Mike Lupica on Baylor

[Chicago JK]

Not a Lupica fan at all, although it is really weird seeing the national media talking about Baylor again.
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Body signals end
of Bliss at Baylor





This started out as the disappearance of a Baylor basketball player named Patrick Dennehy, but before too long it became apparent that Dennehy wasn't coming back, and that someone had killed him, even without a body. Now a teammate, Carlton Dotson, is charged with murder and a body is finally found in an area where police had been searching for Dennehy.
But as the legal system begins to sort out what happened with Dennehy, there are suddenly just as many questions about what kind of program Coach Dave Bliss was running down there at Baylor University.

The first question goes like this: What was Dotson doing anywhere near a Division I program, even a mediocre one like Baylor's, in the first place?

Even Dotson's coach at Paris Junior College, in Paris, Tex., a place where Bliss goes for players, says he thought Dotson was on his way to Europe or Canada to play basketball, not the Big 12.

Now Melissa Kethley, Dotson's estranged wife, comes forward to say in the Dallas Morning News that Dotson, a Maryland kid who started out his basketball career at the University of Buffalo, and other Baylor basketball players faked drug tests. And that they knew they could get walking-around money by walking into Baylor's Ferrell Arena, as if the place was a 24-hour ATM branch.

Kethley charges that Dotson's coaches were aware enough of Dotson's increasing instability that they arranged for him to see a therapist. It becomes more than somewhat relevant now that Dotson says he is hearing voices and Dennehy is dead.

We talk about how much we don't know with the Kobe Bryant case, and how much we may never know. It is true. But we can sure narrow things down this way: Bryant is telling the truth, and he and a 19-year-old hotel employee had consensual sex one night at the end of June at the Lodge & Spa in Cordilerra, Colo. Or his alleged victim is telling the truth, and Bryant forced her to have sex with him, which is rape. One or the other.

It is much more complicated with the late Patrick Dennehy and Carlton Dotson, something that started between them in Waco, Tex., and ended up with Dotson riding around in Dennehy's Tahoe, and Dennehy dead.

The law will be asking questions of Dotson, who voluntarily told the police enough last week that they arrested him and charged him with murder. The NCAA is already asking questions about Bliss, and whether or not he was running a dirty program in Waco. Whether Bliss is finding out what a lot of hustler coaches find out, and that is if you bring enough marginal people into your program because you think they can help you win, if those people don't have the grades or the character to go with their size and their jump shot, they will eventually take you down with them.

Of course there is an investigative committee at Baylor now, and the members of that committee are supposed to look into Patrick Dennehy's relationship with his school. There are stories circulating that when Dennehy wanted to buy an SUV, he just made another trip to the ATM at Ferrell Center.

Dennehy transferred to Baylor from the University of New Mexico, which meant he had to sit out last season. Now his father, Pat Dennehy, has suggested that Baylor wanted his son to take another year off, as a way of getting some other talented basketball player on scholarship, promising that the school would take care of his tuition and living expenses on its end of the deal.

So a story about a dead basketball player is now tied to a basketball program at Baylor that should be on life support, no matter how much support Bliss believes he has from the president of his school, Robert Stanton. The president of the University of Georgia, Michael Adams, was a big supporter of Jim Harrick right until he told him to clear out his office.

And while all these stories are circulating and an investigative committee is organized at Waco like a posse and Dotson continues to exhibit all signs of both mayhem and madness, Dave Bliss is in Las Vegas, chasing high-school players at the Adidas Big Time tournament. As if he will survive Patrick Dennehy and Carlton Dotson. Which he certainly will not.

If Larry Eustachy can lose his job at Iowa State for behaving like a frat boy, if Mike Price can lose his job at Alabama for bringing a topless dancer back to his hotel room, Dave Bliss does not make it at Baylor when one of his players ends up murdered and one of his former players is accused of being the shooter.

Patrick Dennehy isn't dead because of everything that appears to be wrong with Dave Bliss' program. Just because charges have been leveled at Bliss and his program doesn't make those charges facts. But is Dotson's wife making all of this up? Is Pat Dennehy making all of this up?

Have they organized this investigative committee at Baylor for sport?

Maybe we hit the jackpot with this one: Players who don't belong in college, and dirty money, and cars, and allegations about drug tests, and guns. And finally a body. It is almost a laugh now to hear all these college basketball commentators even suggest that the gravest danger to their sport is kids going straight from high school to the pros, or leaving college early to go to the pros.

We are constantly asking how bad can things get in college sports? This is how bad things can get. Baylor is how bad it can get.

[MavKikiNYC]

Harsh article, but it articulates one of the first questions I had when I heard that a teammate was suspected of killing Dennehy:

What are players like Dotson doing at a school like Baylor, and how can coaches in a setting as close-knit as a basketball player at a small school NOT get signals about the type of people they're dealing with?

If any of the charges regarding the financing of Dennehy's un-scholarshp, the financing of his vehicle, the financing of his apartment, the spending money, the drug tests......if any of that is found to be true, Baylor will have to take a long, hard look at itself, its reputation as an institution and what its mission as an educational institution is.

[Drbio]

Originally posted by: MavKikiNYC
Harsh article, but it articulates one of the first questions I had when I heard that a teammate was suspected of killing Dennehy:

What are players like Dotson doing at a school like Baylor, and how can coaches in a setting as close-knit as a basketball player at a small school NOT get signals about the type of people they're dealing with?

If any of the charges regarding the financing of Dennehy's un-scholarshp, the financing of his vehicle, the financing of his apartment, the spending money, the drug tests......if any of that is found to be true, Baylor will have to take a long, hard look at itself, its reputation as an institution and what its mission as an educational institution is.

