A big week for Miami as the long-awaited, much-anticipated NCAA hearing will finally take a place a few days from now, but what else has been happening in Coral Gables and what is the current State Of Miami here in mid-June? Let’s dive in:
Obviously this week’s NCAA hearing is the biggest University of Miami-related news to come down the pike in years and as a result, all eyes will be pointed towards Indianapolis. The court-like, but not quite, hearing will begin on Thursday and lasts for three days.
At one point it was unknown whether UM president Donna Shalala would attend. She will, as will athletic director Blake James, football coach Al Golden, basketball coach Jim Larranaga and a handful of attorneys representing the University of Miami.
Former UM coaches involved in the scandal will be there, as well, including current Missouri basketball coach Frank Haith, former assistants Jorge Fernandez and Jake Morton, as well as former football assistants Clint Hurtt and Aubrey Hill, Hurtt on leave from his job with Louisville and Hill, fired from Florida prior to the beginning of last football season.
The Committee Of Infractions is ten members deep, with eight from that bunch slated to hear the Miami case. The majority of the folks do have a legal background. One board member in particular is Roscoe Howard, of Andrews Kurth LLP, a Washington D.C.-based firm.
Howard practices white-collar crime, corporate compliance and ethics litigation, which is the type of individual Miami wants hearing its case, as con-man Nevin Shapiro is the lone source and recently admitted he committed perjury on the witness stand years back.
Miami will head to Indianapolis with its “Motion To Dismiss” agenda, focusing on the corrupt and biased NCAA investigation that has taken place thus far, while also attacking Shapiro’s credibility, or lack thereof.
Both sides will present their case, in a sense, over the three days and from there the committee will privately deliberate, suggest penalties and will prepare and release a report, which usually takes between two and three months, but could be expedited due to the overall length of the Miami case, which is going on two years with the clock still ticking.
Penalties and finding can be appealed to the Infractions Appeals Committee, and should Miami not feel the punishment fits the crime, safe to assume that UM won’t back down from the fight. Miami has already self-imposed two bowl bans, sat out an ACC title game, has suspended various players, indirectly cut ties with others, paid back the bankruptcy trust and has changed rules, regulations and policies regarding boosters and other outsiders’ contact with current student athletes.
In other words, anything more than a ‘fair’ number lost scholarships over the next few years and you can believe Shalala and team will appeal.
There will be no media coverage of the event, so there’s not much more to say right now other than raise some hell, Canes and fight the good fight. More news on the subject as it’s made available.
Miami baseball head coach Jim Morris has since been released from Duke University Hospital and is on his road to recovering after pneumonia sidelined him for almost two weeks, starting Saturday morning at the ACC regionals and lasting until days after the Canes’ season ended in the Louisville Regional, going 1-2, with back-to-back losses to the host Cardinals and Oklahoma State.
Morris is back home in Coconut Grove and in an interview since his return, admitted that he remembers virtually nothing from the experience. Sun-Sentinel writer Micheal Casagrande went on to explain that Morris has gotten back to business since his return, making recruiting calls last weekend and making sure guys are on board, while stopping to reflect on life after a long drive home, with flying not an option due to blood clots and other complications.
While the Hurricanes are coming off another rough season under Morris, there is optimism in the sense that this year’s recruiting class looks like it’s going to stay together, while others were shredded courtesy of the MLB Draft.
Of this current class, only two key players were drafted – outfielder Matt McPherson, chosen in the fourth round (120th overall) by the Arizona Diamondbacks and J.D. Underwood, a right-handed pitcher (with first base experience) taken by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the fifth round last Friday. What either will chose to do remains up in the air, those most feel McPherson, the 5-foot-10, 170-pounder out of Columbia, Maryland will opt for pro ball.
