Debo's Reaction to the Tiger's NCAA Infractions:

Lots of Questions, One Answer

Questions that need to be answered:

a) Memphis received an infraction letter on January 16. Why is this coming out now? Who knew and when? How much did Calipari have to do with keeping this from going public (to facilitate his move to UK)? Did Pastner know about this when accepted the U of M job? And if so, why didn’t he bring it to light then. If he had it would have cast a shadow on the Calipari era, marked the beginning of a new AND DIFFERENT regime (instead of Cal’s top leiutenant), and shifted the focus of the Cal/UK story (opening a can of worms – how would UK boosters react, how would potential Cal/Memphis recruits react).

b) Kentucky reports that Calipari was upfront about allegations throughout the interview process and had a letter from NCAA saying that he is not at risk of being charged with any violations. WTF!?!? How did he get such a letter and when? Has the NCAA already concluded its investigation? What if new information comes to light implicating Calipari? This is similar to how Cal railroaded Memphis on the signed recruits issue a couple of months ago.

c) How will this affect Memphis in the future? Obviously only time will tell. Is this modus operandi for all of big time NCAA basketball? Is Pastner a true golden boy like he seems or will we go back to the swindling backhanded ways of Cal? Who will pay the price for this? Fans? AA, Dozier, Dorsey, CDR, and their record wins? Season ticket holders and the money they’ve contributed?

The RC Johnson Issue:

At a time when Memphis is already licking its wounds and trying to rebound from an unthinkable recruiting hole (losing committed recruits, losing signed recruits, and at one time, in jeopardy of losing currently rostered players), RC Johnson caps what has been a career filled with ten failures for every one success. And now his biggest success (hiring Cal) is more tarnished than ever.

Let’s look at the litany of errors RC Johnson has committed (we’ll only focus on those that have recently come to light).

• he let Cal sign players that could back out of that commitment if he left the school
• he let Cal leave and take the greatest recruiting class in the history of college basketball go with him
• he led a bumbling and moronic coaching search, saved only by the grace of Josh Pastner and God himself
• all three above errors occurred while U of M was conducting a complete re-seating of season tickets holders
• he sat on a NCAA investigation for over four months
• he did not conduct an internal investigation of the above
• he didn’t bring the investigation to light while Cal was cutting a trail to UK
• he’s essentially caused the university to lie to season ticket holders, boosters, fans, and current and future recruits for over four months
• worst of all, if this investigation had been made public by U of M right after Cal left, the entire focus of the UK/Cal hire is changed. Many UK boosters were uneasy to begin with given Cal’s past. Instead of asking how many banners they’ll hang in Rupp, the questions begin to look like this:
• a. Did Cal leave to avoid the investigation?
• b. Can Cal succeed under the bright lights and media in Lexington?
• c. How did Cal receive a letter absolving him of wrong while interviewing for a new job?
• d. How will Cal’s recruits react?
• e. Will UK boosters/fans accept this kind of SOP
• f. Is Memphis better off beginning anew under fresh baby faced Pastner?
• g. Should the violations follow Cal (or any coach for that matter)?

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see where I’m going. RC Johnson’s head must roll. Not for this disaster, but for the culmination of his many failures that have more often than not been overshadowed by the success of others or the grace of the basketball gods. You can only dodge a bullet for so long. Johnson has been nicked in the past, but he’s finally been hit with a mortal blow. Its time for Tiger Nation to move on without RC Johnson. If we don’t, I fear RC will dodge another bullet, one that might strike the Memphis Tigers right in the heart.