Getting legal help not a good sign for UK

[The Bubba]

John Clay
HERALD-LEADER

The Randolph Morris saga has hit the Warren Zevon phase.

Kentucky has exercised the legal option of the late singer's directive to send Lawyers, Guns and Money in hopes of saving a "desperate man."

UK confirmed it has hired attorney Rick Evrard to help in its dealings with the NCAA concerning the athletic eligibility of Morris, the 6-foot-10 sophomore center who is attempting to re-join the Cats after going undrafted by the NBA in June.

More..click here

Things not looking too rosy for Morris. Valuable lessons will be learned by many because of this regardless of how it turns out.

[teamweaver]

Not So Fast…
There has been a lot of hand wringing over the recent NCAA/Kentucky/Morris articles with many fans dispairing of Morris ever playing again for us. But that reaction is way too premature! Just because Kentucky felt compelled to hire the attorney, Rick Evrard, to press Morris' case with the NCAA is no reason to throw up our hands and give up the thought of Morris eventually (hopefully soon) putting on a Kentucky basketball jersey this season. Oh, don't get me wrong, it isn't the best of situations to need an attorney to deal with the NCAA but Rick Evrard is damn good! He has wrestled the NCAA to the matt for a pin on numerous occasions including Connecticut's Villanueva case and other high and low profile petitions.

Honestly, the actions of the NCAA over the years have so muddied the eligibility issue with various precedents I think the NCAA will be forced to capitulate if Kentucky/Morris show the resolve to take this to court. If you have been paying attention, to my knowledge, the NCAA has not won a case brought before a court of jurisdiction in a long time. It has been the NCAA's more recent policy to try and arbitrate a settlement between itself and the compliance petitioner.

Heavens, look at the Kansas University case now in the news; >>Click Here For Entire Article<< . KU forward Darnell Jackson was suspended for only nine games even though he received $5,000 of benefits (consisting of transportation, meals and lodging, gifts and a personal loan) from a booster. In the past, such a revelation would have immediately resulted in Jackson being declared ineligible and placed the institution in danger of sanctions. But the NCAA's lack of firm adherence to its own various strictures has provided so many blurring precedents it can't even firmly punish a kid who was caught taking $5,000 in gifts and money. And that case was way more clear cut than this undocumented agent stuff.

Consider, this attorney (Evrard) is not cheap, the University would not be pursuing it if they didn't think there was a very compelling case in Morris' favor. Further, Evrard is very experienced, he used to be an NCAA enforcement official; he would just tell the University if this was a lost cause to avoid jeopardizing his relationship with Kentucky or otherwise sullying his reputation.

Hey, guys, it ain't over! As Coach Jimmy Valvano said, "Don't give up; don't ever give up!"

[The Bubba]

Nice post and don't ever worry about the Bubba giving up, it ain't in my vocabulary. It is comforting to know of Evrard's experience in cases like this. UK does need Morris to make a serious run in the NCAA tourney and is trying to ensure that this is made possible.

[teamweaver]

admin said:

It is comforting to know of Evrard's experience in cases like this.

I think MSU hired Evrard last year to pull Lawerence Roberts' chips out of the NCAA fire. Too my knowledge, he's the best out there right now.

[The Bubba]

If this doesn't get resolved in UK 's favor, it won't be because they didn't make a great effort.

[uk9698]

VERY nice post, my first reaction was also it didnt look good but when you think about it, as you said this guy doesnt come cheap and he does seem to be the best out there!! Lets hope its this is a move with INDY as our ultimate goal!!