[Rosiak's Blog] Mbakwe still not cleared

[ToddRosiakSays]

Mbakwe still not cleared

Barring an unexpected turn of events sometime early this afternoon, freshman forward Trevor Mbakwe will not accompany his teammates to Vancouver, British Columbia.

As of late Friday morning, MU and coach Tom Crean were still awaiting word from the NCAA Clearinghouse regarding Mbakwe's eligibility. At question is a summer class Mbakwe took at his high school, St. Bernard's Prep, in St. Paul, Minn.

"If he's not cleared today he'll stay back this weekend," Crean said. "We'll keep some people back with him because, as I said to him, he's as valuable to us even if he's back here as this trip is for the people that are on it. We can't lose any ground with him one way or the other because he's had a good week. He's really picked things up.

"It's tough. He just got here and there's a lot of uncertainty. It's just a matter of timing. They have everything and it'll be disappointing if it hasn't been cleared by the time we leave today. But if it's not, there's not much we can do. Everything has been handled on our end. We're just waiting for them to get to it."

Mbakwe is in the midst of a two-week grace period that's allowed him to take part in the four remaining practice sessions the Golden Eagles had left to prepare for their Labor Day trip, so he'll have been included in everything up until the point they leave for Vancouver.

It's Crean's hope that, at the very least, Mbakwe's case is reviewed and he's cleared sometime next week so he can be put on scholarship and continue preparations for the start of the regular season.

"I know there's a lot of fall sports kids that haven't been certified yet, but we're kind of in an emergency situation, because we're taking the trip," said Crean. "I would hope we would get some precedence, so we'll see."

http://blogs.jsonline.com/muhoops/archive/2007/08/31/mbakwe-still-not-cleared.aspx

[mu03eng]

Why is god's name does it take so long to clear a kid and get them on scholarship??  Its not like the NCAA doesn't know the schedule since they are the ones who establish it in the first place!!!!  Good god, I'm frustrated I can't imagine what Trevor and Crean are feeling.  This is why I despise the NCAA, love the sports but the corporation itself sucks

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

I doubt this is simply a case of signing some papers. My guess is that this class he took is questionable at best. The NCAA then needs to speak to the school in question, see how many other kids were in it, how long it's been offered, etc.

I'm not a defender of the NCAA, but in this case -- and in the case of Hayward last year -- they're trying to protect the integrity of the NCAA as a bastion of student/athletes and close the loopholes people have been exposing for year.

[MarkMiller]

It has nothing to do with the class Trevor took.

It has more to do with the fact he took the class at a Minneapolis public school that offered summer school classes for the first time.

[Chili]

I doubt this is simply a case of signing some papers. My guess is that this class he took is questionable at best. The NCAA then needs to speak to the school in question, see how many other kids were in it, how long it's been offered, etc.

I'm not a defender of the NCAA, but in this case -- and in the case of Hayward last year -- they're trying to protect the integrity of the NCAA as a bastion of student/athletes and close the loopholes people have been exposing for year.

That or the fact they just finished clearing fall sport athletes and are now moving to winter.

[mu_hilltopper]

It has nothing to do with the class Trevor took.

It has more to do with the fact he took the class at a Minneapolis public school that offered summer school classes for the first time.

A Public school?  I would think that would be a slam dunk for the NCAA if it was under the umbrella of the Mlps school district.    Now, some fly by night charter school (like those in Milwaukee) I understand one would need to examine harshly.  Odd.

[bartmiller#1]

The school Mbakwe took his summer class at is the same school he graduated from.  St. Bernard's.  It's been around for over 100 years and it's a good school. 

http://www.saintbernards-school.org/highschool.aspx

Over 90% of its graduates go on to post-high school education of some kind. 

This isn't a sports factory grinding out fake grades and credentials. 

[ChicosBailBonds]

Why is god's name does it take so long to clear a kid and get them on scholarship??  Its not like the NCAA doesn't know the schedule since they are the ones who establish it in the first place!!!!  Good god, I'm frustrated I can't imagine what Trevor and Crean are feeling.  This is why I despise the NCAA, love the sports but the corporation itself sucks

Very few people at the NCAA in that department and thousands of athletes.   Trust me, you don't get rich working at the NCAA or a college athletic department.  I know from experience.     Sure AD's and some coaches can do well, but the everyday staff are on a shoestring budget so there are usually few bodies to do a ton of work.  I have three pals that work at the NCAA and they would verify this....just part of the process, they'll get Trevor cleared eventually but they are still backlogged with Fall sports right now.

[ChicosBailBonds]

The school Mbakwe took his summer class at is the same school he graduated from.  St. Bernard's.  It's been around for over 100 years and it's a good school. 

http://www.saintbernards-school.org/highschool.aspx

Over 90% of its graduates go on to post-high school education of some kind. 

This isn't a sports factory grinding out fake grades and credentials. 

True, but I believe it's the first time they have offered Summer School classes so that might be the reason for the delay.

[MUViking]

"The school Mbakwe took his summer class at is the same school he graduated from.  St. Bernard's."

That fact is actually inaccurate in Rosiak's article.

[Harrison]

Did you guys who subscribe over at the Scout site know about this yeasterday?

I dont think I will ever be cool.

[Coobeys Oil Depot]

Did you guys who subscribe over at the Scout site know about this yeasterday?

I dont think I will ever be cool.

If you had paid attention at all this summer you'd have known this was coming.

[bartmiller#1]

Vike, was it a Minneapolis Public School?

[Nukem2]

Harrison, for your benefit, This info re the specific questioning of the summer course was not on the Scout site previously.  Obviously, the course would subject to scrutiny as would all of his courses.  No big deal.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

I doubt this is simply a case of signing some papers. My guess is that this class he took is questionable at best. The NCAA then needs to speak to the school in question, see how many other kids were in it, how long it's been offered, etc.

I'm not a defender of the NCAA, but in this case -- and in the case of Hayward last year -- they're trying to protect the integrity of the NCAA as a bastion of student/athletes and close the loopholes people have been exposing for year.

I agree with you that the NCAA needs to maintain academic integrity, but what leads you to believe that this class is questionable?

They are still clearing kids for fall sports, so I don't think that a winter sports player having to wait to be cleared is an indication of the quality of the class.

I think its simply due to the calender.

[77ncaachamps]

At this point, it's all conjecture. With that said...

I think it may have to do with the eligibility of that class towards graduation / satisfaction of requirements.