Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Katz story on Troy Gillenwater

Katz writes that Gillenwater likely wouldn't have been eligible anyway, shedding a little more light on his reason for leaving.

After speaking with Marvin Menzies on Friday, Coach said Gillenwater was in good academic standing when he made his decision to leave. After leaving Las Cruces to prepare for workouts, that could have changed and put him in a situation where he would have had to play catch up had he decided to return. But at the time Troy put his name in, he was eligible according to NMSU.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Watched him play a lot over the last few year. While he was a good player for the Aggies, he wasn't NBA ready.

Had he stayed, he might have done something with his senior year that could have gotten him drafted. Alas, he didn't...

Alan said...

You know what bugs me? How can they let these guys have bad grades. How can they not tutor them and guide them and COACH them to be more successful in all facets of life.

It seems like we are using these young men; exploiting them for our entertainment.

thoughts?

Anonymous said...

I agree with Alan. Most of these kids are on scholarship and their academics should be monitored every step of the way. They are not like other students and it's not only a right, but a responsibility of the university to make sure student-athletes are adhering to their education.

RT

Anonymous said...

Alan,

You can do so much. How much coaching does it take to open a book instead of playing a video game? How much guiding does it take to get out of bed, attend class and learn something? How much hand holding does there need to be, and where does must it start?

There are many services to students that are freely available, if the students want to avail themselves.

R.

Anonymous said...

It's not so much about hand holding as it is about holding the student-athletes accountable. Regardless of how much a university does, there will always be some people that will fail. However, you don't have to be a NM State insider to know that in many instances the student-athletes are not being held accountable. They let a lot slide at NM State.

RT

Anonymous said...

Good point, Alan. Check out the Fulton Center at the south end of the stadium. The ground level is devoted to tutoring.

Every case is different but overall NMSU's best hoops prospects are more likely to be guys that other programs might have passed over due to academics and college entry exam scores.

Alan said...

good thoughts, all...

The current services available are clearly not functioning in this case.

Being held accountable is part of it, inspiration is another part of it. Perhaps yet another part is the initial signing. Make it clear from the beginning that this is an academic institution first. Take that seriously.

Alan

Anonymous said...

I'm glad we are at a juncture on this blog where people can respectfully give their opinions. For quite some time people were getting pretty rude on here. I can deal with different views when people are decent about it. I like the way people have voiced their opinions on here lately.

RT

Anonymous said...

Civil discourse...a nice change.

Anonymous said...

TG had a diagnosed learning disability which was the reason he got an exemption last year in order to be eligible. He had close supervision and professional help at NMSU, but just flat could not concentrate enough at times to be successful in the classroom. He also had a lot of pressure from a very poor, dysfunctional family to help financially.

Alan said...

Thanks for the insight, 2:15...

yea, there often is another part of the story unknown to us.

I guess we can just wish him well.

Alan

Anonymous said...

Anyone else think that situations like these could be avoided by the ability of college athletes to make their own money? A lot of times kids like Gillenwater have to put their degree and college career in the backseat so that they can play overseas and make money for the family. If the NCAA didnt make it illegal for kids to make their own money through their abilities then who knows what might have become of Gillenwater and others. Im not saying that they should pay kids who are in college but they should be allowed to take advantage of their abilities.

DJ

Jason Groves said...

DJ, the "pay for play" is certainly a hot issue right now, but you always hear the conversation regarding around coaches from power conferences talking about it. NMSU struggles to put together salaries for its coaches that make NMSU an attractive job. I can't imagine how the school would go about finding money or some other form of compensation for its scholarship players.

Alan said...

...this is a seriously good question, Jason and DJ....

I have thought about it a bit too....

I will say more about this in a subsequent post.

For now, one thing to consider is the possibility of NBADL (d league) affiliation with universities.

Alan

Anonymous said...

Jason,

In the last sentence of my post I said, "Im not saying they should pay kids who are in college". I dont think schools should play players to play because schools like NMSU would find it extremely hard and I dont think a fair system would be in place that spreads it across all sports. Im sure Wen wouldnt like getting the same amount of money as someone who was on the swim team. I think like I said that kids should be able to take advantage of their abilities. If the Sisbarros or Mr. Burgertime want to hire athletes for some sports related business then let them. The NCAA has to stop issuing all these citations for rules violations when kids are swamping tats for memorabilia. Does anyone really care if someone decided to ruin their arm with a bad drawing? If our basketball team was allowed to make money off of their abilities then maybe they could buy individual cars so they can stop cramming themselves into a single one. Has anyone else seen that spectacle? The schools shouldnt pay, but the kids dont have to be restricted from making their own money either.

DJ