MarkInAustin

I think it is a serious question. It deserves more analysis than can be applied to it through the media and the public relations machine. But there is no actual mechanism for in depth analysis available for the sports realm. Were there such a mechanism one could weigh each case individually. For instance, one could determine if the player bet on games in which he actually played. One could determine if the addiction to gambling remained a great future risk for the individual. One could closely monitor the player going forward. Without that certainty of investigation, analysis, and surveillance it makes sense to have a one size fits all answer - and that answer must be "No." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I concede that the level of intrusion I imagine above is technologically feasible, so that it may become a reality both in sports and in our daily lives, and not just in the worlds of counter-intelligence and industrial espionage. We won't like that.

And VY was the ROtY.

Wemby tilted the floor. In a game where the team needed Fox [Castle had an unusual number of turnovers] they beat the other currently great team in a classic on their court. Wemby tilted the floor.

Watching James Harden fake being fouled and the refs buying it. Jarett Allen has played very tough on the boards and on D for the Cavs.

Basketball is ultimately a team sport. That Wemby is supported by a superb three guard unit and multiple wings who can shoot the three and defend and a sub center who is more than merely serviceable allows him to optimize his amazing ability. They are unselfish and all pass the ball to the open shooter. It's good team basketball played by great players. OKC matches up well with the Spurs, of course - and vice versa. No other team matches up well with either, although Brunson is a little devil of a ball player and floor general. I worry that the opponents all playing like the Bad Boy Pistons against Wemby will actually get him hurt. His one weakness is that unlike Wilt or Shaq he isn't physically bullet proof.

To me the foolishness of comparing players out of position is patently obvious because it is a team game. To take HarveyCMD's comparisons literally one would have to think that if Kobe were traded for Duncan the Spurs would have improved. That's not right. On the other hand, during that era, one could readily make a case that trading Kobe for Manu would have helped the Spurs. Frankly I enjoyed watching Manu more. But the case for Kobe could be made, apples to apples, no doubt, despite my anticipation of Manu's fantastic passes and sudden defensive moves and of course catching the bat in midair while bringing the ball up court. Watch for the nutmeg passes!

Who is Amen? I didn't think Wemby deserved a flagrant 2 the other night. I think the refs were in the tank.

Sterling looked collected and capable in this game. I think he will be a contributor by the end of the season.

Kelvin Banks, Summer Creek HS - do you think Camara is THAT good? Why? I know he is a highly regarded prospect, but how can one know that even a 5* HS offensive lineman will be an All American and successful NFL player? The world is full of can't miss offensive linemen who missed, and developmental offensive linemen who hit. If you are relying on your own first hand observations of these players - if you are a coach who has watched and/or scouted offensive linemen for many years - I will take your assessment very seriously. If not, I will just hope Camara lives up to his billing and comes to Texas.

Just like that...

I think ranking basketball players who played different positions in the same column, so to speak, is silly; e.g., comparing Jordan and Wemby. Wemby is dazzling, but a bit fragile. He is so good as a stretch 5 that he is already in the conversation with Wilt, Kareem, Hakeem, Shaq, and Jokic. Time will tell. He isn't a wing. He isn't a point guard. Jordan wasn't a power forward or a point guard or a center. He was the best shooting guard ever and could defend a wide range of opponents. Can we keep all that straight, or do we have to continue comparing apples and oranges?

It is too much to ask a team to play its A game every outing. That is why a schedule with only two talented opponents cannot compare to one with eight. It isn't because more talent is required to play the more difficult schedule. It is because an incredibly more intense emotional cost is levied. Notre Dame can surely talent match with the top half of the B1G and the SEC. But the championship in those conferences is worth a two or three loss differential.

Really? My twin granddaughters are top students and not athletes and they are enjoying visiting colleges that have invited them to visit - on their mother's dime. If "ordinary" top students being wooed love visits enough to get family to pay for them why shouldn't great athletes enjoy the process even more - with all expenses paid, and steak dinners, and promises of lucrative employment. At one flagship university's business school in the midwest the granddaughter who wants desperately to go to McCombs but knows how competitive it is to get in was greeted with a giant TV screen in the lobby displaying a banner of personal welcome to her. That was great for her but athletes get an order of magnitude more attention. Would you deny your kid that satisfaction? I would be suspicious of the manipulations that kept a student - athlete from loving the one chance in life to visit major universities around the country that actually wanted him or her to play there so badly that they would spring for the visit.

