2013/14 Roster

[ORUalum]

good news.....it sounds like the NCAA got something right!!!

 

LINK

LINK

[ORUTerry]

I am pleasantly surprised that the NCAA reversed course on this matter. I had heard that they denied the initial appeal. Good for them in doing the right thing for this young man.

[theeagleman5]

WOW!....so Drew Wilson is eligible for this season....this is a much needed addition to the ORU front court....Wilson is apparently a strong rebounder which is something we badly need.....not sure if this kid will start but at least ORU gets some much required depth....the more competition on the roster the better....kudos to the NCAA for doing the right thing....now if they will just review their ultra harsh sanctions against Penn State football.....

[Old Titan]

Credit must go to AD Mike Carter, who took a personal interest while serving as de facto legal counsel for ORU in the case (he is a practicing attorney), and whoever it was at the NCAA that finally saw the light in this textbook incidence of exactly what the "hardship" ruling should cover.

 

I doubt Drew Wilson will start for ORU in the early season - the old axiom that "you don't sign juco players, then not start them" will likely apply in this case, so I still look for Henderson to begin the season at the "5", with Conley at the "4".

 

But, I would wager Wilson will be the first player off the bench for either of those two, playing at least 25 minutes a game, and might replace either in the starting line-up at some point, perhaps even before conference play starts.

 

I truly think Wilson's addition to the roster, providing vastly improved rebounding and defense in the paint (along with adding five more fouls between all the bigs), could mean a five-game boost to this team's won-loss record:  the difference between (something like) 13-17 and 18-12.

[dbl78]

Credit must go to AD Mike Carter, who took a personal interest while serving as de facto legal counsel for ORU in the case (he is a practicing attorney), and whoever it was at the NCAA that finally saw the light in this textbook incidence of exactly what the "hardship" ruling should cover.

OT

 

What am I missing here?  Why would Mike Carter have to take a "personal interest" in this case?  It is clearly in the best interest of the program to have Wilson on the team this year, and I would think the AD would want the program to be the best it could be.

 

This brings me to another item which I have never understood.  According to past IRS Form 990's, Mike Carter drew a salary as AD, and on then top of his salary, which often exceeds that of the University President, he received thousands of dollars of payments for legal services.  Why does the University do that?  Why wouldn't they hire an outside attorney who specializes in the given area of law?  It is hard to imagine how Carter can run the athletic department on a daily basis and be able to practice law at the same time.      

[Old Titan]

Lot of questions there, not all of which I am in any position to answer, but allow me to clarify my original post:

 

I have no idea to what degree Carter is a "practicing attorney", I just know that he's a lawyer - that's what he did before taking the reins as AD in 1995.  As for why the university wouldn't hire an "outside attorney" for appealing this case, I don't know that they didn't, or that University counsel wasn't involved in some way.  If not, then it may have been a financial decision.  Who knows:  if ORU had no options in these situations but to hire an outside lawyer, then we might be forced to pick-and-choose only those fights we could afford with the NCAA, instead of which ones we should fight no matter what, and Wilson might not have even HAD an appeal.  That would have been a travesty!  So, I think it helps tremendously to have an AD who knows the ins-and-outs of legal wrangling in a situation like this - beats the heck out of having some old ball coach or glad-handing fundraising-type at the helm of the department. 

 

And, when I say Carter took a "personal interest", I mean that he wouldn't take "no" for an answer when the NCAA denied the initial application for immediate eligibility.  The NCAA has a strange track record of late, allowing the most far-fetched eligibility appeals for athletes with (supposedly) "sick" family members, but for some reason not affording the same consideration for athletes who have actually suffered the death of a close family member.  That's what happened in Wilson's case:  his sister passes away, he wants to return to his home town to be near his family in their time of grief, yet the NCAA turns him down for immediate eligibility. 

 

Everyone who knows Mike Carter's own story of losing a young son to cancer can imagine how much he must have empathized with Wilson's situation, especially in how that type of loss affects an entire family.  Should Carter have made Wilson's appeal of the initial NCAA denial a top priority anyway, from a simply professional sense as AD?  Sure.  But I think it's safe to surmise that Carter's success in lobbying the NCAA on this particular case may have been motivated as much by personal feelings as professional ones.  At minimum, Carter's personal background left him uniquely qualified to represent the interests of Wilson and his family in the appeal process.  At any rate, it's a victory for the Wilson family and for ORU basketball, and surely the NCAA can see that no one is hurt by their decision (though our Southland opponents may disagree!).

[ORUalum]

i want whoever is representing the Sooners to the NCAA as ORU's attorney.  they got All-WAC wide receiver, Jalen Saunders, immediately eligible after transferring from Fresno.  it turns out he transferred because of "allergies" and not because his coach was fired and did not like the system the new coach installed in spring practice.  as someone who suffers from allergies, it is a well known fact that Oklahoma is a haven for severe allergy sufferers. :D

 

the NCAA is a joke and favors large institutions.  so kudos to whoever argued the appeal and got a just decision for Wilson's family and a small school like ORU.

