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Arthur story adds to KU’s perception problem
Well, that was fun with the parades, parties and other expressions of national championship joy. Six weeks in fantasy land before the face slap.
Defense helped Kansas win the title, and the Jayhawks called upon those fundamentals Friday to respond to the Darrell Arthur story of alleged high school grade-changing.
KU associate athletic director Jim Marchiony is right. Arthur came to Kansas with an NCAA stamp of approval. So this sure appears to be a South Oak Cliff High and Dallas school district issue.
“I’d be a lot more concerned if I thought Kansas or Darrell Arthur had any kind of complicity in inappropriate conduct,” Marchiony said. “I just don’t think that’s the case.”
In fairness, the story at this moment is an allegation made through a media outlet. But there is smoke. The school forfeited a state title two years ago for the same reason. Investigations will happen, and a possible conclusion is Arthur should have been ineligible for at least part of his high school career, which could have altered his college path.
That path took Arthur 18 feet from the basket with two minutes to play against Memphis. His deep jumper triggered the improbable 9-0 run over the final two minutes. Without it, Mario Chalmers doesn’t send the game into overtime with an epic three-pointer.
Without Arthur’s 20 points and 10 boards against the Tigers, the Jayhawks don’t come close to “One Shining Moment.”
Little wonder Kansas fans shiver at words such as “ineligibility” and “forfeit.” They’ve heard it before, around the same time in 1988. The Jayhawks didn’t have to surrender their Danny Manning-forged national championship but an NCAA violation made them the first team to become ineligible to defend the title.
Again, at least from a second-day perspective of a news report, it won’t come to that. When the lid lifts on 2008-09, Kansas will bid to repeat.
But the Jayhawks have to feel sick about this story because of the headlines, chatter and perception it creates. When something like this breaks, recent troubles are recalled to determine a pattern.
And Kansas doesn’t skate.
In 2006, the athletic department was cited for lack of institutional control for pre-2003 transgressions in men’s basketball and football. The penalties weren’t stiff but vows were made all around that Kansas would toe the line.
“We failed to live up to the standards we set for ourselves,” was Chancellor Robert Hemenway’s response.
Two weeks ago, Kansas learned that it would lose two football scholarships for falling below the Academic Progress Rate established by the NCAA.
In the previous football cases classwork was the issue, as it is here. Cleaning up academics and creating a healthier youth basketball culture has become a priority for NCAA President Myles Brand.
The APR is his baby. Also, stung by embarrassing revelations of diploma mills, the NCAA has cracked down on schools established essentially for basketball. Kansas City’s Milestone Christian Academy recently was told its grades would no longer be accepted.
In the arena, Kansas never had a better year. An 11-0 start in football, followed by an Orange Bowl championship. The third basketball crown, beating North Carolina along the way, made 2007-08 as close to nirvana as it gets.
And then along comes this story, which won’t die until investigations reach conclusions and lawyers have their say.
At least it was a festive six weeks.