This Vandy pitcher is crafty, with control and good movement on his stuff.

About the OL: When Goosby and Cojoe both return, and considering the apparent rapid maturation of the prized freshman LT, is it possible that Jordan Coleman would be placed in a contest for the LG position? I am thinking ahead to 2027 when it is likely that both Turntine and JC will start on the OL. I think there are enough talented pieces to fashion a solid pass blocking offensive line, but melding them into a unit will be a challenge, as so many are either new to their position or to the program.

I liked Robertson against OU when he was an emergency fill in and I liked him last season as the bandaid that helped stop the bleeding. I still like him. But if the much larger Sikorski provides better interior pass protection without loss of leadership [not that I am claiming that as a fact] then he can start this season. I think summer will actually bring a contest for the position. However that competition resolves the depth will become much less of a concern.

Funny, I almost added that if Swain got stronger he might approximate a Pippen.

While I doubt he was the "best" I completely agree with you that Swain has an excellent all around game. There is nothing he cannot do acceptably well. He should be a valuable sub for any team even as a rookie. Some guys, Dybantsa for example, are going to start as rookies.

Aside from having the largest endowment of any public university by a wide margin Texas has had the benefit of wonderful wealthy donors. There are generally considered to be eight elite state flagships plus one elite public tech, and Texas is one of the elite flagships. It is one of two flagships in which all departments are ranked in the top thirty in America. And Forbes just called out Texas as one of 20 institutions, public or private, that are properly preparing graduating talent for the changing job market (The New Ivies, April 8). The resulting flip side is how competitive the school has become since my day. While the overall admit rate is about 27%, Cockrell is at 11%, McCombs is at 9%, and the architecture and honors programs are comparably squeezed. I have twin granddaughters who are both in the top 5% of their junior classes in HS - one is number 1 - who legitimately fear they will be accepted into UT but not into business and engineering, respectively. And God forbid one should fall down to top 6% and be looking down the road to The College That Got One Per Cent Smarter when Texas changed auto admits from the top 6% to the top 5% last year.

WRONG THREAD - APOLOGY OFFERED BON says Jurian Dixon is visiting from UC Irvine and Texas likes him. [hoops]

Re: Ivy League I researched this on line. The Ivies permit neither grad student eligibility nor red shirting. Thus there are annually Ivy Leaguers available to continue as students and as athletes - in the real world.

I don't think the Ivy League permits a graduate school player. There should be occasional top FCS picks available as graduate transfers from Ivy League schools. I could be wrong but someone here suggested this as a fact last year, IIRC.

The personal finance decisions for a 21 YO star athlete are not simple. First, it would be smart to delete his "wants" from the decision tree and concentrate on his "needs." ---------- Second, there is the valuation issue, which turns on net rather than gross numbers. For example, income in Texas is worth much more than in states with significant income taxation. Cost of living in metro NYC or LA or SF or DC is a six figure differential over having room and board provided in Austin. Offsetting endorsement deals in LA or NYC might be unlikely for most. --------- Third, there are longer term considerations. Residual benefits of a degree now vs. a degree later, or no degree at all, are measurable to an analyst and of greater or lesser meaning to a future pro depending on his long term name value; e.g., KD and VY have extraordinary long term name value that makes a degree have virtually no long term income value in comparison. Weigh the depth of the current draft and one a year later against the likelihood of reaching a lucrative second contract a year earlier. I think the chance of a career ending injury would not be weighed because it may have the same long term effect whether sustained under a lucrative NIL deal or under a first year professional contract - but insurance issues and CBA health care provisions may make weighing injury potential another variable. ---------- Two and three are tricky issues for most, but standard fare for a financial advisor. The first issue is the most pressing: does the player NEED the most dollars today? Is his family comfortable or living paycheck to paycheck? If the current need is there the third issue, long term consequences, falls out of the matrix. Only net current value need be considered.

On the other hand it makes no sense to burn bridges gratuitously. Leaving one job for another is more often a business choice than not. On the occasions when it is the result of combat or torture or sexual predation a polite response is hypocritical, but they are few and far between.

I think Preston can be the answer. Understand, there probably isn't another Rori anywhere. But I have seen Preston run the team and do so at speed, and do it well. Surround Preston with a good team and she will make it go. Vic will surround her with a good team.