Well like anything, you need a little lead time to get a maximum audience. The coaches show was great the other day, but many people simply did not know it would be aired.;) ;)
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Well like anything, you need a little lead time to get a maximum audience. The coaches show was great the other day, but many people simply did not know it would be aired.;) ;)
<blockquote><p align=justify>LOUISIANA La. - The investigation continues.
Into what, we are still trying to figure out.
A couple of weeks ago, it was reported in the Times-Picayune that Ragin Cajun forward Anthony Johnson was seen driving around in a Cadillac Escalade, and could be a violation of NCAA rules.
We in the media here in Lafayette all saw Johnson riding around in that automobile, and just like any good reporter, we all asked where did he get it from.
The answer was clear, and everyone that covers the University of Louisiana's basketball program on a regular basis was satisfied with the answer: his girlfriend bought it and he just happens to drive it.
No need to investigate this accusation. No need to call in an outside investigator to find out if there is any wrongdoing on the part of the basketball coaching staff.
But for some reason, the school felt there was a need to investigate. We all know that it is mainly because of what happened in the early 1970's with this program.
<center><p><a href="http://www.katc.com/Global/story.asp?S=1271714&nav=EyB5FjXV">The rest of the story</a>
by Kent Masson
KATC TV3<!--
UL head basketball coach Jessie Evans is not stupid. He knows the rules and wouldn't be in the position as head basketball coach of a division I-A program if he didn't.
Evans fully admits that players were using his address and the addresses of some of the assistant coaches, to receive mail from home. But that is NOT a violation of NCAA rules. Mail that was being sent to players at the basketball office was stolen, so to avoid that happening, players told their families to send packages to the coaches' addresses. That's it. End of story.
The basketball program is clean for all I know, and there hasn't been any red flags to go up in the six years that Evans has been here in Lafayette. Is Jessie Evans' totally clean? I won't sit here and say he is and I won't sit here and say that any coach in the country has been totally clean as well (there are just too many rules by the NCAA, and a coach could be breaking one without even knowing it).
But I will say this: the investigation should find nothing wrong, and will probably go quietly into the night.
Maybe UL should have just let it go and not approached the subject, like LSU and Duke with the accusations against them.
Many people say that the media here in Lafayette is too soft on coaches and athletic adminstrators for the way things are handled in and around the area. But you have to remember this and it is a cliche': Don't bite off the hand that feeds you.
There are only two members of our sports staff here at KATC, Pat Minnis and myself. While we both have sources, we both know that we can't put our sources on thin ice sometimes because when there is a breaking story, they are less likely to give us any information. The really good sources will tell us things not matter what because they realize we have a job to do, but some don't see it that way.
This is a close knit community and if there is something important, good or bad, concerning sports in Acadiana, we will report it. As long as it is accurate and fair.-->
A caller to Don Allen said UL turned the investigation over to the SunBelt Conference. On the ESPN article the last sentence said "Schexnayder said he hopes to have the investigation completed within a month." Does this mean there is more to the story it is 2 months already.
Don't worry, the delay has nothing to do with the seriousness of the investigation. Like all things in Louisiana there are problems with this that have nothing at all to do with the article.[quote]Quote:
Does this mean there is more to the story it is 2 months already. [/B]
<blockquote><p align=justify>LOUISIANA La. — The NCAA confirmed Thursday what Louisiana basketball coach Jessie Evans asserted all along, that the Ragin’ Cajun program was innocent of infractions alleged in an April 3 article printed in the (New Orleans) Times Picayune.
The wide-ranging article indicated that Cajun forward Anthony Johnson spent several months living with Evans. The article also questioned his use of a 2002 Cadillac Escalade, which was registered in his girlfriend’s name.
As soon as the article appeared, Louisiana President Ray Authement and Athletic Director Nelson Schexnayder set in motion an independent investigation of the allegations.
That probe found no infractions related to Johnson’s relationships outside the program, and the university received a letter from the NCAA on Thursday indicating that it felt the matter was closed.
<center><p><a href="http://www.theadvertiser.com/news/html/D7DA7128-C93E-416F-9EC7-FD9A6C00F112.shtml">The rest of the story</a>
Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com <!--
“I’m still very upset about the article, that it would even be a topic of discussion,” Evans said. “It was a tremendous waste of money and a waste of time.
“It was the most asinine thing I’d ever seen. There never was a concern on my part that there was basis in fact.”
Evans, who got word of the probable NCAA findings two weeks ago from the Sun Belt Conference office, was especially angry that the article appeared the same week that the Final Four was staged in New Orleans.
