The BU Zoo Blog

Usually Tuesdays are Monday-less sucky cousin but today I feel very happy to get back into the flow of things.  A lot of work to do, but its not the end of the world.

• Pipe Dream: “If you read the statement looking for anything like an administrative apology, you would have been extremely disappointed. In fact, the review was barely mentioned. The only quote DeFleur included to sum up the 99-page report, which implicated her and key University administrators as playing main roles in the scandal, was Judge Judith Kaye’s comment that BU was “one of the nation’s premier public universities” – one of DeFleur’s favorite phrases, and hardly Kaye’s own words.  We’re pretty sure that’s not the message Kaye’s team of lawyers was trying to send.  This kind of evasion seemed to be the real, and only, purpose of the statement. Instead of accepting the blame that so obviously lies at their feet, DeFleur and Swain made a mockery of themselves and the University by throwing around hollow rhetoric of honesty and commitment to values; we’ve all seen that their actions indicate otherwise. Honor and integrity are nowhere to be seen in this mess.”
• Pipe Dream: “The Bearcats’ star junior Greer Wright had an off game, converting on only one of eight shots for seven points while also turning the ball over four times. However, junior forward Mahamoud Jabbi, who has been hot of late, and freshman guard Dylan Talley picked up the slack and then some for the Bearcats. Jabbi and Talley scored 20 and 25 points, respectively – both career highs for the first-year Division I players. Jabbi also grabbed 11 rebounds in the game while Talley dished out five assists to only two turnovers. ‘We were just hitting on all cylinders today,’ Macon said.  Leading by just eight points, 20-12 with 11 minutes to play, the Bearcats caught fire and pushed out to a 46-29 halftime lead. Jabbi had 14 points and five rebounds in the first half.  Binghamton tallied a total of 18 assists, its highest output of the season. ‘I had them doing things in practice where I wouldn’t let them shoot the ball,’ said Binghamton interim head coach Mark Macon. ‘It showed today with how they shared the ball.’”
• Press & Sun Bulletin: “‘We wanted Judge (Judith) Kaye to lead the review and investigation, we wanted to begin immediately and contracting through the state takes a long time, and we did not want tuition or taxpayer dollars used,’ SUNY spokesman David Henahan said in an e-mail Monday.An Albany news Web site Monday raised questions about whether SUNY should have used a competitive-bidding process instead of directly hiring the law firm that employs retired New York Court of Appeals Chief Judge Judith Kaye, who headed the investigation. The probe cost $913,381, which is to be split between SUNY and BU.”
• WBNG (Video): “Noticeably absent on the Bearcat bench Sunday was assistant coach Mark Hsu.  He was prominently featured in retired Judge Judith Kaye’s 99-page audit of the program, named for assisting former player Malik Alvin pay his court fees after being arrested for stealing condoms at Wal-mart, and then again for helping Alvin fix a plagiarized school assignment.  Hsu did not travel with the team on their recent road trips, and after the game interim head coach Mark Macon was asked about his future with the program. Macon would only  say that he could not answer those questions.  Following that press conference, the university released a statement. ‘After consultation with America East commissioner Patrick Nero, interim director of athletics Jim Norris has determined that assistant coach Marc Hsu will not be coaching in practice or games until further notice.’”

If you read this blog everyday, then you probably all ready know that the Judith Kaye’s report on the BU basketball program is out.  I’m not going comment on it until I’m fully done reading it (half way there) but lack of institutional control of the program is ridiculous.  Not only was there no control but the senior administration and athletic department officials told down right lies to help Kevin Broadus get the players he wanted here. So many articles this morning that I’m going to be late for work.

