College Sports

• Gene Therapy: You Gotta Travel!

  May 17, 2022 Gene Clemons 0 Comments

  

   

  by: Gene Clemons

   

  The high school basketball season is interesting. You go to offseason workouts, play in summer leagues, and train; all for the opportunity to try and win a region, conference, district state title. A high school basketball player will average getting home at around seven at night if they are lucky and get the early after school gym time. If they are unlucky, they either wait until later to practice and don’t get home until around nine or they must wake up at five in the morning to practice before school begins. They travel sometimes over an hour away for games during the school week and don’t crash into bed until midnight or later. Many of these student athletes do this because they want to earn an opportunity to play in college. But, for all the hard work they do, most college basketball coaches are not even paying them any attention. The college basketball season starts before the high schoolers get started and ends after high schools have already crowned a state champion. So, when would a college coach have time to leave their program in the middle of a season to go see about any players that are not local? The answer is almost never. I am sure college coaches try to slip in some time when they are on the road or maybe have a few days in between games but the majority of that time is being spent on getting the current team better. So, for all of that sweat and effort most high school seasons go relatively unnoticed by the decision makers in college basketball. So how are these young men getting recruited?

   

  If you are a basketball player and you are not traveling in the offseason with a team, then there is a good chance you will fly under the radar and be missed by potential programs who may be interested in you. Travel ball has become so popular because it is where the college coaches can actually get out and evaluate players in real game situations. Unlike football where all of the camps, combines, clinics, workshops, and 7 on 7 tournaments can’t really give a coach the understanding of what a player can do in-game, travel basketball tournaments provide a live evaluation of players participating in the same game they will play when they go to college. Football mega camps have become popular because of how many college coaches attend but in many cases, you never  see the head coaches of the bigger programs there. When you go to the sites of elite travel basketball camps, it is not shocking to see Bill Self sitting next to Juwan Howard waving at (insert famous coach’s name here). That is the normal; and it is not just a couple there, they are there in droves. Hundreds of decision makers decked out in their polo and khaki shorts or their athletics warmups with the various logos of their universities prominently displayed for everyone to see.

   

  Another reason why the travel circuit has completely replaced the high school season as the major recruiting ground is that you get to see talented players go against similarly talented competition. Everyone knows that high school is broken into the haves and have nots. Teams that are stacked with talent going up against teams who are simply fielding a team for recreational purposes. If you remember what the opposition Zion Williamson’s high school team looked like, those games were a joke most of the time. That is simply not the case in travel ball. Whether you play on a team at a specific age group or you are playing on an elite team. You are placed in groups where you are competing against teams with similar talent. This gives evaluators an even better chance to see how you compare to your contemporaries. It is something that high schools simply can not compete with. Even at tournaments that are meant to bring some of the best high school teams together, there is usually someone on the court who is not at the level of others or the teams are brought in because they have one or two elite players on them.

   

  The result is that the high school season has a true duality to it. It is the opportunity to play basketball for those who may not be at the elite level in the state or nationally. A way to represent your school, stay active during the football offseason or take a break from baseball. That’s a valuable thing. After all, high school is still about creating lifelong memories and forming bonds that could never be broken. The high school season still serves that purpose. But for the players who have aspirations of hooping in college, the high school season is nothing more than live practice reps. It is the place where you work on your game and get it polished up to showcase when the basketball live periods occur in the spring and summertime. You see big men work on their jump shot and handles. You see guards try to finish better at the rim and polish their step back three pointer. The high school season is where you see them incorporate new moves and develop different skills. That used to be reserved for AAU or YBOA 20 years ago. But now big travel ball circuits are the real season for these elite hoopers.

   

  It is a reality that most high school coaches have either embraced, or are trying to fight a losing battle. The toothpaste is out of the tube and there is no way to ever get it back. The fact that most states have still not instituted a shot clock or a college three point line means that they can’t even properly prepare these young men and women for the type of world they are going to experience when they go to college. The college game is night and day from the high school game and until they begin to make the changes necessary to implement college rules and gameplay in high school, you will never see it regain the luster it once had. The best thing for high school coaches to do is to work on developing the best student athletes possible so that they will have a chance to showcase their skills to college coaches when they start traveling.

   

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  Gene Clemons is a Sports Analyst and Contributor to CWN Sports. His weekly column and podcast - Gene Therapy focuses on Sports, Politics and Social/Urban issues.

