in contact with recruit, Alex Poythress, during a summer AAU tournament. NCAA rules prevent coaches from coming in contact with players during tournaments.
Apparently, the gray area exists because Poythress, a 6’7″ forward who is ranked 17th in the ESPNU 100 for the class of 2012 recruits, and his Georgia Stars AAU team were eliminated in the AAU Super Showcase on Tuesday night. It was after the game, that same night, when Duke came in contact with Poythress. However, Poythress’ Georgia Stars were playing in another tournament (AAU nationals) at the very same site in Orlando, which didn’t begin until Wednesday night, the following day. I guess Duke thought that because contact was made in between the two tournaments, that it wasn’t an issue. It’s also worth noting that reports claim that Poythress called Coach K, not the other way around. It sounds like Duke has been very compliant and released the following statement:
“Proper adherence to NCAA bylaws has always been, and will continue to be, a cornerstone of Duke athletics.”
On the surface, this whole ordeal may sound like Coach K simply fielded a call in between tournaments and there’s no big deal. But as we’ve seen over and over in collegiate athletics, where there’s smoke there’s usually fire. Small incidents like this can sometimes prove to be the tip of the iceberg and more details can become uncovered eventually. Now, I’m not saying with any level of certainty that this situation means Duke is guilty of much more, or if they’re even guilty of this. All I’m saying is that it should raise concern because you never know. Yes, they’re Duke and NCAA violations isn’t their thing, but we cannot think along the lines of them being above any wrong doing.
Who would’ve thought something as simple as Jim Tressel keeping his mouth shut about an email he received regarding some of his players’ extra curricular activities would lead to the implosion of Ohio State football in just a matter of months? Sure, that’s not an exact comparison but it goes to show how things can snowball. Duke is still the preeminent program in the nation, based on their clean reputation, but they’ve appeared human lately. Kyrie Irving’s decision to enter the NBA draft after making an 11 game pit stop in Durham stains the Duke brand in my opinion, and now this. But who know? Maybe this will all blow over, nothing else with surface and nothing will come of it. For Duke’s sake, I sure hope so.
If you’re looking for your everyday, predictable basketball talk, then you’ve come to the wrong place, because Kevin Burke of The Kevin Burke Project brings provocative, thought provoking content about basketball as only he can. Kevin also hosts The Hoop Doctors weekly podcast show, which you can subscribe to for free on iTunes. Follow Kevin on Twitter and Facebook