• Press & Sun Bulletin: “A report Thursday from the State University of New York, produced at a cost of $913,000, found: * Academic irregularities. An assistant basketball coach and a player discussed the coach “rewording” the player’s paper. Coach Kevin Broadus worked to get a grade changed. An independent-study class was created for four athletes.  * Admissions issues: Basketball recruits who didn’t meet academic standards were admitted. Coaches tried to circumvent BU’s established process for reviewing athletes’ applications for admission. * Crime/drug issues: Star player “Derrick” D.J. Rivera illegally bought a television and clothing using a debit card that wasn’t his, as teammates looked on. In other incidents, other players smoked or possessed marijuana. * Talk of improper benefits. A player claimed – but later recanted – that a coach paid for players’ cell phones. An assistant coach texted a player that the coach would give the player money for gas.  * A cover-up attempt. A coach labored to resolve a marijuana-possession charge against a key player before the case reached town court.”
• Press & Sun Bulletin: “Gerald Mollen is happy to finally get his hands on the Binghamton University report.  The Broome County District Attorney said information contained in the 102-page document will help his office move forward with criminal charges against four former basketball players allegedly involved in making purchases with a stolen debit card.  To this point, Mollen said, his hands have been somewhat tied…After officers reviewed security videos from the stores where the card was used, Lukusa met with police and identified D.J. Rivera, Malik Alvin and Paul Crosby – all BU players – as the men in the video. Later, another player, Corey Chandler, was identified as the fourth individual.”
• Press & Sun Bulletin: “‘Honestly, I haven’t seen the report,’ said Rivera, who added he had no plans to read the lengthy document. “We go to class every day and play basketball when we can. We’re regular students.  ‘I have no thoughts about it. That’s it. Nothing really.’  Alvin was equally evasive.  ‘I’m not too worried about it,’ Alvin said. ‘Whatever they do, they have to do. I’m just concentrating on my education.’ Fine, who was dismissed from the team shortly after campus police discovered marijuana in his dormitory room following a complaint, was a little  more forthcoming with his thoughts about the report.  ‘I can’t speak for everyone else, but my situation is, the report said my eyes were glassy,’ Fine said. ‘They were trying to imply that I was high. I passed the drug test a week after the incident happened. I can’t control what they write in the paper, but I know I passed the test.’  Fine said he was in his room alone, but that the marijuana wasn’t his.  ‘I’m not going to blame anyone else,’ Fine said.”
• Press & Sun Bulletin: “Admissions officials felt slighted, ignored and sometimes bullied as Binghamton University basketball coaches tried to get recruits into school despite questionable qualifications.  That’s the picture painted after a four-month SUNY investigation, which concluded that coach Kevin Broadus recommended admission of a recruit who had no academic qualifications supporting admission, and pushed the university to admit a transfer student who had been kicked off his previous college team for disciplinary reasons.  ‘Coach Broadus recommended (Corey) Chandler’s admission to BU without disclosing to Admissions that Chandler had been dismissed from the Rutgers athletic program,’ the report says.”
• Inside Higher Ed: “A scathing investigative report of myriad academic improprieties committed by the men’s basketball program at the State University of New York at Binghamton implicates its outgoing president and former athletics director for their lack of oversight. The independent audit, commissioned last fall by Nancy L. Zimpher, SUNY’s chancellor, was led by Judith S. Kaye, former chief judge of the New York Court of Appeals. The report, which cost SUNY $913,381, was released Thursday. In it, Kaye chronicles Binghamton’s rapid  transition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association from a low-profile Division III, or non-scholarship, program to a high-profile Division I program with a surprisingly successful men’s basketball team during the two-decade tenure of Lois B. DeFleur, who announced her retirement as president last month, and Joel Thirer, its athletics director, who retired amid scandal last fall.”
• New York Times: “The Binghamton travesty was certified Thursday in a special report issued by a panel led by Judith S. Kaye, a former chief judge of the New York Court of Appeals.  This cautionary tale shows how Binghamton University, with 11,500 undergraduates holding an excellent average College Board score of 1,290, was held hostage by an upgraded basketball program that forgot to honor academic standards or, for that matter, normal ethics or honesty.  The administrators at Binghamton might as well have leased out a portion of the campus to a counterfeiting operation or a prostitution ring or a drug mill. Go all the way. Instead, a few administrators had the bright idea of turning Binghamton into a powerhouse capable of reaching the N.C.A.A. tournament. What a lousy goal. What poor judgment. By so-called educators.”
• ESPN: “The report documents how Binghamton officials compromised academic standards in order to build a winning men’s basketball team, details how coaches and athletic officials at Binghamton pressured admissions staffers to admit questionable recruits and chronicles previously-unreported allegations of criminal behavior on the part of several former basketball players.  The report recommends hiring an “athletic oversight officer” for the entire State University of New York system, reporting to the chancellor and Board of Trustees on admissions, the academic progress and behavior of student-athletes, and rules compliance.  Citing text-message exchanges, the SUNY report also suggests Binghamton coaches made cash payments to players and assisted them with academic assignments.  ‘I am disappointed that a great institution like Binghamton University would, in any way, because of its athletic program, compromise its terrific academic reputation,’ SUNY chancellor Nancy Zimpher said Thursday in a conference call with reporters. The SUNY report also cites potential NCAA violations by former Binghamton coach Kevin Broadus, who was placed on paid leave by the school last October.”

