I think LTG would like this, and have good insights. It's about Christian Dawkins and the college basketball bribes scandal. Great insider look on college basketball recruiting and agents taking players into the NBA.

https://www.hbo.com/documentaries/the-scheme

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Why are only 14 percent of black CPS 11th-graders proficient in English?

Good looking and I will try and check it out.

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I watched the first hour. Good stuff. Slightly mean to the subject. Smart guy. Real hustler.

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Why are only 14 percent of black CPS 11th-graders proficient in English?

This was good. A few of my friends actually know Jim Gatto from Adidas. I remember when the story of the indictments first broke they were a little down that he got popped off as they'd worked with him for years.

There are so many guys like Dawson out here that it is scary. Guys that essentially prey upon young, poor athletes for the purpose of extracting a dollar. If you are considered a potential pro then invariably you will have someone "handler" around to guide and steer you through the process. If the parents are ignorant of the process then all the better for the handler as he will be there to fill in the gaps. That means meeting with coaches, agents, shoe companies etc. Their role is to provide insurance so that the child doesn't get exploited. Unfortunately they too are the ones doing the exploiting. Most of them are simply just hustling basketball to better themselves.

He was correct about one thing however. There is no one that is as exploitative of athletes at that level than the NCAA. No one. That is why the notion regarding Amateurism is a joke.

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I can not believe how badly the FBI botched this case. They truly had no idea how all of this works with paying off players. They kept trying to get their money man in front of head coaches and that was never going to happen.

Dawkins came off as arrogant and unlikable. He is full of shit about not realizing 42k in Uber fees were not going to his credit card and instead Elfrid Payton.

That being said he got railroaded by the FBI when he refused to cooperate. I loved that after his assets were froze he lived off the 90k he kept from the FBI instead of paying coaches.

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It was hilarious to watch him say $42k in Uber rides was just a card mix-up.

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Why are only 14 percent of black CPS 11th-graders proficient in English?

He was correct about the NCAA however. I will be glad when they institute the high school to the pros rule again so that this sort of thing is cut out.

Let the kids that aren't there to be pros compete as amateurs and let those and allow the high schoolers with NBA aspirations compete in the G League.

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He’s right, but that situation is what got him in the game. He’s a great character. Interesting guy who would be successful if he wasn’t so ambitious in his corner cutting.

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Why are only 14 percent of black CPS 11th-graders proficient in English?

He is a lot younger but he reminds me of a lot of guys from back in the day that I know that ran around claiming to be "agents" that really weren't . One of them is currently being sued by a former NBA first rounder that foolishly fell for it and allowed my guy to represent him on his first NBA contract.

Didn't even bother to check his credentials before signing the deal.

This guy reminds me a lot of that particular crew of guys. He was obviously connected to players and coaches. That will always get you in the game but his thirstiness made him somewhat of an easy mark for the Feds.

No one places that type of cash in someone's hands without a significant return. It should have been a red flag but I guess he didn't really think about it much since the Feds usually don't screw around with college basketball.

The way they trapped him and tried to flip him was classic Fed move though. Good for him that he didn't fold.

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I've met a ton of young black guys who claimed to be agents. I used to cover or work as a score keeper for high school basketball tournaments. The holiday tournament in Pontiac was a favorite. Saw a young Derrick Rose. The basketball hustling reminded me of any other pyramid scheme or selling drugs. The vast majority were full of shit. I doubt I ever met anyone who really made it. It was sad really to see these guys who were super flashy act like big shots who were about to make it in the near future.

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Why are only 14 percent of black CPS 11th-graders proficient in English?

Most were typically just runners or hanger on types for actual agents.

One guy from back then was part of Bartelstein's crew at the time and people used to claim he was an agent. At the time he wasn't but he did work for Bartelstein's agency as a runner type. They need guys like that to do a lot of the leg work for them and that is where he came in. They can beat the streets and get to areas that most actual agents can't.

I was happy to read a few months that this same guy is now an actual agent in the league. Stumbled on some site which had a list of agents and their clients. He has about 8-9 guys on his roster that are currently in the league. He is doing pretty well obviously so it all paid off for him in the end

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You certainly know more about it than me. So good to know that you thought the documentary was authentic. It was fun. Really miss the NCAA tournament and sports in general so it was a good film to watch for a few hours.

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Why are only 14 percent of black CPS 11th-graders proficient in English?

Yeah it was cool.

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Looking forward to this. Hopefully the incentive to do things like this goes away once players can profit from their likeness.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

It will go away once they do away with one and dones and allow the best to turn pro.

No one is getting in a bidding war for the 2nd coming of Nojel Eastern.

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I didn’t find this show particularly compelling. Dawkins and the mainly POC coaches got railroaded, over prosecuted for sure. The head coaches got nothing. The FBI couldn’t look worse in this, and just below that is the NY attorney’s office.

Dawkins is incredibly talented.

I think the story at the end how Microsoft could offer a gifted high school coder an internship for pay, and everyone would celebrate that was telling. And if Microsoft didn’t pay that person, it might be illegal. Contrast that with the way high school basketball stars are treated.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

You once told me almost all teams pay for players. Now it's only one and dones?

Plenty of non one and dones were in the FBI probe.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Hearing Creighton come up was a shock.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

As usual your facts are off. I said that the blue blood teams pay for players. You're lying about the "all team part". Shocking.

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I would have loved to see them run the money that was discussed. As soon as the player in question would have committed sirens would have gone off in the NCAA offices.

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Phenomenal.

I haven’t turned on ESPN since sports stopped. I wonder if they’re talking about this.

Haven't seen anything and don't expect to. Dick Vitale has been the preeminent voice in College Basketball for 40 years and he was about as complicit in the covering up of this than anyone.

I used to laugh at his constant knob slobbering of guys like Coach K, Bobby Knight, and Rick Pitino for "running clean programs". "You never about scandals with these programs" There were always obvious reasons that you didn't hear about it of course.

They were always just as dirty as everyone else. It was always just simply ignored by everyone. From the media, NCAA, and fans of the program.

You do not sign the caliber of high school players year after year that were signing without paying. Its impossible because the programs that you compete against for these players will be paying.

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