Look, I'm not in the camp that feels there is a vast conspiracy between the NCAA, the NSA and the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen to take down S.U. And I'm reasonably assured that the NCAA has established and follows a protocol to evaluate a prospective student athlete's academic resume. Further, I understand these requirements are designed to ensure that student athlete has been properly prepared and holds at least a reasonable expectation of academic success before enabling him or her to take on the rigors of a high profile football or basketball player in a DI program. However, the state of New Jersey and Syracuse University also have standards and protocols to address the same concerns. In this case, the latter two, by awarding a diploma and by offering admission, are satisfied that the resume meets the requirements. The NCAA was not. Two concerns here - what institution is more able at making the determination as to the student's preparedness? The highly regarded N.J. High School looking over a couple hundred kids and S.U. evaluating a few thousand, or the NCAA trying to sift through tens of thousands of applicants and clear each individually particularly for students who have spent a portion of their HS studies in a foreign country where English is at best a second language. Second, there should be some "pine tar" logic here (sorry, for the reference, Yankee fans). The spirit of the law is to ensure readiness for college academics. By all accounts, Diagne has demonstrated that readiness in his three years in an American high school. Shouldn't that be the determining criteria? The NCAA's decision may have the letter of its law on its side, but it certainly fails the spirit test. Time to re-examine the approach. Too late for Diagne, but to avoid imposing the same punishment on other deserving kids in the future.