After Jim Norris came out and said yesterday that the report would be done soon, it looks like the time table shifted up a little bit:

• Press & Sun Bulletin: “This could be the day the public will get some answers about what happened inside Binghamton University’s athletics program.  Top officials in the state university system are scheduled to reveal the findings of a four-month investigation into troubles that got six men’s basketball players kicked off the team and their coach suspended, prompted claims that a female employee was sexually harassed, and cost the athletics director his job.  SUNY’s executive committee will meet this morning to discuss Judge Judith Kaye’s probe of the program, and likely will release the report later in the day, said SUNY spokesman David Henahan. He said SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher and Trustees Chairman Carl Hayden are scheduled to answer questions in a 2 p.m. conference call with reporters.  The report is expected to contain recommendations for BU, though details weren’t available Wednesday night.”

• Press & Sun Bulletin: “It was a different story Saturday, when the Bearcats allowed a game-closing 11-0 run in a 61-49 loss at Maine. BU hopes to avoid a repeat when it visits University of New Hampshire in an America East Conference contest at 7 p.m. Thursday. The two teams met 12 days ago at the Events Center in a game won by BU, 76-73, in overtime. In that Jan. 30 game, Greer Wright scored 29 points and Dylan Talley converted a three-point play with 21 seconds left in overtime for the Bearcats (11-14, 6-4 America East). It was one of three games during BU’s four-game winning streak that the Bearcats won by six points or fewer. With the exception of its 80-63 victory at University of Maryland, Baltimore County on Jan. 27, all of BU’s other America East games have been decided by single digits. Wright hopes to continue his torrid play since the start of BU’s America East schedule. The junior transfer from City College of San Francisco is averaging 19.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.6 assists in America East play. Those represent increases from his season-long averages of 15.5 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.”

Today is the Global History Regents for the kids in my four remedial classes.  The remedial classes are the most frustrating and challenging assignments a teacher can get.  The kids don’t want to be there, they don’t care about the material, and they are the worst students in the school.  Global is particularly hard because you have to cover everything from the Great Rift Valley to 9/11 and Iraq.  Last year, I had three remedial classes.  17% passed.  I am hoping for a much better passing rate this year.  Every day in class, we made an index card on an important topic.  I hoping that the cards helped them learn the material and so study skills as well.  Just got to hope for the best (grade like crazy so I don’t have to come in on Saturday!)

