But I think the point is that even though people know this about their basketball program, it hasn't hurt the overall academic reputation of the school. Now they have an excellent reputation and good basketball. Whether the whole system chews up these kids and spits them out is a different debate...
I have no interest in NU being an Ivy League-like school. NU belongs to that tier of universities that combines world-class academics with a mainstream, American-university experience. That includes high-level athletics. So, if we're going to do that, then let's do it well. Otherwise, let's just become the University of Chicago.
It isn't about Northwestern being an Ivy League-like school (and I didn't say that).
I guess I'm arguing for a much more holistic approach to admissions. Obviously, we can't admit a basketball player who got all D's in high school. But I would certainly take the fact that they are one of the best in the world at something we appear to value at Northwestern, even as a B or even C-level student, into consideration. They could absolutely find success here. Same things is true in art, or music. If they are truly really talented and driven as a violinist, then they must have a work ethic and ability, and so maybe I don't care quite as much that they didn't get 90th percentile scores on their SATs and all A's in math and English in high school.
This debate isn’t so interesting to me, but I’d like to chime in to say, Man, it’d be terrible for NU and greatly harm the school if NU under CCC had a run like Coach K’s at Duke.
the key concept is that Duke is "dramatically" lowering their academic standards for their basketball team.
Your point about music, theatre and all those talents is valid, but those kids still have to put up grades in high school, as far as I know. You won't find an "A+" in football on high school transcripts (north of the Mason-Dixon line)
“Dramatically” is a made-up standard. If a student wouldn’t have had a chance of getting in as a non-athlete applicant, and they get in as an athlete, then that strikes me as ‘dramatic’.
All schools including NU have lower standards for admission for athletes than the general student population. And of the elite schools in P5/6 most still lower them more than NU and some dramatically so. About the only school that keeps as close to the standards of the general student body as NU is probably Stanford. No one is suggesting going as far as DUKE has in BB but it would still seem that we still should have more leeway than admissions has allowed, Can they reasonably get through the programs and successfully graduate give the support that they have? The fact that we have for example so many FB players with 3pt plus averages says yes and that we still have room to be flexible. I mean, when was the last time you heard of any athlete being prevented from competing because of grades? I think the last one I heard of was Austin King (I think) and even he got things straightened out. How long ago was that? I think that it was under Randy Walker
No team can admit the player that was all Ds in high school. If your suggestion that someone with a 2.9 should not be automatically rejected then yes.
Why is that dramatic? A lot of people cannot get in that could get through NU just fine. If you said someone that would have trouble getting through at all, that would be dramatic
Ok, I will suggest it then. Go as far as Duke has in BBall. I will take 5 Natty’s and 5 number picks in the NBA draft. Those guys went to Duke and majored in Basketball. Making hundreds of millions, I an thinking they somehow managed without the parchment.
One of the problems with that for us is that DUKE was able to bring in one and dones which we are not. One and dones don't even really have to go to class as they are gone before grades catch up to them.
Our son was recruited by NU and Stanford, but his standardized tests weren't good enough for the latter. NU admissions for athletes is more lenient on standardized tests, but does not want to see even 1 D on a transcript. Also, the dual credit classes our son took in high school were not allowed for credit.
I did not watch it live but saw the replays. It was astoundingly ridiculous. More than the end of the game of Rutgers at Ohio State, which also drew an admission from the conference that the refs got it wrong. In that one, at least they were caught with a play that did not fall into the "reviewable" criteria, and just got it wrong in real time. Even though, from my couch, it was blatant in real time.
They made the objectively right moves.
I find myself pulling for those two guys to do well when I see a bit of Duke or NC on tv, but besides that, I couldn't care less how their teams do. As I likely suffer from Duke and NC fatigue, there is some joy in watching those teams struggle. But it is not because of Pete and Ryan.
Same. In normal years, they are up there with Kansas or Kentucky in teams I root against.
Good Lord, NC is terrible and Pete is doing nothing to traverse that trend. Gato is right, Davis has no clue what he is doing.
Watched the game, poor Pete looks shell-shocked and timid. The fact that he is still starting says volumes about the bench strength at Carolina......
Too bad. So sad. If the refs blow 1 call a year againsr Duke in the next 25 years, Duke would still be ahead of the game.