Kansas Basketball: “The Scheme” sheds new light on college hoops

Kansas basketball won’t be the only school facing NCAA allegations in the future, and it looks like they could be the school with the least to worry about.

The new documentary “The Scheme” on HBO GO mentions multiple college teams, including Kansas basketball. The takeaway? Kansas isn’t the school that should be most afraid of the NCAA.

On March 5th, Kansas basketball responded to the NCAA’s allegations against the men’s team. Kansas disputed every single allegation and also disputed two allegations that are targeting the football program.

The NCAA has 60 days to respond to the response Kansas submitted. Therefore, Kansas basketball fans should be expecting a response from the NCAA that should arrive by early May.

Fortunately, after watching this film I think Kansas basketball will be pushed back into the shadows while Arizona’s Sean Miller and LSU’s Will Wade will get the unwanted spotlight.

College basketball fans from around the nation have tuned in or recently purchased a subscription to HBO to watch an unprecedented documentary over the NCAA FBI scandal starring Christian Dawkins who was the President of LOYD Management Inc. and the focal point in the FBI’s case.

Christian Dawkins, who acted as a basketball agent, was sentenced to prison time for bribery and wire fraud charges due to his role in a college basketball pay for play scandal. In this documentary, Dawkins describes his viewpoint on how things went wrong real quick for him and everyone else involved.

The University of Louisville, a college that has been seen as one of the “dirtiest” out there due to their past problems with NCAA, is featured prominently. The Rick Pitino and escort scandal speak for themselves.

Louisville was caught up in the FBI scandal due to payments going to five-star recruit Brian Bowen while he was in high school. Brian Bowen Sr. who is Brian Bowen Jr.’s dad told Christian Dawkins that his son wouldn’t play college basketball if he wasn’t paid.

In Brian Bowen Sr. testimony at trial for the FBI corruption case he testified the following:

• Oklahoma State would pay $150,000, money to buy a car, and money for housing (Nike)
• Creighton would pay 100,00 and provide a really good job (Nike)
• Oregon offered an astronomical number (Nike)
• Arizona potentially $100,000 (Nike)

This makes you wonder about current five-star recruit Cade Cunningham who has signed with Oklahoma State after his brother was hired to be apart of the coaching staff. Oklahoma State seems to be a school that is pushing their luck with the NCAA.

What the hot topic is after watching this documentary is how do Will Wade and Sean Miller still have their jobs as division one coaches? Both coaches were caught on tape explicitly stating their intentions were to pay players to play for their schools.

For what it’s worth, this is what Dick Vitale thinks:

Let’s start with the head coach of the LSU Tigers, Will Wade. In one of the conversations caught on tape, Will Wade was extremely clear that he was tired of dealing with former LSU guard, Javonte Smart because he made a “strong a–” offer.

"“But I mean it was a f—ing hell of a f—ing offer. Like, hell of an offer. Especially for a kid who is going to be a two or three-year kid. I’ve made deals for as good a players as him that were f—ing a lot simpler than this.”"

Will Wade admits to making Javonte Smart an offer, one that most likely doesn’t include NCAA regulated benefits, such as room and board. Will Wade also admits that he has made deals like this previously with players that were just as good as Javonte Smart, or better.

Will Wade also went on to tell Christian Dawkins on an FBI wiretap that they could compensate him better than the NBA rookie minimum, or around $500,000 at the time of the call.

Will Wade had this to say in a press conference before the wiretap and transcripts came out:

"“ I or we have never, ever, done business of any kind with Christian Dawkins.”"

Now on to Sean Miller, the coach from the University of Arizona who also is recorded on FBI wiretap in this film.

After an ESPN report stated that Sean Miller broke recruiting rules while recruiting current center of the Phoenix Suns and former five-star recruit Deandre Ayton, Miller missed one game and returned after that game. Miller followed that up with a press conference in which he pleaded his innocence and that he never has or will never pay a recruit to play for the University of Arizona.

In the film, Christian Dawkins comments on the press conference with a simple statement: “Yeah that wasn’t true.”

Dawkins then said that he was being told by “Book” Richardson (assistant coach) that Sean Miller was the one “financing the Deandre Ayton situation.”

Dawkins’ lawyer, Steve Haney, was also interviewed during this film and had this to say about coach Sean Miller.

"“I mean does Sean Miller pay players? I think if you can’t believe the head assistant coach (Book Richardson), on a wire tap, who doesn’t know he’s being recorded, in his truest of moments talking to his buddy, and he’s saying that Sean Miller is paying players, then you have to be a really really die hard Arizona fan to believe that he’s not.”"

Both coaches seem to be undoubtedly guilty of doing business with Christian Dawkins. They had the knowledge that their recruits were getting improper benefits, which would be a violation under NCAA rules known as “lack of institutional control.”

The NCAA is coming after Kansas basketball with the lack of institutional control charge, instead of punishing programs, and or coaches who are blatantly guilty of NCAA violations via FBI wiretaps and bragging about it to Christian Dawkins.

From Sean Miller, Will Wade, and Christian Dawkins to Bill Self and the millions of college basketball and football fans around the nation, most people come to the same conclusion. The NCAA and its incredibly outdated rules are unfair to the reality of the world we live in.