[Rosiak's Blog] Cadougan, Mbao still waiting

[ToddRosiakSays]

Cadougan, Mbao still waiting
               

Coach Buzz Williams said on Thursday afternoon that both Junior Cadougan and Youssoupha Mbao are still awaiting word from the NCAA Clearinghouse, and thus not yet on campus.

It had initially been believed that Cadougan, a freshman point guard from Toronto by way of Humble, Texas, would be green-lighted to begin attending summer school at MU earlier in the week. But he, along with Mbao, a native of Senegal who played prep-school ball in California, continue to be held up due to increased scrutiny of international players by the Clearinghouse.

"His case is progressing," said Williams of Cadougan. "Obviously no NCAA coaches are allowed to talk to the Clearinghouse, and so it's hard to completely gauge where his case is. I do know that they do have all the documentation, all of the information that they need to make a decision. But similar to many other international players, it's a new rule, and I don't know that it was well-thought out, because there were only nine business days from the time that our two kids graduated from high school until summer school started.

"Obviously we're most concerned about our two guys, but the Clearinghouse has to certify everyone. All of our American signees have yet to go through the Clearinghouse, but they're in summer school. They just changed the rule that any international kids can't attend summer school until they're certified. This is the first time this has ever happened, and I think they're overloaded -- that would be my personal opinion. But I think we've done the right things."

Williams doesn't believe the holdup is indicative of any problems with either player's certification. Mbao's case, in particular, was expected to take extra time because of the need to translate his transcripts prior to sending them to the Clearinghouse.

"I don't think that it's necessarily alarming that they haven't been cleared," he said. "I think it's just the new rule, and the logistics of the timing involved. It is what it is. We're on top of it, we've done everything that we could do up until this point, we work on it every day, but there's an extent to what we can do.

"Nothing's wrong, but at the same time there is something wrong because (Cadougan's) not here, and we would love for him to be here. So that's where we're at."

MU's five other incoming recruits -- Dwight Buycks, Darius Johnson-Odom, Jeronne Maymon, Brett Roseboro and Erik Williams -- have all been on campus for at least a week now, and are not only taking classes but also beginning the process of bonding as teammates in addition to working out with strength and conditioning coach Todd Smith.

In that respect, both Cadougan and Mbao are losing valuable time waiting to be cleared.

"I don't know that it necessarily hinders their development, because they're going to be working out every day. They're players," he said. "But what it hinders is, they're not around our team every day. They're not around our staff every day. They're not able to get ahead academically toward their degree, because the six hours they can take in the summer you can use in a lot of different ways -- to get ahead, to help your GPA start out the right way. Those are the things that hurt them.

"I'm not really worried about them not lifting weights; they're going to lift weights. It's just that they're not with our guys every day, they're not around our staff, and they're not getting ahead academically."

Williams said he's been pleased with the progress the five players that are on campus have made over the course of their first week.

"They're doing good," he said. "Their schedule is full from 6 in the morning until 10 o'clock every night, and that's just kinda part of it. They're taking three classes, they're lifting every day, they're doing conditioning, study hall every day, so they're getting kinda jammed up."

-- Williams also weighed in on MU's Big East opponents, who were released earlier today.

"I think Villanova and West Virginia have established themselves as far as their returning players as two teams that are probably ahead of the rest," he said. "The mirror opponents, obviously anytime you can play DePaul and Notre Dame, two longtime rivalries, I think that's good. I think those guys did an unbelievable job with Providence; they probably are most similar to us in regards to how many they lost and what they've had to replace.

"I think Cincinnati and Seton Hall are two teams that people probably don't give enough credit to. Mick and Gonzo have done great jobs recruiting in the last two classes, and both of those teams are very similar. I think that you can probably throw Rutgers in there -- they've been adding to their core and each year they're a little bit better, they have more depth. So one of those teams, two of those teams, I think, are going to cause problems.

"You've got to play all of them. Playing at UConn, at Villanova, at Syracuse and at West Virginia -- those are bears, and then Notre Dame with Harangody coming back, arguably the best returning player in the league, along with Louisville, Pittsburgh (at home). Every team is tough."

Williams then again touched on his team's return opponents.

"Obviously some of your mirror opponents are derived from the straw poll of the coaches," he said. "They never produce that for us, but obviously we were picked very low, and I'm going to assume that Villanova was picked very high. And I think that Villanova's roster is probably similarly complected to what ours was last year, and they return all of those guys except Dante Cunningham. And, per player, they may have the best recruiting class in our league.

"If we develop a long-standing rivalry with Villanova, that means that we're doing the right things. I think that Coach (Jay) Wright does a phenomenal job on and off the court, and what they have returning along with what they have signed is a very dangerous mix from an opponent's perspective."
               

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/49746392.html
               

[GOMU1104]

Cadougan, Mbao still waiting
               


"Obviously we're most concerned about our two guys, but the Clearinghouse has to certify everyone. All of our American signees have yet to go through the Clearinghouse, but they're in summer school.
               

Looks like its just a waiting game..

Also interesting, regarding the rest of the newcomers:

"Obviously we're most concerned about our two guys, but the Clearinghouse has to certify everyone. All of our American signees have yet to go through the Clearinghouse, but they're in summer school."

As I have stated before, they may have qualified, but nobody is "cleared" yet...

[mu_hilltopper]

I do not understand why the Clearinghouse has any bearing on those two guys and their presence on campus. 

Clearly, MU can educate any person they so choose to admit.  Now, certainly, they couldn't participate in team activities or use team equipment, that I understand. 

Anyone shed any light on that?

[JimmyBIToldYa]

I do not understand why the Clearinghouse has any bearing on those two guys and their presence on campus. 

Clearly, MU can educate any person they so choose to admit.  Now, certainly, they couldn't participate in team activities or use team equipment, that I understand. 

Anyone shed any light on that?

they would have to pay for tuition and room and board

[Tugg Speedman]

they would have to pay for tuition and room and board

Isn't finacial aid and tuition payment schedules up to the individual university?  So couldn't the players SAY they intend to pay and when they clear, they don't have to?

[GGGG]

Isn't finacial aid and tuition payment schedules up to the individual university?  So couldn't the players SAY they intend to pay and when they clear, they don't have to?

You can't treat scholarship athletes different than the general student body.

[Ellenson Guerrero]

You can't treat scholarship athletes different than the general student body.

Man I wish the university gave me the kind of treatment they give to the bball team