Players going to class

[beaconwarrior]

In the most recent video on Cracked Sidewalks, Buzz leads off with a story of the consequences the team faced when someone or all of them missed a class.

I don't know personally but I've heard stories about MU players simply not going to every class throughout the semester. Kids skip class, it's college.

We all know these guys have a busy schedule during the season, but do they really make it to every class (outside of away game absences)?

[Clam Crowder]

I saw Lazar in class every day in the class I had with him... Most of the kids I talk to also mention seeing them in class. Alot of them take summer classes tho

[Brewtown Andy]

It's not hard for the academic support staff to ask the professors to let them know if a player misses a class.

[reinko]

Novak when he was a frosh didn't miss a class, albeit it was "History of the American Musical" 

[MUfan12]

I had an Econ class with Wesley, and he was there every single day.

The same can't be said for yours truly after a few quality Thursday nights.

[sarcastro]

I had a Theology class with Trevor Powell his senior year.  He sat in the back with his headphones on every day until basketball season was over.  Then we never saw him.

[Skatastrophy]

I had a Theology class with Trevor Powell his senior year.  He sat in the back with his headphones on every day until basketball season was over.  Then we never saw him.

Buzz would have whupped him into shape. 

[wadesworld]

I've had Scott Christopherson, Trevor Mbakwe, Dominic James, and Jerel McNeal in classes and I can't remember them missing more than one class other than when they were on the road.  The one with Dominic and Jerel was a 9 AM class and I remember times when they'd finish a game out east (I think I remember once being Providence specifically) at around 10 PM and clearly have to fly back (2 hour flight plus at least an hour after the game before they got showered, to the airport, through security and onto the flight), so they probably weren't back until Humphry until at least 1:30 AM and they were still in class the next day.

This was all under Tom Crean.  I'm sure Buzz has continued this.

[mugoose]

I took History of Jazz with D-Wade (he was frosh). He never missed a class, and always had the hood of sweatshirt up over his head.

[bma725]

I had the same major as Oluoma Nmamaka, so we had quite a few classes together and his attendance was what you might call spotty at best.  Of course, mine could be characterized that way also, so maybe he was going to all the classes I missed.

[chapman]

Had a class with Wes and another with Fitzgerald.  Neither missed a class unless they were on the road, except Fitz missed one because he was under the knife.

[bilsu]

In my sat next to Craig Butrym and on the other side of Craig was Bo Ellis. they were almost always there.

[94Warrior]

If Buzz has proven anything to me, he has proven to be a man of his word.  If he claims they ran 72 sprints in 72 minutes after having the first unexcused absence of the year, I believe him.    Just as I believed him when he said the team dropped to a knee and prayed sometime in January, when Yous made his first basket in practice.

What happened under previous coaches is immaterial.  Buzz is a whole new breed.

Why would he make this stuff up?  He would look pretty foolish if it weren't true!  Like Buzz says, he may be a bad recruiter but he is outstanding at telling the truth.

[mu-rara]

I had a Theology class with Trevor Powell his senior year.  He sat in the back with his headphones on every day until basketball season was over.  Then we never saw him.

Dukiet?

[NYWarrior]

Buzz would have whupped him into shape.  

Re: Trevor Powell and going to class ... Kevin O'Neill was a hard ass about going to class.  He gave the team managers a master schedule of the team's classes -- if a manager checked and the player was not in class the entire team had to be at the old gym at 5am the next morning to run (I think it was a mile for time -- if one player didnt reach the goal they had to do it over). The only player who didn't run was the dude who skipped class  ... he had to sit on a chair in the middle of the court and watch the team run.  It was not pleasant but it didn't happen often.

As for 2H of senior year, clearly the pressure was off (and that year KO moved away from those seniors quickly).  At that time hoops was not the extraordinary year-round commitment it is now -- there were no real expectations other than pickup games and weight room commitments.  No excuse for not going to class, but circumstances were different 20 yrs ago.