Two local recruits were drafted by the Cincinnati Reds, Mater Academy outfielder Willie Abreu, in the 14th round, and American Heritage catcher Zack Collins, a 27th rounder. Two others recruits, Colorado right-hander Derik Beauprez was taken by the Boston Red Sox in the 25th round, while Georgia outfielder Jacob Heyward was picked by the Atlanta Braves in the 38th. While nothing is in stone, it would make sense for all four to attend the University of Miami over pro ball.
Regarding upperclassmen who went undrafted, or were drafted late but are expected to return, Miami expected a handful of guys to return. It took 619 picks before a Hurricane was chosen, the longest drought for this program since 2003.
Senior pitcher Eric Nedeljkovic earned the honor of going first, picked by the Colorado Rockies in the 21st round. Next up, senior outfielder Chantz Mack, who was picked by the Seattle Mariners in the 29th round.
Going soon after Mack was junior left-hander Bryan Radziewski, picked by the St. Louis Cardinals, while junior right-hander Javi Salas went in the 38th round, chosen by the Minnesota Twins. Both Radziewski and Salas are expected to return for their senior seasons.
Miami looks to have more depth in 2014 than this program has seen in a while and with two more years left on Morris’ contract, barring his health stays in tact, it looks like the two-time national champion will be around to mount a comeback and hopefully a return to Omaha, where UM hasn’t been since earning the top-seed in 2008.
Former Miami Hurricanes point guard Shane Larkin is looking like he made the right decision, forgoing his junior year and entering the NBA Draft. Larkin, who ‘wowed’ at the recent combine with his 44-inch vertical, is projected as high as fourteenth where the Utah Jazz will pick. He’s showing up as Salt Lake City-bound in at least four mock drafts and recently worked out for the Jazz.
Other potential suitors; No. 15 to the Milwaukee Bucks, No. 23 to the Indiana Pacers, No. 24 to the New York Knicks and No. 31 to the Cleveland Cavaliers, which would be early second round. Still, it’s looking more and more like Larkin will indeed be a first rounder come June 27th and kudos to the former UM star for going with his gut and realizing that now was his time.
On the football front, some great recruiting action has been taking place for the 2014 class, but that will be explored in a separate blog. Regarding a current recruit, four-star quarterback Kevin Olsen has been charged in a one-car crash in his home state of New Jersey.
Olsen, brother of former Hurricanes tight end Greg Olsen, was hit with “leaving the scene of an accident” back on May 25th, as well as “failure to report an accident” and “careless driving”. A witness claims Olsen crashed his car into a tree and drove away, according to reports.
No other news regarding the story, other tan the fact that Olsen is scheduled to appear in Wayne Municipal Court on June 20th.
Don’t really expect much to happen here based on the result of a bad decision. No one was hurt, so hopefully it turns into a harsh lesson-type of situation for a kid expected to come in and compete for the starting job next season as current quarterback Stephen Morris is preparing for his senior year this fall.
Clean it up there, KO. Don’t want to throw away your future before it even starts, brother.
Lastly, every Cane’s least favorite sports rag is at it again. Sports Illustrated, the same magazine who penned a summer 1995 piece demanding that the University of Miami drops the football program, it preparing to drop a tell-all report on the NCAA’s UM probe and timing-wise, is doing so this week, when UM heads to Indianapolis for its hearing in front of the infractions committee.
The main claim of the article contains the supposed Shapiro bombshell that he bet on games, using inside information given to him courtesy of then-Hurricane coaches. There are expected to be some more not-previously-published allegations from Shapiro, as well.
Shapiro claims the information he was fed was in regards to the health of a player and whether they’d be game-ready for a few different contests, in at least two situations – both against North Carolina, first in 2005 and again in 2007.
A source has since reported that the NCAA previously investigated these claims by Shapiro, but found no concrete evidence. Subsequently, nothing of the sorts was mentioned in UM’s Notice Of Allegations, yet Sports Illustrated is running with the story and looking to capitalize.
It’s been reported that UM doesn’t expect these claims to cause any additional harm, believing that Shapiro told the NCAA everything between 2011 and 2012. though Shapiro claims there is / was more.