• Pipe Dream:”Over the past few years, Binghamton University has been thrown into national news headlines for both the good and the bad, but more so the latter. As the University awaits the results of an ongoing review of the athletic department announced last semester, President Lois DeFleur is set to retire come July.  David Henahan, spokesman for SUNY, stated that the review has not yet been completed.  According to a press release, SUNY officials anticipate that ‘Judge [Judith] Kaye will provide the board of trustees with a report and recommendations that will enable us to address all issues related to the Binghamton athletic program and restore full public confidence in the University.’  Because the audit has not been completed, Henahan said, SUNY was unable to determine the repercussions of the audit’s results and any potential decisions following those results.”  Well for $500+/hr, can’t we tell them to work faster?
• Pipe Dream: “Although the University of New Hampshire Wildcats (8-10, 3-4 America East) currently sit near the bottom of the America East standings in seventh place, this team should not be taken lightly. Of the Wildcats’ four losses in conference play, three of those were by six points or fewer. Their one double-digit loss was to the University of Maine Black Bears, who currently sit atop the AE standings. The Binghamton Bearcats (9-13, 4-3 AE) will host the Wildcats tomorrow at the Events Center. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.  This will also be the first meeting between the Bearcats and the Wildcats since New Hampshire nearly knocked Binghamton out of contention for the AE title in last season’s conference tournament. If not for a last-second steal and dunk by then-junior swingman D.J. Rivera, the Bearcats would have likely fallen to the gritty Wildcats squad.”
• Pipe Dream: “‘When I was a freshman I … always noticed that the BU Zoo was loud and present,’ Broccoli said. ‘What I’m noticing over the past two years is that the BU Zoo as a group wasn’t there, even though the athletics department says that it does exist. As the leadership graduated no one took it over.’  Amit echoed Broccoli’s words.  ‘A bunch of us are really trying to push the BU Zoo and get it back into the business,’ Amit said. ‘We really want it to be looked at as one concise group rather than just fans in the stand.’  Amit and the others are looking to other schools with large and successful cheer squads to see if their approach will go well with Binghamton’s basketball games. Along with this, they have created new chants and have plans to draw a large crowd to their cause. Their main goal is to reestablish the Zoo and encourage the student body to join in numbers.”  I graduated in ‘07.  That sounds like the source of the problem!

Really interesting couple of national articles on the Bearcats from ESPN and USA Today on how the Bearcats are overcoming the adversities of this season.  Dana O’Neil of ESPN also suggests that Kevin Broadus might be back as head coach if Judith Kaye’s audit clears him of wrong doing.  Here is a little excerpt from one of her chats:

Chris (Binghamton, NY): Dana, loved your piece on coach Mark Macon and my Bearcats. With the news of University president Lois DeFleur’s retirement, do you project Macon as the long-term solution for Binghamton? Have you heard any other coaches’ names surface?

Dana O’Neil (1:27 PM): Chris: I don’t think he’ll be the long-term solution. In fact, there’s a decent chance Kevin Broadus will be back. Unless the audit reveals a cause to fire him, they owe him an awful lot of $$$ to buy him out

A lot of what ifs in all of these scenarios.  Binghamton basketball fans just need the Kaye report to come out ASAP, so we can stop thinking about what ifs and start think about finally putting this mess behind us.

• ESPN: “Macon, Temple’s all-time leading scorer, could just be the best man for this crazily messy job. He is a disciple of John Chaney, a man who never saw a mountain he couldn’t scale or impossible odds he couldn’t beat. Chaney made a career out of fashioning his teams piecemeal out of players no one else thought much of.  Not long after he was given the interim job, Macon reached out to his mentor, not so much for basketball advice but just for life advice. The wise old Owl delivered.  ‘He said just keep it simple and be a voice,’ Macon said. ‘I’m not a screamer by nature, but he told me I had to have a voice.’  His voice appears to be resonating. A talented player who also played with the sort of work ethic Chaney demanded, Macon is rubbing off on his team.”
• USA Today: “Binghamton is last in the league in scoring (58.0 points), free throw shooting (63.2%), three-point shooting (27.6%) and turnover margin (-3.6). But Macon has molded these Bearcats in the defensive image of John Chaney, his coach at Temple. They’re second in the league in blocked shots, have held their own on the boards and are 4-3 at home.  The starters usually include Wright (a junior college transfer), Mahamoud Jabbi (a walk-on from Division III Oswego) and Chretien Lukusa and Moussa Camara, who had a total of 19 starts last season.  Freshmen Dylan Talley and Pina Guillaume have been thrown into the fire, as has Turkish transfer Umur Peten.  ‘Most everyone I talk with thinks Coach Macon is doing a great job,’ Cheriyan said. ‘ A lot of the players are walk-ons. Students don’t blame them for what’s happened.’  Students will be back on campus when Binghamton hosts league-leading Vermont on Sunday. Almost 600 students have confirmed via Facebook that they will attend, and a crowd of 4,000 is expected.  ‘Everyone knows we’re not where we were last year,” Cheriyan said. “But we still support these guys, and we still support the program.’”

