The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, April 28, 2004, Page 13, Image 13
NCAA puts Auburn on probation
BY JOHN ZENOR
TH £ ASSOCIATED PliKSS
AUBURN, ALA. — Auburn’s bas
ketball program was put on two
years’ probation on Tuesday, with
the NCAA cutting one scholarship
but clearing the university of ma
jor rules violations.
Auburn was exonerated of ac
cusations involving large sums of
money and expensive cars given
to high school prospects Chadd
Moore and Jackie Butler. But the
NCAA found that an AAU coach,
Komara, was acting as a rep
ntative of Auburn when ar
ed to wire $3,125 for Butler
and get a 1996 Dodge Stratus for
Moore.
Komara is believed to be the
first summer league basketball
coach designated a representative
of a school, said Thomas Yeager,
chairman of the NCAA’s Division
I Committee on Infractions.
The university, which denied
the major accusations, already
had imposed its own penalties, in
cluding tl)e loss of one scholarship
for the 2004-05 season. The NCAA
cut that scholarship for 2005-06,
too, but did not ban postseason
play or televised games.
“I think it’s always disap
pointing to be called to task by
any organization in which you
have violated established regu
lations,” Auburn interim
President Ed Richardson said.
“But I think that it was clearly
identified that the sanctions that
were provided, we feel were jus
tified.”
Hal Baird, athletics assistant to
the president, said the sanctions
were severe enough to invoke a
clause that adds an eighth year to
the contract of new coach Jeff
Lebo.
The NCAA cleared Auburn as
sistant coach Shannon Weaver of
offering $50,000 and a car to
Moore’s mother. Auburn also was
found innocent on charges of of
fering Butler $70,000 and a car
worth more than $40,000.
“The committee found that
much of the information associat
ed with these allegations was in
conflict and thus was not suffi
cient to support findings,” Yeager
said.
Neither player made official
visits to Auburn, and the univer
sity had maintained that neither
was offered a scholarship. Both
were sophomores at the time of
the alleged offers.
Auburn provided records to the
NCAA that the university main
tains show Weaver was actually
under the care of a dentist in
Scottsboro when he allegedly
made the offer to Moore’s mother,
Clara Moore.
Coach Cliff Ellis, who was not
implicated by the NCAA, was fired
March 18 and replaced by former
Chattanooga coach Jeff Lebo.
Moore and Butler played sum
mer ball for Komara, who the
NCAA alleged was a representa
tive of Auburn and was involved
in improper recruitment.
Yeager said there was ample ev
idence to show Auburn coaches’
contact with Komara surpassed
their relationships with others in
volved in recruiting. Among the
examples he cited were telephone
records showing Auburn coaches
made more than 1,100 calls to
Komara and fewer than 200 to oth
ers involved with recruiting.
Yeager also said Auburn coaches
helped make hotel and airline
reservations that Komara paid
for.
Although the NCAA acknowl
edges high school and summer
league coaches play a special role
in college recruiting, Yeager said,
Komara’s actions exceeded that
role.
Mike Walker, a Mississippi
sports agent, made the initial al
legations in March 2001.
EC. News. Notes
Harrison, Campbell
honored by the SEC
The Southeastern conference
announced Monday that
Florida’s Ben Harrison and
USC’s Matt Campbell have been
named SEC player and pitcher
of the week, respectively.
Harrison, a senior outfielder
from Key West, Fla., went 7-for
13 in Florida’s four games last
week. He also notched three
RBIs and scored two runs in the
Gators’ sweep of divisioh rival
Vanderbilt. Harrison had hits in
every game last week, including
•iturday’s 4-2 win in which he
ent 3-for-3 with an RBI double.
Campbell was impressive in
his Sunday start against the
Crimson Tide. The junior lefty
from Gray Court pitched a ca
reer-high 10 shutout innings in a
1-0 victory for the Gamecocks.
The complete game marked the
second for Campbell on the sea
son and was also the longest out
ing for not only a USC pitcher
but any SEC pitcher this season.
USC’s ace did not allow a runner
to advance to third base and re
tired 10 consecutive batters af
ter the fifth inning.
SEC baseball draws
over 1 million fans
Setting the standard in col
lege baseball, the SEC has once
again drawn more than one mil
lion people to its games this sea
son. The conference owns virtu
ally all the regular season, con
ference tournament and NCAA
tournament attendance records.
This season marked the earliest
the SEC has ever eclipsed the
one million mark.
Leading the SEC in atten
dance is the LSU Tigers, who av
erage just under 8,000 fans per
game and have attracted 191,693
people to their facility this year.
USC ranks fifth on the SEC list,
averaging over 3,600 fans per
game with a total of over 102,000
fans on the season. Overall, the
conference averages 3,270 fans
per game and now totals
1,013,667 fans for the season.
