WBB: New Jersey Athletic Conference

[kate]

ABSOLUTELY NOT FAIR to lay blame on the student athletes when adults cooked this whole mess up.  Heck if i was a great basketball player, and thought of this opportunity to play as a chance to move on to post college b'ball, you better believe i jump at that - it's always up to the adults and obviously these kids were let down.

[mytwocents]

MVP,

"I see they had a rematch w/ Amherst this week and lost, but at least one of the cheaters from Kean(Naimah Clemons) played". 

Very harsh words for a student athlete. You know this as fact?  Please keep the players out of this.  It is the administration who is a fault here firing the former AD and now the coach as scapegoats. It is tragic for the athletes and the school.

[MVP]

So what are you saying ? That the players knowingly involved w/ "grade fixing" are not responsible. The players were named in the press release from July 2011.   

[kate]

Simply stating that whenever or whatever the student athletes knew, it would totally be up to the adults in the administration to have either not started it to begin with, or someone (adult) should step up and say "This is Very Wrong".   Which is exactly what the Director of Athletics apparently did, and was fired.  The kids didn't do that.  It seems it's always easier to blame the most vulnerable.

[Brookland]

... firing the former AD and now the coach as scapegoats

From what I can see, firing the AD could be characterized as scapegoating, but many of the allegations involved the (apparently) willing collusion of the coach and some administrators, so firing the coach is probably better characterized as "overdue" than scapegoating. It is clearly the responsibility of any head coach in any sport to know what is acceptable and what is not concerning NCAA complaince, and if even half of the allegations are true, then there was more than enough ADULT misbehavior to warrant corrective action. To me, the real scapegoats were the athletes who lost scholarships without due process last spring because the the school wanted to show public remorse for a minor infraction.
That said, I don't think it is right for there to be NO consequences for ANY athlete, either. Specifically, IF an athlete was ineligible, of course the team should forfeit games, etc. and the athlete could individually lose eligibility, scholarship money, etc. as provided for in the policies of the NCAA and the school. And I would expect that to be more severe if the athlete willingly cheated or otherwise took inappropriate action of their own accord. However, I don't know the individual actions of any Kean athlete, so I don't have an opinion on what should be done to the students.
As to why nothing else has been done to this program, that is probably because the NCAA review is not scheduled until March. I would hope something comes of that - and then we can all draw more informed opinions.

[MVP]

Hey I agree that it appears the administration and coach Sharp are primarily responsible for this disgrace of Kean University and D3 women's basketball.  How long has this been going on?
How many years/ seasons must now be followed with an asterisk***
The NCAA is also investigating infractions involving women's soccer, men's soccer, and women's volleyball . Last year Kean banned post season play and implemented self imposed penalties in wake of the allegations and pending sanctions from the NCAA in March 2012.

The real losers in this story are all the players and aspiring prospects for the Kean women's basketball team that were not not involved in any violations. Their dream was to play for a legitimate D3 powerhouse.

Why was coach Sharp allowed to coach this season?  Why was she fired today?

Are there ineligible players on the 2012 roster?

[7express]

Are there ineligible players on the 2012 roster?
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I know 1 of them is currently, not sure about any others.  I'm not going to mention names on here, message me if you want to know more.

[D3Backer]

Are there ineligible players on the 2012 roster?
------------------------------

I know 1 of them is currently, not sure about any others.  I'm not going to mention names on here, message me if you want to know more.

I know for a FACT that every current student-athlete that is currently on the women's basketball roster is eligible. Any issues in regards to the notice of allegations that could have affected eligibility have been resolved with the NCAA prior to the season. 

[beltsh97]

what a joke....NJAC all-conference came out today and Naimah Clemons from Kean left off the all-conference 1st team. In conference games she only averaged 24.9 points, 7.8 rebs and almost 4 steals a game

[phil]

Pretty weak argument if you don't tell us who she should have replaced on the first team and why.

[beltsh97]

Probably should have replaced Jessica Imhof from TCNJ or Kendra Johnson from Newark given the fact that they finished 12-1 in conference beating both those teams 1 time each. Imhof averaged 11.8 ppg and 5 reb per game. Johnson averaged 15 and 3 rebs. I'm not trying to take anything away from either of those players but I think its pretty evident that Clemons was more than deserving of a first team selection and probably got left off because of other coaches feelings towards the Kean program which is understandable. However, those feelings shouldnt be taken out on a player

[phil]

TCNJ also beat Kean so let's not debate based on who beat whom...

It's a fact that the NJAC awards Seniors when it comes to All Conference selections. It happens every year in every sport. The NJAC rewards seniors and there always seems to be a complaint about the process in the D3 Hoops and D3 Football blogs – but it happens in every NJAC sport.

In Clemons case, she's a Junior and Imhof and Johnson are seniors. Frankly, this shouldn't be too surprising to anybody who follows the NJAC.

...but then there's the scandal at Kean which is only going to get worse. Unfortunately, Clemons is knee deep in it since it was her grades which were changed last year so she could maintain a mandatory 2.0 GPA. Her grade was changed from F to an "Inc," and then back to an F. After she sat out one game and two practices, her grade in another class was upgraded from C-plus to B-plus. The latter maneuver allowed the player to suit up against top-ranked Amherst, and she torched them for 28 points in an 85-82 Kean victory last season. I suppose you could say that Miss Clemons was a victim in all this, but if you read the wrongful termination suit by Kean's former athletic director, Clemons went directly to her professor – asking that her grade be changed to play basketball. Someone other than the professor made that request happen.

Methinks the coaches knew exactly what they were doing when it came time to select an All Conference team.

[mytwocents]

Phil,

Evidently you are in the know regarding all the turmoil involving Kean so I will leave that alone. Regarding the slighting of Miss Clemons. She was a first team selection last year, I assume chosen over some seniors.  You must admit her stats are very impressive.

NJAC coaches may be a bit embarassed if Clemons is chosen on some All-American teams instead of Miss Imhof or Miss Johnson. 

Just Mytwocents

 

[phil]

Look at the "balance" of the All Conference selections. First team has 5 slots and four seniors. All together there are 16 All Conference selections and 10 of those are seniors. In addition, every team has to have one player represented. So putting together an All NJAC team isn't exactly a science. This has always been the way of the NJAC in every sport.

I also sincerely doubt any coach in the NJAC will be the least bit embarrassed should Clemons land on an All American team.

[Pat Coleman]

Punishment was handed down today.

http://www.d3sports.com/notables/2012/04/kean-punishment-handed-down