The fact that the Bearcats have done so well this season is probably the biggest surprise of the America East season so far.  This has to be credited to the job and efforty by Mark Macon and the players to compensate for some severe competitive disadvantages.  You also have to give Kevin Broadus his due for recruiting players (even walk-ons like Jabbi) that could compete in the America East from top to bottom.

What what happens next?  That tidbit of foresight is still in the hands of former judge Judith Kaye.  All the success in the world won’t mean anything until after Kaye’s report.  When will that be?  Nancy Zimpher ain’t telling anyone.

• Ithaca Journal: “SUNY’s top educator Monday vowed ‘full disclosure’ related to spending on the investigation of Binghamton University’s troubled athletics program.  But more than three months into the $520-an-hour probe, it remains anyone’s guess as to when the public will know the cost — or if they’ll wind up footing the bill.  ‘I’m not unpacking the gradual development of this case,’ Chancellor Nancy Zimpher said in a brief interview at SUNY Delhi, where she was attending a strategic planning event.  Zimpher said she’s ‘hopeful and optimistic’ the probe can be completed soon. But asked when that might be, Zimpher said the process will take a long as is needed.”
• Press & Sun Bulletin: “As disappointing as Sunday’s overtime loss to Maine was, at least the Binghamton University men’s basketball team won’t have much time to dwell on it.  The Bearcats return to the court tonight when they host Stony Brook at 7 in an America East Conference game at the Events Center.  It’s the third of four games in eight days for BU (6-11, 1-1 America East), which also hosts Boston University on Thursday.  ‘We have to play better Tuesday,’ BU interim coach Mark Macon said following Sunday’s 66-61 overtime loss to Maine. ‘I know they feel bad, and they should, because I feel bad.’”

Judge Kaye’s report is due out today.  According to the Pipe Dream, here is what to look for:

Based on Zimpher’s memo, Kaye’s investigation will include, but will not be limited to: the examination of BU’s compliance with NCAA and America East policies and procedures, impact of intercollegiate athletics on campus culture and the institutional mission, budget procedures and reports, fundraising practices of the athletic department, recruiting of athletes, alcohol or drug use by athletes – including drug testing, counseling, prevention and treatment – SUNY system administration oversight by Binghamton and any and all aspects of the men’s basketball program.

On to the headlines:

• Edin Dzubar pleaded guilty on Friday for his part in the attack on Bryan Steinhauer. Sanel Softic had also plead guilty to felony assault.  No update on Minja’s “trial” in Serbia.
• University officials have concluded that there is no evidence of sexual harassment in the athlethics department.  Interesting that they push this out before today’s initial report by Judge Kaye.  I don’t really believe anything that the university is putting out right now.  Hopefully, Zimpher and Kaye can restore my faith.
• Jacob E. Osterhout of Storming the Floor: “Much like a toilet, Binghamton’s basketball program has spiraled out of control this off-season. Actually, a spiral implies a slight time lag while the refuse circles, and Binghamton’s decent from America East champs to college basketball laughing stock has been nothing if not speedy. So maybe the Bearcats are like one of those airplane toilets where the bottom drops out in a split second.”

