New Standards for hoops players

[Benny B]

Correct.  Does anyone know if new standards have been put in place?  If we do have new standards I can only imagine that buzz cannot be happy about the effect on recruiting it will have.  If there is new standards being put on him by his new bosses his consideration of smu makes much more sense. 

Why would you assume that Buzz is against increased academic standards?

[NersEllenson]

Why would you assume that Buzz is against increased academic standards?

Why would any coach, who is judged on wins and losses, in an ultra competitive profession, want to be held to a standard higher than 95% of his peers?  Without the horses, even the best coaches aren't able to win at a high rate...you need the talented kids...and if you reduce the talent pool you can recruit from, you are essentially reducing a coaches chances at winning, and thus retaining their job.

[chren21]

Why would any coach, who is judged on wins and losses, in an ultra competitive profession, want to be held to a standard higher than 95% of his peers?  Without the horses, even the best coaches aren't able to win at a high rate...you need the talented kids...and if you reduce the talent pool you can recruit from, you are essentially reducing a coaches chances at winning, and thus retaining their job.

Thanks. That answer was pretty obvious, I thought.  

[chren21]

Is this question rhetorical?  Nobody here has verified it, and there hasn't been anything from the school.  This has been  discussed here for weeks.  Maybe (a) WAIT AND SEE IF THIS STUFF ACTUALLY HAPPENS, or (b) email the athletic department?  You seem a bit more desperate to know than most.  

"If... If...I can only imagine."  CLASSIC.  

Sorry I do not read this board from cover to cover.  When I heard this type of talk, yes I was VERY CONCERNED.  I'm not sure if desperate is the right word but I could only assume that the results would be obvious. 

IF BUZZ's bosses have imposed standards on him including new academic standards and other attempts to help him "avoid player issues that end up in the pubic eye" he WILL accept the next quality offer that comes his way.  

I have one last question.  Some of the new top recruits may be arriving for the summer....   I wonder if someone there can verify if they are being allowed to live in Humpfrey hall or not?  If this was already addressed I apologize in advance....

[Hards Alumni]

What I really wonder is why anyone thinks there is a correlation between good grades and good behavior.

[GGGG]

What I really wonder is why anyone thinks there is a correlation between good grades and good behavior.

Well, I'm sure if you look at a given group of 18-22 year old boys, there is a statistical correlation.  However you shouldn't treat individuals as a group.

[Silkk the Shaka]

Well, I'm sure if you look at a given group of 18-22 year old boys, there is a statistical correlation.  However you shouldn't treat individuals as a group.

Also, correlation doesn't necessarily mean causation.

[Hards Alumni]

Also, correlation doesn't necessarily mean causation.

Exactly.

[GGGG]

Exactly.

Right...but you specifically said "correlation."

[wildbillsb]

Count me in.  

Do I throw in the 3 masters degrees she also earned?......while working and then along came our kids.....and 4.0 in all three.

I did a triathalon yesterday...................

....and in her eighth month she painted the house, using an extension ladder, which she moved herself because MUFIC had to go to town to get a hair cut.  So there!

[Hards Alumni]

Right...but you specifically said "correlation."

bahahaha touche, sir.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

Also, correlation doesn't necessarily mean causation.

I'll probably get ripped for this, but is there any causation between being good at basketball and having a low GPA?

Is it possible we think this is a big deal, but it really isn't?

[Big Papi]

+1

He was definitely my biggest concern. I have to think him being back is a good sign, though this whole thing reinforces my belief that he won't be here 4 years. I think as soon as he's a 16+ ppg guy, he's headed to the Draft, even if he comes off the bench (ala Dion Waiters) to get it.

I never expected Mayo to be here 4 years after seeing him play early on last year.  He has good size, good skills, great pedigree (do you know OJ Mayo was his half brother) and is a 21 year old freshmen.  I thought two years tops so yes if he dialed it up another notch this coming year, I would bet it would be his last year here.

[GGGG]

I'll probably get ripped for this, but is there any causation between being good at basketball and having a low GPA?

 
"Causation?"  No.  How would being good at basketball cause you to have a low GPA?  Correlation?  Don't know.

[Big Daddy 84]

Are folks actually saying that the academic standards for basketball players are different than the standards for the rest of athletes....well excuse me but that is just ridiculous. There are athletic standards for the university and the whole university and there are not different standards for one group versus another...I can not believe anyone is actually buying that.

Please Father P and LW understand the value MU basketball brings to this school and Chuck S is a huge supporter of the team and Buzz as well.

Step back from the cliff and let it go....

[MerrittsMustache]

Are folks actually saying that the academic standards for basketball players are different than the standards for the rest of athletes....well excuse me but that is just ridiculous. There are athletic standards for the university and the whole university and there are not different standards for one group versus another...I can not believe anyone is actually buying that.

Please Father P and LW understand the value MU basketball brings to this school and Chuck S is a huge supporter of the team and Buzz as well.

Step back from the cliff and let it go....

Where did anyone actually say that?