Hillyard
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12
ball began in both the college and
pro forums. The misfortunes of
the Gamecocks again brought
speculations of a chicken curse
and left us all saying once again,
“Wait ‘till next year!” Tom Brady
and the seemingly unbeatable
Patriots roared through the play
offs only to face off against the lo
cally loved Carolina Panthers.
The two starless teams would
continue to amaze in what was
one of the epic Super Bowls of all
time, with Adam Vinatieri’s mag
ical foot once again getting the
job done for New England. How
can you not love a guy that has
gone from being a sixth round
pick to being a two-time Super
Bowl MVP. Tom Brady estab
lished himself as someone who
could be the next Joe Montana
and finally gave the whiners in
Boston something to smile about.
Stealing the hearts of
Gamecocks everywhere was the
surprising men’s basketball
team, which lit a fire under a nap
ping program. Through the pas
sion of Dave Odom, the leader
ship of Mike Boynton and the fire
of budding stars such as Renaldo
Balkman, the team rallied to an
NCAA tournament appearance
for the first time in six years and
have fans all excited about the fu
ture of Carolina basketball.
After such a great year in
sports, we will end it on a very sad,
yet uplifting note. We all follow
our teams with such passion that
we don’t show in any other part of
our lives. We have become numb
»to the outside world and all its ef
fects. Now, Pat Tillman, one of
sport’s own, has made us all real
ize how lucky we are to be
Americans and have the luxury of
having such an amazing freedom.
Tillman realized what so many of
us can’t, that sports is a secondary
priority and in no way measures •: /
up to defending freedom.
In a world where we have fu
ture millionaires complaining
about what team they will play
for, we should remember how ~
lucky we are to have sports at all
and we should remember all the
people who have given their lives
to allow us to have such a privi
lege. We have had an amazing
year in sports, and thanks to peo
ple like Pat Tillman and all our
other soldiers abroad and at
home, we will have many more
in the future.
U.S. Olympic hoops short-handed
BY CHRIS SHERIDAN
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Shaquille O’Neal shook his
head, frowned slightly and
shrugged when asked whether
he’ll play at the Athens Olympics.
“I’m still not sure,” the Los
Angeles Lakers’ center said.
He’.s not the only one.
There are more questions than
answers right now for the USA
Basketball selection committee,
with only six players considered
locks to show up in Greece:
Jermaine O’Neal, Tim Duncan,
Allen Iverson, Tracy McGrady,
Mike Bibby and Richard
Jefferson.
Among those wavering are
Jason Kidd, Karl Malone, Elton
Brand, Ray Allen and Kevin
Garnett.
Vince Carter already ruled
himself out, and Kobe Bryant’s
availability hinges on the sched
ule for his sexual assault trial in
Colorado.
“It’s not troubling, but it is
what it is,” Stu Jackson, chair
man of the USA Basketball selec
tion committee, said Tuesday.
Among the reasons for the
hedging are nagging injuries,
fears of terrorism and family
plans, including a wedding and a
birth.
Shaquille O’Neal said his par
ticipation in the Aug. 13-29
Olympics will depend largely on
how far the Lakers advance in
the NBA playoffs, and
Minnesota’s Garnett sent a simi
lar message to USA Basketball of
ficials.
The American team will hold
training camp in Florida in late
July before traveling to three
cities — Cologne, Belgrade and
Istanbul—for pre-Olympic exhi
bitions.
“You’d better be ready to play
8-on-5 in Belgrade,” quipped
Kidd, counting the two referees
and the crowd as the three extra
opponents.
The Nets’ All-Star point guard
has said his participation will de
pend on his left knee, which
could require surgery after the
NBA playoffs. Malone and Brand
also have injury concerns, and
Malone has indicated he’s not en
thusiastic about traveling to
cities where anti-American sen
timent has grown.
Houston Rockets center Yao
Ming, who will play for China,
shrugged off a question Sunday
about security concerns in
Athens, implying he’s satisfied
with arrangements at the ath
letes’ village.
The U.S team, citing logistical
reasons, will use Olympic hous
ing being provided on cruise
ships in Piraeus harbor.
Allen, expecting a child in ,
September, has since said he is
strongly considering relinquish
ing his roster spot. That would ,
deprive the Americans of their .
best pure outside shooter.
American teams are 109-2 in
the Olympics, with losses in 1972
and 1988.
These days, the level of compe
tition no longer tilts heavily to
ward the Americans — even at full
strength. A U.S. team of NBA play
ers lost to Argentina, Yugoslavia
and Spain at the 2002 World
Championships, and the
American team that won the
Olympic gold medal in Sydney
needed a last-second miss by
Lithuania to survive its semifinal
game.
“The selection committee will
continue to forge ahead as quickly
as possible,” Jackson said. “The ' •
objective remains putting the best
possible Olympic team together to
win the gold medal, and we re
main committed to that objective.”
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