My buddy and I were planning to head over to Giants Stadium and scalp tickets for the Jets game.  Maybe being sick was a good thing, because I was forced to stay home instead.  My boy, Mark Sanchez, basically lost the game for the Jets with his INTs.  Who knew the Jets could lose a game against the Bills at home when they knock out the Bills starting QB, Jets D holds the Bills to 13 points in regulation, and Thomas Jones rushes for over 200 yards.   The joys of a rookie QB.

Well now that I am back in business, I have a very busy week ahead of me and so do the Bearcats with Judge Kaye’s preliminary report due tomorrow.

• The Press & Sun Bulletin has a little blurb on the open tryouts conducted this weekend.  Not a whole lot of information, but Macon says that we will learn who made it this week.
• Jason Horowitz and Gary Parrish of CBS Sports talk about college basketball programs in decline.  Talk about Binghamton starting at 3:20.  Parrish seems to think that basketball is done forever at Binghamton.  I think his haircut should be done forever.
  
• SportsProf: A Mess Up in Binghamton – “It’s all hard to figure, to a degree. After all, a few years back Binghamton hired Kevin Broadus, formerly an assistant to John Thompson III at Georgetown, to become its head basketball coach. Now you’ve all read probably more than you wished about the Princeton coaching family, from Pete Carril to Gary Walters, the late Bob Dukiet, Armond Hill, Bill Carmody, Joe Scott, Chris Mooney and, of course, Thompson, about Carril’s insistence on integrity and excellence, honesty with one’s self and doing things the right way. And this is a pretty outstanding group of guys, not perfect, but very good. So, it stood to reason for Binghamton that Broadus, as a distant relative of that family tree, would bring the same principles to bear in Binghamton.”

This has been a really awful weekend for me.  I was an absolute mess on Thursday, I called out of work on Friday, and I’ve been moping around sick in my apartment all weekend.  I’ve been passing out before 10 pm so I haven’t been able to watch the end of Game 1 and 2 of the ALCS.  At least, my Yankees are up 2-0 with the wild Game 2 finish.  My boss even called me and up and said that he didn’t realize that Broadus’ reassignment would hurt me so much.  Bah!

• Albany’s Time Union has a story by a UAlbany professor on the rules for college athletics, academics to co-exist.  Instead of providing rules, the prof provides a paragraph about how the university system would be better if everyone should go back to DIII athletics.  Obviously, Mr. Svare argument has more holes than Swiss cheese, but more of the same type of sentiment (hopefully articulated better) should be expected before Binghamton can put this whole thing behind them.
• Elmira Star-Gazette’s editorial is on the lack of answers so far in the investigation.  It calls for BU to start opening up before Kaye’s initial report on Tuesday.
• The Press & Sun Bulletin has an article on State Sentor Tom Libous disappointment with the Binghamton athletic program. Libous was responsible for funding the Event Center.  However, he still will be attending games this season, citing the important economic power of BU in the Southern Tier.
• Mid-Major Madness has a post on who should be blamed at Binghamton.  Their conclusion:  Blame Broadus, but Thirer and DeFluer need to go down as well.

There are two things that suck about teaching: getting up early and grading papers.  However, our great almighty creator on the 8th day made caffeine.  Without it the educational system would fail.  A colleague told me about her battles with Diet Coke.  “If it makes me less of a !@#$%, why wouldn’t I drink it?”  Amen, sister.

On to the headlines:

• Judge Judith Kayes will issue her first report on Binghamton’s athletic program on Tuesday.  President DeFleur confirms that Kayes had conversations with university officials this week.
• Last Night’s Late Night Maddness event marks the beginning of the Mark Macon era.  NCAA permitted open tryouts will be held today and tomorrow to add to the current roster of 10.
• Beginning of the era was not without its own WTF moment:  Tiki Mayben was present at Late Night Madness.  During the event, players and Macon threw shirts to Mayben, who was sitting in the crowd.   Sign of support or more bad press to come.