sims@hou2b.UUCP (J.SIMESTER) (02/06/84)
It seems Scott Pector would complain loudly about the "obvious"
cheating and frequent probation of other schools (Illinois in
particular), while falling back on the good old "our academic
standards are just too high" argument to explain the ineptitude
of NU's Mildcats.
Regarding point one: the Illini were indeed on probation for
basketball - back in 1973-74!!!! That penalty and the resulting
loss of scholarships dragged Illinois to the bottom of the Big Ten
for several years. However, since Lou Henson's arrival, Illinois
has steadily improved (with NO recruiting improprieties), and has
been in post-season play for the past 4 years (the last 2 in the
NCAA). And this year, having lost an All-American (Harper) to the
NBA and another starter (Anthony Welch) to injury, the Illini are
atop the Big Ten and in the top ten in the country. Any
claims regarding cheating, especially in the absence of any
SHRED of evidence (or NCAA interest), can only be the result of a
mindset which says "since my team's no good and yours is, you
OBVIOUSLY must be cheating!!!"
As for the second point, the traditional "high standards" routine
is simply the classic refrain of any second-rate athletic program
that can't seem to pull itself up. About the only reason for keeping
NU around is that the Big Nine just doesn't have the right ring to
it, and who else is available?? (Certainly not DePaul or Notre Dame -
they're not about to give up their 20+ win seasons achieved by dining
on nobodies with occasional high profile games for the publicity and
TV revenue.) Of course NU doesn't get put on probation - any NCAA
investigator would be embarrassed to look into recruiting allegations
at a school with NU's athletic record!!
Oh, and Scott - the Mildcats didn't play all that well for the first
39 minutes against Illinois last Saturday.
FINAL SCORE: ILLINOIS 71 - NU 52
(But the game really wasn't as close as the score.)
--
Jim
..!houxm!hou2b!sims