This story is sad. There are clear questions that have been asked and clear answers will be eventually given. However, make no mistake about Baylor's mission as an educational institution. The mission of Baylor University is to educate men and women for worldwide leadership and service by integrating academic excellence and Christian commitment within a caring community.

Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas and affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas, Baylor is both the state's oldest institution of higher learning and the world's largest Baptist university. Established to be a servant of the church and of society, Baylor seeks to fulfill its calling through excellence in teaching and research, in scholarship and publication, and in service to the community, both local and global. The vision of its founders and the ongoing commitment of generations of students and scholars are reflected in the motto inscribed on the Baylor seal: Pro Ecclesia, Pro Texana-For Church, For Texas.

Pro Ecclesia. Baylor is founded on the belief that God's nature is made known through both revealed and discovered truth. Thus, the University derives its understanding of God, humanity, and nature from many sources: the person and work of Jesus Christ, the biblical record, and Christian history and tradition, as well as scholarly and artistic endeavors. In its service to the church, Baylor's pursuit of knowledge is strengthened by the conviction that truth has its ultimate source in God and by a Baptist heritage that champions religious liberty and freedom of conscience. Without imposing religious conformity, Baylor expects the members of its community to support its mission. Affirming the value of intellectually informed faith and religiously informed education, the University seeks to provide an environment that fosters spiritual maturity, strength of character, and moral virtue.

Pro Texana. Integral to its commitment to God and to the church is Baylor's commitment to society. Whereas that society in the mid 1800s was limited to Texas, today Baylor's sphere of influence is indeed the world. The University remains dedicated to the traditional responsibilities of higher education-dissemination of knowledge, transmission of culture, search for new knowledge, and application of knowledge-while recognizing the global proportions these responsibilities have assumed. Moreover, within the context of an ethnically and culturally diverse community, Baylor strives to develop responsible citizens, educated leaders, dedicated scholars, and skilled professionals who are sensitive to the needs of a pluralistic society. To those ends, Baylor provides expanded opportunities for civic education and for church and community service at home and abroad.

Pro Ecclesia, Pro Texana. Baylor University is committed to excellence at the undergraduate, graduate, and professional levels. Within the undergraduate programs, the University seeks to familiarize students with the principal bodies of knowledge, cultural viewpoints, belief systems, and aesthetic perspectives that affect the world in which they live. Within the graduate and the professional programs, the University provides advanced educational opportunities to develop ethical and capable scholars and practitioners who contribute to their academic disciplines, professional fields, and society. Baylor encourages all of its students to cultivate their capacity to think critically, to assess information from a Christian perspective, to arrive at informed and reasoned conclusions, and to become lifelong learners. Beyond the intellectual life, the University pursues the social, physical, ethical, and spiritual development of each student.

Aware of its responsibility as the largest Baptist educational institution in the world and as a member of the international community of higher learning, Baylor promotes exemplary teaching, encourages innovative and original research, and supports professional excellence in various specialized disciplines. Advancing the frontiers of knowledge while cultivating a Christian world-view, Baylor holds fast to its original commitment-to build a university that is Pro Ecclesia, Pro Texana.

I'd say Baylor has a well defined, powerful and clear direction on its' mission, its' role and its' direction.

As for the Lupica article, it is filled with supposition, rumor and innuendo interspersed with the little facts that available to the public. The allegations of financial misconduct are fair game at practically every school in the NCAA at some level. It's a fact that it happens basically everywhere so let the first institution that has not sinned throw the first stone. I will point out that Baylor had a similar problem in the basketball program years ago which ended up in an arrest and the firing of a former coach. Sadly, these things happen even at good institutions.

Finally, it is unfortunate that this occurred to be sure. But, to measure an institution on single events within an athletic program is shortsighted, disingenuous and weak. No athletic staff in the US can be a father or mother to all of its' players. It is just immpossible and it shouldn't be their responsibility. When did we let young adults off from being responsible for their actions? We live in an unfortunate politically correct day. We should go back to calling a spade a spade and not worrying if it makes someone feel bad. Those bad feelings are what shapes the responsible people of todays world. We do noone a favor by giving them a pass. It inspires mediocrirty and apathy. Make these young adults step up and take responsibilty for their actions and they whill eventually shine in most cases. In Baylor's case, we have provided an environment where young people can flourish if they choose to do so. You cannot make a young person work hard, you cannot make them come to Christ, you cannot make them be responsible. We can provide an environment of persons commited to the mission of the university and we do that very well. I thank God every day for being able to work at this fine institution and be a part of those kids lives who take advantage of the benefits, environment and genuine caring Baylor community. I also thank God every day for the kids here, the faculty, the staff and direction that this institution is pursuing. It is a great place to study, work at, visit, etc and as unfortunate as the Dennehey case is, it does nothing to define what this institution stands for, was built on, or plans on achieving.

[Dooby]

At least when SMU was caught cheating, we were winning.

[MavKikiNYC]

Originally posted by: Dooby
At least when SMU was caught cheating, we were winning.

Not to be inflammatory, but that was precisely my point.

[Drbio]

Originally posted by: Dooby
At least when SMU was caught cheating, we were winning.

Oh..that makes it ok then.

[Dooby]

Originally posted by: Drbio

Oh..that makes it ok then.

Not at all, but if you can't win and you decide to cheat, and you still can't win...well, that is just sad.

[Drbio]

It's an emphasis thing doobs. Our emphasis is not on winning the Big 12. It's on other more important things.

[Dooby]

Originally posted by: Drbio
It's an emphasis thing doobs. Our emphasis is not on winning the Big 12. It's on other more important things.

Fielder's choice. Do you want a Waco-firearms and bunkbed joke, a Baylor dancing joke, or a comment about how this guy was apparently doped up and hearing voices?