Hardcore college basketball fans may recognize the name Roburt Sallie.
He is a 6'5", 200 pound combo guard who has populated the recruiting scene since way back in 2005. Sallie is a triple-double talent with NBA potential who has been recruited by some of the best programs in the country not once, not twice, but three separate times.
Originally, Sallie signed with the University of Washington in 2005 after playing for Patterson Prep. He did not qualify academically and opted to spend another year in prep school, this time at the Laurinburg Institute in North Carolina.
Let me go on record here as being fully aware that many of these prep schools are little more than basketball factories. Still, the NCAA recognizes them as legitimate academic institutions—albeit with a warranted amount of skepticism.
Anyway, Sallie spurned the likes of Memphis, Maryland, Wake Forest, and Kansas to sign with Nebraska in 2006. I am a Nebraskaf an, have been for many years, and Sallie was easily the most anticipated basketball recruit since Tyronn Lue.
One problem quickly arose: the NCAA Clearing House did not like Sallie's transcript. Sure, Roburt had the grades and the test scores, but that was not enough. The Clearing House wanted homework papers and copies of tests.
Quick show of hands from those of you who kept any of that more than the amount of time it took you to walk out of the classroom when you were in college. Anyone? Bueller?
Well, the Clearing House, apparently overwhelmed, just could not seem to make a decision on Sallie. Would he be eligible or not?
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Time ticked by and August turned into September. For those you not aware, the University of Nebraska starts classes at the end of August. Nebraska changed head coaches and staff in August as Barry Collier resigned and Doc Sadler came onboard. Sallie stuck with the school.
Roburt came to Lincoln, hung out with his future teammates and waited for the NCAA to say yes or no. On Monday, September 11, Sallie attended classes, still waiting for his eligibility.
Finally, on Thursday the 14, the talented guard was ruled academically ineligible. Sallie eventually headed to City College of San Francisco and did not play basketball in 2006-07.
Last season, he returned to the court, led the team to a 27-4 record, and was named California Community College Player of the Year. On track to get his associate's degree this summer, Sallie remained loyal and was set to return to Nebraska this fall.
Not so fast, my friends.
It seems that through confusion and poor administration, someone at Nebraska actually enrolled Sallie for classes on September 11th, 2006. The difference between attending and enrolling put Sallie in violation of Big 12 rule 6.2.
Now, any rule with decimal point in it generally means too many administrators had too much input. In this case, Big 12 Rule 6.2 states that "a student who enrolls must meet initial eligibility requirements or he will NEVER be allowed to play for any Big 12 school."
This rule was made by the Big 12 Presidents because they feared that student-athletes would circumvent the recruiting standards by enrolling in college as non-qualifiers and then join their team once they did gain eligibility.
They FEARED it. God forbid we expose non-qualifiers to college life. What would become of society then?
You can read this story and certainly see where the University of Nebraska really screwed up. It is worthy to note that the Nebraska representative to the "Big 12 Council of Faculty Athletics" was not even aware that Nebraska had signed Sallie to play again last fall.
Listen, I don't care if you don't like sports. If you are a rep to that council, it's probably part of your job to keep track of recruits. Besides, Sallie recommitting was pretty big news around these parts.
Still, screwups and well-intentioned rules aside, tell me exactly how the NCAA and the Big 12 have helped this particular young man become a better person? Tell me how being denied admission to college life THREE separate times makes a young adult a more productive member of society.
In the end, Sallie is apparently eligible to play anywhere but the Big 12, and rumors have him headed to Kentucky.
Roburt will come out okay, but there remains something sad about a young man remaining loyal to a school for three years, continuing to make himself academically eligible only to be derailed by a rule with a decimal point made by administrators who barely hide their contempt for major college athletics.
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3 months ago
go to kentucky, their coach could get you in the nba better than coach out there.. i like billy g and he is a great teaching coach.. i wish we had him.
3 months ago
Great piece! I am Husker alum and I had not been paying much attention to our hoops program. This is just another example of the lunacy that exists withing the NCAA and why players like Mayo should absolutely take advantage of whatever perks may come along because when you try to play by the rules this is what you get anyway. If Stern wasn't trying to line the pockets of Miles Brandt and his cronies, this kid could've spent the past two years in the NBA developmental league and already have a leg up on playing with the A division. Instead he has to endure the political garbage of collegiate sports. All of the people who want to cry that kid's like Mayo are getting over on the system should read this piece and hopefully they can see through the hypocrisy that exists in college sports. I hope the kid makes it to the league in spite of the NCAA.
3 months ago
Rules are complicated. Hopefully he will show up well at UK and prove strong in the NBA.
3 months ago
How about this. The NCAA needs competition. It needs some new, fresh, up-to-date organization to start seducing schools away with programs that MAKE SENSE. The bureaucracy that rules college sports today is bloated, self-aggrandizing, completely out-of-touch, and hypocritical. As Thomas Jefferson once wrote, "Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it." The NCAA doesn't even know who it's protecting anymore, or maybe it does, itself. STUDENT ATHLETES REVOLT!!! These idiots don't care about you. I propose a new government, new leadership, and yes, an end to the BCS. Any takers?
from 3 months ago
I think you have a great idea in suggesting an alternative to the NCAA. I've been saying it for years. The NCAA is to college sports what the Federal government is to us citizens, an extra load to pack consisting of freeloaders and crooks. Pay these college kids some walking around money instead of making crooks out of them - or paupers. I'm a Kentucky fan but think what has happened to this kid and the University of Nebraska is a rip.
2 months ago
Great story!
2 months ago
We will take him in MEMPHIS!!!!!!!!!!!!! GOOOOO TIGERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
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