[MarsupialMadness]

Are folks actually saying that the academic standards for basketball players are different than the standards for the rest of athletes....well excuse me but that is just ridiculous. There are athletic standards for the university and the whole university and there are not different standards for one group versus another...I can not believe anyone is actually buying that.

Please Father P and LW understand the value MU basketball brings to this school and Chuck S is a huge supporter of the team and Buzz as well.

Step back from the cliff and let it go....

No, I think folks are speculating that academic standards for all student athletes may have been slightly (and retroactively) increased, which may or may not make it impossible for some student athletes to meet such standards given the grades they already have.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

 
"Causation?"  No.  How would being good at basketball cause you to have a low GPA?  Correlation?  Don't know.

Right, I guess I'm just trying to use my best critical thinking skills before I freak out.

If we don't think there is a causation between higher GPA and "behavior", why are we acting like there is a causation between being good at basketball and low GPA?

My gut reaction is that higher standards MIGHT hurt MU's ability to keep good players eligible, but maybe it really won't amount to anything.

[madtownwarrior]

Please add Big Daddy to the membership of non-tinfoil hat club.   Hell, he should be president.  

Thanks for the voice of reason and reality.  

Are folks actually saying that the academic standards for basketball players are different than the standards for the rest of athletes....well excuse me but that is just ridiculous. There are athletic standards for the university and the whole university and there are not different standards for one group versus another...I can not believe anyone is actually buying that.

Please Father P and LW understand the value MU basketball brings to this school and Chuck S is a huge supporter of the team and Buzz as well.

Step back from the cliff and let it go....

[WI inferiority Complexes]

There seem to be quite a few MUScoopers who couldn't pull off a 3.0 while at Marquette (although, you guys did seem to marry well).

Methinks you should've been Education majors.

*Except for the whole not-make-any-money-after-graduation thing*

[jesmu84]

Please add Big Daddy to the membership of non-tinfoil hat club.   Hell, he should be president.  

Thanks for the voice of reason and reality.  

I don't think anyone has sad that the academic standards are different for bball players. Most times I have seen the topic brought up, it was a change in Athletic Department policy that applied to all athletes, we on this board just happen to be talking more about bball players.

That said, did we have to start another thread about this? Can we just wait till it plays out or something actually happens with another transfer?

[mu03eng]

I'll probably get ripped for this, but is there any causation between being good at basketball and having a low GPA?

Is it possible we think this is a big deal, but it really isn't?

I don't know that there is an empirical study that correlates basketball skill to GPA, just like there probably isn't a study linking good gpa and good behavior.  However anecdotaly I think there is plenty of stories of players getting slide through school because of their athletic prowess.

Similarly is there a correlation between GPA and IQ, not necessarily.

All three are bell curves, I think the basketball-gpa curve skews to the left side, the good gpa and good behavior skews to the right, and the GPA and IQ sits in the middle.  The key would be to get enough overlap between the first two curves to give a sizable pool of talent to field a team.

[mu03eng]

I don't think anyone has sad that the academic standards are different for bball players. Most times I have seen the topic brought up, it was a change in Athletic Department policy that applied to all athletes, we on this board just happen to be talking more about bball players.

That said, did we have to start another thread about this? Can we just wait till it plays out or something actually happens with another transfer?

What is so bad about discussing it now?  So some posters get their knickers in a twist, who cares they are the ones that have to carry that stress.  I've never seen or heard a topic so dangerous it could be discussed

[Spotcheck Billy]

I've never seen or heard a topic so dangerous it could be discussed

not sure if youtube videos can be inserted so a link will have to suffice

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gpjk_MaCGM

[Benny B]

Why would any coach, who is judged on wins and losses, in an ultra competitive profession, want to be held to a standard higher than 95% of his peers?  Without the horses, even the best coaches aren't able to win at a high rate...you need the talented kids...and if you reduce the talent pool you can recruit from, you are essentially reducing a coaches chances at winning, and thus retaining their job.

Who said anything about the 95th percentile?  My question was why would anyone assume that Buzz is against increased academic standards.  It seems that all of the vitriol and vilification of certain parties around here has less to do with thresholds and more to do with principle - the principle being that any increase in academic standards is going to tank MU's basketball program.

Frankly, some of you may be getting your panties in a bunch needlessly if the "academic standards" being discussed have nothing to do with GPA's (or at least not on the magnitude being speculated).  It may have more to do with something as innocuous as new minimum qualifications for tutors.  It may have to do with shifting of study times.  It may have to do with raising the GPA minimum -- by five-hundreths of a point.  Or it may simply have to do with the quality of education that athletes are receiving.

Believe me, I'm all for raising academic standards amongst athletes.  They should be getting the best education possible, and if someone falls behind, I'm all for MU putting the resources in place to catch that person up.

ANYONE can get a 2.0 GPA.  It's a question of how much time does the student put in and what resources are available.  Buzz isn't recruiting guys who have lackadaisical work ethics, so if there is a problem, it's the school's, not the students'.