[Old Titan]

i want whoever is representing the Sooners to the NCAA as ORU's attorney.  they got All-WAC wide receiver, Jalen Saunders, immediately eligible after transferring from Fresno.  it turns out he transferred because of "allergies" and not because his coach was fired and did not like the system the new coach installed in spring practice.  as someone who suffers from allergies, it is a well known fact that Oklahoma is a haven for severe allergy sufferers. :D

 

LOL...+1

 

And I bet that sort of legal tap-dancing does not come cheap!

[theeagleman5]

Drew Wilson sounds like a much needed addition to the ORU rotation....this gives us about 10 deep which never hurts when the inevitable injuries start to happen....congrats to Mike Carter for not letting this decision by the NCAA go against ORU....

[dbl78]

And, when I say Carter took a "personal interest", I mean that he wouldn't take "no" for an answer when the NCAA denied the initial application for immediate eligibility.  The NCAA has a strange track record of late, allowing the most far-fetched eligibility appeals for athletes with (supposedly) "sick" family members, but for some reason not affording the same consideration for athletes who have actually suffered the death of a close family member.  That's what happened in Wilson's case:  his sister passes away, he wants to return to his home town to be near his family in their time of grief, yet the NCAA turns him down for immediate eligibility. 

 

Everyone who knows Mike Carter's own story of losing a young son to cancer can imagine how much he must have empathized with Wilson's situation, especially in how that type of loss affects an entire family.  Should Carter have made Wilson's appeal of the initial NCAA denial a top priority anyway, from a simply professional sense as AD?  Sure.  But I think it's safe to surmise that Carter's success in lobbying the NCAA on this particular case may have been motivated as much by personal feelings as professional ones.  At minimum, Carter's personal background left him uniquely qualified to represent the interests of Wilson and his family in the appeal process.  At any rate, it's a victory for the Wilson family and for ORU basketball, and surely the NCAA can see that no one is hurt by their decision (though our Southland opponents may disagree!).

I appreciate you taking time to post the additional information.  It sounds like Mike did a real good job.

[Old Titan]

Regarding Drew Wilson's succesful appeal:  this explains a lot....

 

Kerwin Okoro Case Actually Changed NCAA Policy (cbssports.com)

 

http://collegebasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/09/16/kerwin-okoro-changed-ncaa-transfer-guidelines-drew-wilson-benefits/'>Kerwin Okoro Changed NCAA Transfer Guideline, Drew Wilson Benefits (nbcsports.com)

[SOLO_Gold]

Yep... glad he got this done, especially after the MVC debacle earlier this year. I kid... I kid... kind of.

[Old Titan]

...and on the other side of the argument:

 

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/eye-on-college-basketball/23681578/coach-k-believes-current-transfer-rules-are-a-farce'>Coach K:  Current Transfer Rules A "Farce" (cbssports.com)

[Old Titan]

Yep... glad he got this done, especially after the MVC debacle earlier this year. I kid... I kid... kind of.

 

Not sure what could have been done from our standpoint re: MVC membership - we were the victim of our own geography.

 

The Valley presidents went with the size of the home town, instead of the strength of the university or program that applied.

 

Loyola didn't win the hearts of The Valley presidents - the city of Chicago did.

[ORUJason]

Thanks for the links to these articles OT.  I disagree with Coach K on this one.  Clearly a life-threatening illness or a death of an immediate family member would often cause a player to want to be closer to home.  Yet the transfer rules without these exceptions would discourage a player from doing what they feel is the right thing or punish them if they did make the decision to be closer to home.  Exceptions are certainly warranted in these situations.

 

I also agree with the immediate eligibility after graduating if you want to pursue post-graduate work at another university, although I certainly understand why that provision is controversial.  I agree with it because I believe the "student" athlete shouldn't be punished for furthering his educational opportunities.  It often makes a lot of sense to gain a graduate degree from a different university because you are exposed to a new group of professors and often a different area of emphasis or expertise in a given educational department.

 

However, the rule about players being able to transfer and be immediately eligible after a coach leaves rubs me the wrong way.  I am not in favor of that exception because it potentially severely punishes the institution when, with the exception of the head coach, the rest of the institution may be doing everything exactly the right way, yet the program may be devastated when several players could opt to leave at the same time.  Often coaching changes occur at inconvenient times based upon the recruiting calendar, and it seems like a free pass for any unhappy player to simply seek greener pastures.  

 

Sometimes a school may get rid of a coach because they were making poor choices, yet this rule would almost encourage the school to keep that coach in place in order to avoid a mass exodus, rather than encouraging them to do what is right to clean up the program.  Ultimately, I think a player needs to understand that they choose a school and not a coach, and that they take that inherent risk when they sign a letter of intent.  There are so many reasons why a coach may leave, and many of those reasons should not give the players on the team an automatic free agency period.

[vcboy2000]

Haven't seen the guys play yet, but on paper this team seems like they could get us back to the Big Dance.

[theeagleman5]

Uh....let's not go THAT far, VC......but love your optimism!...

[vcboy2000]

Lol