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12:44 pm - Oh so this is why Miami wins.
MIAMI -- University of Miami officials concede they failed to properly perform a background check on the team's top recruit.But they did not rescind the scholarship offer to linebacker Willie Williams.
Williams, a Parade All-American, is on probation for felony burglary charges in 2002. He also is named in three criminal complaints stemming from a recruiting trip to the University of Florida last weekend.
The complaints could lead to his arrest in Broward County for a probation violation. If Williams is arrested, he could be sentenced to up to five years in prison, an administrator with the Department of Corrections said Friday.Miami athletic director Paul Dee said Friday coaches and officials will review all the information that becomes available before making a decision on whether Williams will be allowed to enroll in school."In situations of this kind, we have to be fair to the prospective student-athlete," Dee said in a statement. "All other indicators are positive, specifically his academic qualifications and the recommendations of coaches and administrators."Williams' criminal record paints a much different picture.He has been arrested 10 times since 1999, according to Florida Department of Law Enforcement records.He was charged with theft as a 14-year-old, in 1999. He was arrested five times the following year, including twice on felony charges.His most recent arrest occurred July 11, 2002, when Pembroke Pines police charged him with burglary and possession of burglary tools, according to the Department of Corrections.Williams, then 17, was prosecuted as an adult on the felony charges. He pleaded no contest and was sentenced to 18 months of probation, court records show.Miami athletic department spokesman Mark Pray said the school performs background checks on each recruit, but he wasn't sure if it covers criminal records."The process used to screen backgrounds was insufficient in that it failed to reveal all that is now public," Dee said. "In this regard, we must improve our efforts to obtain information of this type in the future."Williams was less than two weeks from the end of his probation when he was named in the three complaints.Williams allegedly hugged a female student without her permission, hit a man at a bar and set off three fire extinguishers in his hotel -- all in span of five hours during the recruiting trip that began Jan. 30.
The State Attorney's Office in Gainesville will investigate the sworn complaints before deciding whether to officially charge Williams.Don Monroe, circuit administrator for the Department of Corrections, said Friday that his office was working with police and the state attorney's office in Gainesville to determine whether Williams violated his probation."If we're going to do something, we have to do it before his probation ends," Monroe said. "We think we have enough time to examine all the facts and not rush into anything."Williams' probation ends Wednesday.If the Department of Corrections decides Williams violated his probation, it would then present evidence to Circuit Judge Michael Kaplan, who presided over Williams' burglary case.The judge could then issue a warrant for Williams' arrest, Monroe said.Kaplan would have sole power to sentence Williams. Monroe said the sentence could range from extended probation to five years in prison --the sentence Williams' originally faced in the burglary charges.
Florida coach Ron Zook said Friday that Williams' case has prompted his staff to re-evaluate how it decides which prospects will be invited to the campus.
"We've got to do a better job of finding out everything there is to know," Zook said. "I mean, we're not the only ones. From my understanding, no one knew this."
Have fun with your new teammates Andrew. Real classy place you have chossen.
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01:28 pm - St. Johns
What has happened to St. Johns?? What was once a proud basketball program has totally disenagrated. Even not so long ago they graduated guys like Ron Artest, Lavar Postell and Chris Mullen. In 1985 this team was 31-4. Recently they fired a great coach in Mike Jarvis and players were busted soliciting a prostitute. Not to mention what Fran Fraschilla did not to long ago. Everybody was saying "Poor Fran" when Bobby Knight blew up on the guy but come on now. Fran was a guy that pulled his pants down and showed his ass to his players and then grabbed one of his players byt the testicles. Not exactlly a stranger to emotional outbursts is what I am trying to say. Will a college basketball expert please explain to me why things have gone so wrong so fast??
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03:10 pm - Retraction
Remember when I printed that Pitt might run into trouble when they played those run and gun Pac-10 teams in the tournament. That was the dumbest thing I have written on this site to date. After having watched Stanford and Arizona today, Pitt will kill both of those teams. If I was Lute I would quit coaching right now. Arizona is like the anti-Pitt. Unbelievable talent, absolutly no brains. They will call that game an "instant classic" but it was really terrible basketball. I don't think the shot clock went below 15 seconds the whole game. Arizona made two mindnumbing turnovers on the two final positions that were the most ridiculous display of basketball I have ever seen. Pitt will run these two of the floor.
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