“It was a critical time for that to come out, at the Final Four, when potential superiors were in town,” said Evans.
“I would never jeopardize my reputation, nor that of my family or the university, for something as comical as that,” Evans said. “I know what can and cannot be done.”
“When we first learned of the story, I met with Dr. Authement, and we agreed to conduct an investigation outside the athletic department,” Schexnayder said. “That’s normally the case when you perceive some possibility of a violation.
“I’m very happy that the investigation reflected no findings. Obviously, we were hopeful. I had a little information early on that led me to believe that would be the case.
“I would hope that, by our acting quickly, we would be considered in a positive light on the matter by the NCAA. We were proactive in dealing with and responding to the reports.”
While the university waited for official findings, Evans didn’t need to wait that long.
“I got back from the Final Four and was told there was nothing to it,” Evans said. “We had to wait for an outside party to verify it.”
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<blockquote><p align=justify>LOUISIANA La. -- The NCAA and a separate investigation have failed to uncover any violations involving the University of Louisiana at Lafayette men's basketball program, according to a press release issued by the university on Thursday.
ULL Athletic Director Nelson Schexnayder requested the investigation in April, following a New Orleans Times-Picayune story alleging potential NCAA violations involving senior guard Anthony Johnson.
On Thursday Schexnayder said UL takes any allegations of non-compliance with NCAA rules "very seriously."
Schexnayder said, "Obviously we're very happy that no violations of any sort were found. We had hoped from the start that would be the conclusion."
The Times Picayune story, written by Josh Peters, alleged Johnson at one time lived at the residence of head basketball coach Jessie Evans.
Johnson, also according to the story, had been seen in Lafayette driving a 2002 Cadillac Escalade owned by Christina Dartez, identified by Peters as Johnson's girlfriend.
According to the story, Dartez had at one time registered another vehicle at Evans' home address and gave Johnson money.
Schexnayder said the investigation into the allegations was conducted by a group of individuals not associated with UL.
Some of those performing the investigation of the story's allegations were members of a Sun Belt Conference compliance committee, he said.
"The main issues that were raised was whether (Johnson) ever lived with (Evans), which would have been an improper benefit and whether Anthony Johnson's use of a luxury vehicle was provided by a representative of the university," Schexnayder said.
Evans said he considered the allegations raised in the article "a pack of lies."
<center><p><a href="http://www.2theadvocate.com/stories/062703/spo_ullprobe001.shtml">The rest of the story</a>
By BOBBY ARDOIN
Special to The Advocate <!--
The article also questioned whether players recruited by the men's basketball programs at Duke and LSU also received improper benefits.
Allegations of Johnson living with Evans surfaced after one of Johnson's former coaches said in the article the player lived with Evans for several months in 1998.
"My comment is I think (ULL) should have taken the stance that LSU and Duke did when this story came out, that it was a non-story," Evans said Thursday night.
"Some people may feel exonerated by the findings of this investigation, but my position is there was no truth to this story to begin with."
Evans questioned the timing of the story, which broke during the week of the NCAA's Final Four, which was held at the Superdome.
"What I really find interesting is what was the ulterior motive of this story?," Evans said.
"It had nothing to do with the Final Four.
"Every coach and every administrator in college basketball is at this event. It's the biggest weekend of the year in college basketball."
Evans denied Johnson ever lived with him or that Dartez provided any kind of improper aid.
"No kid has ever lived with me or spent a night at (Evans') house," Evans said.
"I knew Anthony had a girlfriend, but I do not know her personally. Brad Boyd has a girlfriend and other of our players have also, but I don't know who the girls are.
"When I was being interviewed for the article, I was never asked by the reporter whether any player had ever lived at my house. If he had, the matter would have been cleared up right there. There was a question about Christiana Dartez and whether she owned a luxury car, but that's it.
"It's unfortunate that negligent guys can print an ugly picture of something when it's not there and damage my reputation, that of the young lady, the university and Anthony Johnson."
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<center><b>NCAA accepts report, <b>considers</b> case closed</b></center><blockquote><p align=justify>
By Josh Peter
Picayune Staff writer
An investigation into whether the University of Louisiana men's basketball team committed NCAA rules violations found no wrongdoing, and the NCAA considers the matter a closed case, according to documents released by UL on Thursday.
