College basketball has been one of the worst offenders re. payoffs to players and their families for 50-60 years on. The main reason is that the monies involved in those transfers are "handled" with a multi-layered mechanism wherein the college program's AD, HC and his coaching staff are so "far removed" from the transfer activity, if it's ever brought to light, they are Teflon (read: nothing sticks to them). The years of direct contact/connection with boosters & benefactors to a particular college sports program, similar to the "good ol' boy" network that operated at SMU and where blatantly arrogant ego-maniacs had boasted publicly about it (as was documented in the 30-for-30 episode "Pony Excess") is over because of "lessons learned" and the threat of heavy fines and punishments (e.g. the so-called "death penalty") keep these activities cloaked in secrecy rivaling the cold war. I've no direct personal knowledge, but know enough insiders who have laughed at me when I had alluded recently to NU basketball finally getting the long-overdue upgrades in facilities and coaches salaries to compete with the "Big Dog" b-ball programs for recruits. I was told summarily that my perspective was nothing short of delusional; and that unless NU alumni and boosters formed a cartel where their money moves & influence peddling could be masked to near oblivion, like there currently exists for the "legendary college b-ball programs," the 'Cats would never compete, but constantly be on the outside looking in. Gave me great pause for reflection. The point to this whole sorted affair is that it took a premier government agency (FBI) to uncover the dirty laundry (a much better investigation organization with unlimited funding), simply because the NCAA is too weak and understaffed & under-financed to do the needful in this regard. I'm sure the college b-ball insider money rats are scurrying to get their azzes off this sinking ship before the fertilizer that's about to hit the ventilator gets any brown stuff on their lapels. I wonder...
