Odds and Ends

Been a while since I updated this, and I've kind of been waiting for the camps to get done before doing much, but I want to update a little bit on a few odds and ends.

First, Jerimy Finch is, as you all know, enrolled at IU and taking online classes. He has also applied for a hardship waiver with the NCAA to play next season, instead of sitting out the normal 1 year that is required for transfers from one D 1 school to another. For those that don't know what hardship waivers are, I thought I'd not only educate myself, as well as inform those that don't know and look into it a bit more. The official NCAA website provides the standards and codes that all schools and student athletes must follow, so this is where I got my information.

To be eligible for a hardship waiver, the tranferring student and the institution that the student is transferring too, must support their request via documentation as to why the player needs to play right away and not have to sit out the year. This documentation must be submitted to the NCAA subcommittee for review, and then a ruling is made. If the waiver is denied, the institution and/or the player can request an appeal hearing with the subcommittee for denial requests. This is almost like a hearing in that the transferring player and/or the institution can call witnesses before the committee to support their documentation request. At this point, this subcommittee will make a decision that will either agree with the original decision, or reverse the decision. Whatever the decision, this is as far as you can take it with the NCAA. I suppose you could take it further or outside the NCAA to the court system, but those do not usually end up in a timely matter.

Now, I'm in no way saying that Finch's case would ever go as far as I described above, but that are his, and IU's option. One of the most recent cases for hardship that was granted that IU fans may be familiar with is that of Tyler Smith. Tyler played at Iowa for Coach Alford, then transferred to Tennessee to play for Coach Pearl. He was allowed to play the following season, because he transferred to be near his ailing father who had cancer.

In one of the stranger requests of recent memory, was the family of Colin Peek. Colin transferred to Alabama from Georgia Tech. The appeal for hardship was orchestrated by Coach Nick Saban, because GT didn't employ a TE in their scheme, so with Peek's position basically eliminated from the offense, Peek requested immediate playing time because Alabama was going to use their TEs a lot. Basically, Saban needed a TE, and Peek was his best option. Of course, this request was denied.

Finch's issue is family related, but that's as far as anyone really knows. This is of course a very private issue that will only be made public once a ruling is given by the NCAA. It will more than likely be July before we know the NCAA's decision on this one, and of course, if it's not favorable, Finch and/or IU could appeal.

I wanted to let those that read this blog know that Coach Tom Crean and Coach Bill Lynch have become very good friends very quickly and they often share a meal as their time allows them too. In fact, Coach Crean has leaned on Coach Lynch some through all this turmoil and strife that the men's bball program has went through recently. Coach Lynch and his staff are all too familiar with adversity and strife, as they dealt with the illness and ultimate death, of their leader, Coach Hep. Coach Crean has really bent Coach Lynch's ear, as well as other trusted friends about all that is going on with men's bball. Personally, I cannot remember, at least in recent memory, a school's athletic program that has dealt with as much adversity and strife as IU's fball and men's bball programs. One thing that I've heard Coach Lynch say about the late Coach Hep, is that you can give a player all the chances in the world to succeed, get them help, even drive by their house or call the apartment and make sure they are home, but ultimately, if a kid doesn't want to change, he won't. While I think that is obvious, I think some of that advice that was giving to Coach Hep staff, trickled down to Coach Crean. Sure, he could have given some of those many more chances, but sometimes you just go with your gut feeling. A lot of times, a person's past history will dictate their future behavior. This also leads me to my one and only comment about Kellen Lewis. I certainly made waves saying that in my opinion, there was a 99.9% chance that he would never don the IU football jersey again because of what he'd done. While I will certainly stand by that statement, I recently posted on Peegs that I think there is a 75% that he will play again. These percentages are merely based on the vibes and statements I am/was getting from those within the program. Things were laid out for KL to accomplish while he was away, and he's on track to complete those things by the end of this month. If he completes those things in the satisfaction of the staff, it appears it may ultimately come down to what his teammates want. At this point, that vote could either way.

Now that June has begun, that means it's time for football recruiting to really heat up. Kids all over the country will be making trips to football camps and taking unofficial visits. IU is no exception to this and here is the schedule of camps that will be held at IU this summer. These camps include the position coaches, as well as former and present players. During these camps, you usully wake up at 7:30, have breakfest, practice, eat lunch, practic, eat dinner, practice, then have a simulated game, then it's off to bed. It's jammed packed IU football.

This coming weekend IU will kick off their camp season with their 7 on 7 passing camp. Then on June 8 to 11 will be Session 1 of the Team camp. Session 2 will be from the 11th to the 14th. Finally, Coach Lynch will hold a youth camp for youngsters on the 16th and 17th. Also, Coach Bobby Johnson will hold a special Lineman camp on the 10th. Many offered lineman will be in attendance, as the staff will get a first hand look at what these kids can do. Also, Coach Ted Ginn's bus tour will again be making a stop in btown for a one day camp. No date yet on that one, at least none that I've seen listed on his website.

Ultimately, the staff believes that as many as 7 kids may very well verbal once the camp season winds down. I've gotten a few emails and saw comments about why in the world IU doesn't have any verbals so far and should we be concerned. Well, not having verbals by June is a little unusual, especially for IU, but IU has certainly upped it's effort on top notch talent. Almost everyday, the ticker lights up with another rated prospect that has IU in his top 2 or 3. It's only a matter of time before someone gets the ball rolling, then watch out as the dominos fall.

Well, that's it for now. God Bless!!