The school launched the investigation in response to an April 3 article in The Times-Picayune detailing the possible rules violations. At the time, the school said its primary concerns were whether UL basketball coach Jessie Evans provided extra benefits to senior guard Anthony Johnson, and whether a woman whose car Johnson has been seen driving could be considered a representative of the school's interests.
"I thought it was a thoughtless allegation," Evans said Thursday. "I don't feel vindicated. It's not worthy of a comment, really."
The school's investigation was conducted by a member of the Sun Belt Conference, of which UL is a member. UL attempted to hire Chuck Smrt, a former investigator with the NCAA. But Smrt does not have a state license required to work as a private investigator in Louisiana, so UL turned to its conference office.
The investigation found that Johnson used Evans' address to receive mail because the university's dorm mail service was "unreliable," but Johnson did not live at the coach's residence. The school's athletes no longer will be permitted to use their coaches' address to receive mail, according to a letter UL president Ray Authement sent to the NCAA.
Johnnail Evans, who coached Johnson when the player was growing up in Chicago and advised Johnson during the college recruiting process, told The Times-Picayune for its April 3 article that Johnson lived for several months with Jessie Evans.
<center><p><a href="http://www.nola.com/sports/t-p/index.ssf?/base/sports-3/1056695147261090.xml">The rest of the story</a><!--
Johnnail Evans denied the statement when contacted during the subsequent investigation, according to a summary report of the investigation.
"When asked about his indication in the April 3 article that Mr. Johnson lived with Coach Evans, he stated, 'That article was a total misprint.' He said that Coach Evans and Anthony did absolutely nothing wrong," the report said. "He loved Anthony and would say nothing that would hurt his collegiate eligibility. He said that Anthony had called him while visiting Coach Evans' home and that was the extent of it. He stated, 'Anthony stayed on campus.' "
On Thursday, school and Sun Belt officials could not immediately verify where Johnson lived when he arrived in Louisiana as a non-qualifier.
The investigation also found nothing improper with Johnson driving a car owned by Christiana Dartez of Lafayette, receiving money from Dartez and staying in her apartment because the two had an established relationship. Johnson told the investigator Dartez is his fiancee, and the investigation found Dartez is not a representative of UL. Dartez attended basketball games but did not purchase season tickets or donate money to the athletic program, the investigation found.
Dartez registered the car -- bought for Johnson's use -- at Jessie Evans' home address at the suggestion of Johnson, according to the report. Jessie Evans was unaware of the arrangement until he received a letter addressed to Christiana Dartez at his address, and did not object once he learned Dartez was a friend of Johnson, the report said.
Jessie Evans said many of the players used his home address to receive mail, according to the investigation.
ULL sent its report to the NCAA on June 18 and received a letter from the NCAA accepting the investigation's findings Thursday.
"I'm very pleased that the NCAA has reviewed our report and they have accepted the report," UL athletic director Nelson Schexnayder said. "We take compliance very seriously and are very happy that this conclusion was reached."
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Josh Peter can be reached at jpeter@timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3407.
I remember, and I'm probably remembering it wrong, an official from USL said that there were 100+ infractions and two of them were "damn lies"Quote:
Originally posted by Turbine
<blockquote><p align=justify>Louisiana La. -- It has been thirty years since minor infractions (by todays standards) caused the bogus basketball death penalty that hit Louisiana's 1973 campus.
Now we have more bogus allegations.
Sidebar- I've often entertained writing about that episode, and would love top see any archived stuff on that topic you have. Is anyone here a member of the "Cajun Mafia?"
Actually, that was Beryl Shipley who said thatQuote:
Originally posted by pirogue
I remember, and I'm probably remembering it wrong, an official from USL said that there were 100+ infractions and two of them were "damn lies"
I brought it up with Ron Gomez, who is also a fine author, about writing about this episode in UL's history. He entertained it for a while, but decided not to. Apparently, a lot of the principals don't want to talk about it. Don Allen was offered an advance from a publisher to do the story, but the offer was mysteriously withdrawn a short time later.Quote:
Originally posted by pirogue
Sidebar- I've often entertained writing about that episode, and would love top see any archived stuff on that topic you have. Is anyone here a member of the "Cajun Mafia?"
Now I'm really interested in doing something.Quote:
Originally posted by CDeb
Actually, that was Beryl Shipley who said that
I brought it up with Ron Gomez, who is also a fine author, about writing about this episode in UL's history. He entertained it for a while, but decided not to. Apparently, a lot of the principals don't want to talk about it. Don Allen was offered an advance froma publisher to do the story, but the offer was mysteriously withdrawn a short time later.