Time to Call It......

[RGV Pony]

that's too bad...sounds like an dirty recruiting game and b.s. nowadays.
Yes, RGV ...I too would like to know how Butler, West. Kentucky, Gonzag, and all the other smaller obscure schools get around the AAU/shoe stuff...aside from hiring a AAU coach.

you left out Oral Roberts. Get coach Sutton down here.

[Pony_Fan]

I guess this should be in the recruiting forum but this is a good blog post. So a school can "donate" a certain amount of $$ to a AAU program w/out it being illegal? Why would kids even want to play high school bball anymore?

http://www.hitthemarc.com/3593/i-love-aau-basketball/

I must have missed it - how good are the Dallas Heroes with Tim Mason/Erion etc? - they tell kids not to come to SMU?

[PonyDoh]

that's too bad...sounds like an dirty recruiting game and b.s. nowadays.
Yes, RGV ...I too would like to know how Butler, West. Kentucky, Gonzag, and all the other smaller obscure schools get around the AAU/shoe stuff...aside from hiring a AAU coach.

They all play the game, its just shades. The huge kids play out on a big stage cause the ceiling is higher for a big pay off. It's an industry of favors, and they all have shoe deals, or certain club programs that are friendly w/the program etc. No different w/the Zags or WKU, it's just on a smaller scale.

Does anyone really think Russell Springman just out-recruited everyone for Kevin Durant? He was a Nike kid for years and placed at Montrose Christian, so Jordan Brand advocate and long time Barnes buddy, Stu Vetter, could watch over him. UT was handed Durant.

Baylor just accepted a verbal from a kid at Quality Education academy who is a senior, w/o having seen his transcripts at the time of the verbal. Are you kidding me? Kid came from the same program as John Wall. It's payback for Drew hiring Dwon Clifton to get Wall, but it became too public. Wall goes w/Cal, Stargell Love gets sent to Baylor a year later. Locally, the Seawolves are in Baylors pocket, see Perry Jones at Duncanville.

[PonyDoh]

I guess this should be in the recruiting forum but this is a good blog post. So a school can "donate" a certain amount of $$ to a AAU program w/out it being illegal? Why would kids even want to play high school bball anymore?

http://www.hitthemarc.com/3593/i-love-aau-basketball/

I must have missed it - how good are the Dallas Heroes with Tim Mason/Erion etc? - they tell kids not to come to SMU?

The Dallas Heroes are very good in terms of results, especially for a fairly new program. I want to be VERY CLEAR about this;

1) Heroes currently doesn't have shoe sponsorship, they are privately funded. Can't imagine that goes on forever, though.

2) Heroes model is sparkly clean and very corporate. This isn't a street urchin organization.

3) Erion & Mase have been on the job a very short period of time

4) E & Mase aren't in the business of handling players, nor is the Heroes organization. They are trainers and damn good ones.

5) Erion posts here on occasion, and he's made it very clear in his own words, what he'd tell kids in his program, should they really inquire about SMU. They'd both love the program to be great again, but w/o rehashing, there are so many questions around the program currently, it's hard to give a true endorsement

[friarwolf]

that's too bad...sounds like an dirty recruiting game and b.s. nowadays.
Yes, RGV ...I too would like to know how Butler, West. Kentucky, Gonzag, and all the other smaller obscure schools get around the AAU/shoe stuff...aside from hiring a AAU coach.

Don't know much about Western Kentucky but the other 2 have "systems" in place.

[PonyDoh]

that's too bad...sounds like an dirty recruiting game and b.s. nowadays.
Yes, RGV ...I too would like to know how Butler, West. Kentucky, Gonzag, and all the other smaller obscure schools get around the AAU/shoe stuff...aside from hiring a AAU coach.

Don't know much about Western Kentucky but the other 2 have "systems" in place.

Western Kentucky head man, Ken McDonald, is off the Rick Barnes coaching tree. He not only plays the game, his admin gives him a lot of slack when it comes to previously troubled kids. See Cliff Dixon & Terence Boyd. Very few schools could have taken those kids. I'd love to look at him, should we get rid of Doh. He'd recruit Texas, although we beat him for Leslee Smith, partially b/c they were arrogant schmucks about it.

[FriscoPMG]

if this was a money issue, it would be no issue. Its a Doh contract issue, I believe. You see, many believe this job a graveyard, so wise ones, when negotiating demand a certain time period. If not given that time, they don't take the job. See no out clause

If there is a no buy out clause, is there any chance at all there is a win-related clause? I'm assuming a coach would never agree to that but perhaps as a compromise for not having the out clause?
According to the Daily Campus, Doh's salary decreased by 30% this year. I'd love to think it's related to the pathetic 9 win season, but again I assume that's just the way the contract was structured and not related to win total.

Men's Basketball Head Coach Matt Doherty is the third highest paid employee at SMU with total compensation coming to $546,229. Doherty's compensation decreased more than 30 percent from the 2007 fiscal year.

http://www.smudailycampus.com/2.6641/turner-jones-top-smu-salary-lists-1.959591

[RE Tycoon]

if this was a money issue, it would be no issue. Its a Doh contract issue, I believe. You see, many believe this job a graveyard, so wise ones, when negotiating demand a certain time period. If not given that time, they don't take the job. See no out clause

If there is a no buy out clause, is there any chance at all there is a win-related clause? I'm assuming a coach would never agree to that but perhaps as a compromise for not having the out clause?
According to the Daily Campus, Doh's salary decreased by 30% this year. I'd love to think it's related to the pathetic 9 win season, but again I assume that's just the way the contract was structured and not related to win total.

Men's Basketball Head Coach Matt Doherty is the third highest paid employee at SMU with total compensation coming to $546,229. Doherty's compensation decreased more than 30 percent from the 2007 fiscal year.

http://www.smudailycampus.com/2.6641/turner-jones-top-smu-salary-lists-1.959591

Typically contracts are back loaded and escalate, not decrease upwards of 30% from one year to the next. My guess is that he didn't reach many, if any, of his incentive triggers. Hence the free fall back to to his base compensation.