[Henry Sugar]

Re: Trevor Powell and going to class ... Kevin O'Neill was a hard ass about going to class.  He gave the team managers a master schedule of the team's classes -- if a manager checked and the player was not in class the entire team had to be at the old gym at 5am the next morning to run (I think it was a mile for time -- if one player didnt reach the goal they had to do it over). The only player who didn't run was the dude who skipped class  ... he had to sit on a chair in the middle of the court and watch the team run.  It was not pleasant but it didn't happen often.

The team managers were supposed to be snitches?  And then also spend lots of time around these same players?

"Misaligned incentives"

[The Lens]

I had a Theology class with Trevor Powell his senior year.  He sat in the back with his headphones on every day until basketball season was over.  Then we never saw him.

Regular Sony Walkman or Yellow Sports Walkman...or, oh my god, no, did he have a Sony Discman?!

[muhoops1]

I had a Theology class with Trevor Powell his senior year.  He sat in the back with his headphones on every day until basketball season was over.  Then we never saw him.

Undoubtedly listening to the Stetsasonic tape he borrowed Freshman year and never gave back.  The guy was like Kramer.

[Tom Crean's Tanning Bed]

During my undergraduate years (2001-2005), had a stats class with Travis Diener as a sophomore.  Showed up every day, but pretty much mailed it in (I think he changed his major to comm the next semester).  Steve Novak sat behind me for Business Ethics senior year; definitely was there every day, participated in discussions, and even led a small group for a group project I worked on with him.

[Mufflers]

Even if the attendance was poor, I don't think you could indict the program.  Freshman or sophomore year, I took a very philosophical politics class (in trying to look it up, I think it may have been Justice and Power).  It wasn't for me and I'm guessing I was taking 18 credits at the time, so I ended up attending about one-third of the classes (looking back at it, I have no idea how I passed that class).  However, my attendance for that class wasn't representative of my attendance as a whole.   

My guess is that as a whole, I skipped a lot more classes than the basketball players.  However, I always maintained a decent GPA and went on to become a successful professional.  I'm not sure the singling out basketball players in individual classes exercise truly gives us a good indication of academic prowess or future success.

[Ari Gold]

Jerel Dom and Burke were all comms majors that I saw in the big lecture halls my Frosh and soph years. they rarely if ever missed class. I assume the few times they did they were traveling because there was never a time when only Burke or Dom showed up. Kinda phoned it in for class.
Soph year my roommate was in Dom's public speaking class and my friend did a speech on how to shoot a free throw... something about a BEEF acronym. Exactly the same the other guys except my old roommate was an nonathletic suburban white kid, yet Ironically Dom could never make a free throw

[jutaw22mu]

I had a Medical Ethics class with Travis Diener and either he dropped the class or he never showed up except for the first two or three classes.  Definitely seemed disinterested.

[cheebs09]

Had Yous in my Coaching class first semester last year. He was there every day and sat in the front.

[MDMU04]

I had Dwyane Wade, Scott Merritt and Odartey Blankson in my Public Speaking class in fall semester 2000.  Wade wasn't traveling with the team at that point (partial qualifier) and he never missed a class.  Merritt and ODB only missed classes when the team was playing on the road.  The most amazing part was they had 1 gallon milk jugs full of water with them and they almost always put down damn near the whole thing during a 50 minute class.

I had a summer class between the 02-03 and 03-04 school years with Diener, Novak, and one other player that I don't remember.  Their attitude towards that class was much more casual.  Most days Diener would sit in the back and read a magazine or the Eastbay catalog or something like that for the whole class.  On occasion, the prof would let us take a break halfway through the class and then Diener would usually leave.  Novak was always there though.

[Blackhat]

Sophomore year I had some rudimentary Political Science class that I literally attended only three times, just the days I had to hand in papers.   Somehow I pulled a B+....I love lib profs.