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• Gene Therapy - NFL Draft 2022 Thoughts | Everybody's a GM

  May 3, 2022 Gene Clemons 0 Comments

  

   

  by Gene Clemons

   

  The 2022 NFL Draft is officially in the books and, as always, it was great to watch so many young men realize their dream. They got to hear their name called and see their faces flash in front of the shield and a team logo. Then they quickly introduced to their new reality, scrutiny at every turn. Draft pundits either rifling through papers or scrolling through iPads to check their evaluations on the paper and make snap judgements on whether that young man was a good or bad selection. The players learn that fans are only fans if they believe in what you can do for their team, not because they believe in you. They get poked, prodded, and evaluated for what they did in games, only to have those performances usurped by what they do in t-shirts and shorts, then have the things they accomplished in both pushed aside because of where they played, the position the played, or the unrealized potential of another. The draft is wild, and we are here for it all. But why? Well, the answer is fairly simple, we all believe we could be the general manager of our favorite teams.

   

  The truth is that there are so many variables that go into doing the job of a GM that drafting talent is probably not the top priority. Between managing the players that are on the team and dealing with their personal expectations, trying to fulfill the needs of the coaching staff and what they feel is necessary to put a winning product on the field the job is difficult enough. That is before you have to deal with the owner and their agenda, which could be completely different than that of the players and the coaching staff. Mix that with your own professional desires and philosophies that you believe in and the gumbo that most general managers have to mix is almost impossible for everyone to find tasty. Despite all of that, the most public job of the general manager is the draft. Even more than free agency, the draft is where GMs are asked to explain the vision without giving up any legitimate details about the plan. They have to address the issues that the fan base feels exist while also stating a purpose that they cannot fully reveal. Most people would crumble underneath so much pressure and scrutiny and still it does not stop the average fan from believing they could do a better job. We have to blame someone for these reckless assumptions, but who?

   

  Start with Mel Kiper Jr. The oldest and most recognizable draft analyst in the game, created this space that so many others live in. He birthed a nation of draft followers and future draft analysts and writers because he is the “every man.” A guy who does not come from a legit football background who was able to turn his obsession with player evaluations and rankings into a lucrative sports career. Well, we all know that imitation is the greatest form of flattery, and with the explosion of digital media, and the easy access it provided, everybody, it was simple for others to follow Kiper's footsteps. The results are what we see today. Countless amounts of sites dedicated to the draft. Hundreds of draft guides produced and distributed, and millions of dollars pumped into draft content in order to make billions. By the way, many of us should thank Mel Kiper for his contribution to the culture. He was the north star.

   

  You can also blame these NFL front offices. If you are given millions of dollars and a team of 50 to scout, analyze, and draft players, your hit percentage has to be higher than 50-60% or the average Joe at home watching the team every Sunday is going to believe they can do your job. After all, how can you get it wrong when you have had at least three seasons to build a file on these prospects? Why would you need a combine for anything other than medical evaluations? Why would you ever reach for unproven talent? Why would you need to project out talent when there are so many proven commodities? 

   

  Many times, people don’t understand that this is an inexact science, but it is a science. There are markers that usually point to success. Sometimes the players that a fan or a recruiting publication likes, is not even placed on the board for an NFL team. Those reasons can be as simple as a player’s medical history or as complicated as a size/athleticism ratio that the scouting department came up with those points to previous NFL success. We don’t account for the fact that sometimes the players we believe are good, an NFL team sees them as average players at best. Sometimes both sides believe a player is a quality football player, but the team does not see the player as an immediate need on the team and devalues them in the draft. Whatever the reason, these inconsistencies and unknown variables further open up the possibility for question by those who patronize a team and the NFL at large.

   

  And once the draft is over, before a player has a chance to prove a GM right or wrong, fans and media outlets are already on to the next year. The draft and all of its tentacles have for better or worse become its own competition. Every year we award grades to the winners and losers of the draft. We give them imaginary accolades and before they have the chance to bask in their success, there is always a mock draft released pinpointing another need for the team next season. Someone equated giving a draft a grade is the equivalent of grading someone on a test before they ever take it. As ridiculous as it sounds when explained so simply, words could never be truer. That is a part of the intrigue, that is the reason why so many people feel they can do the job. Not only does it not take skill to guess, but what is the backlash when they get their choices wrong. fans never have to assume any of the responsibility when they choose a player that is a bust. 

   

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  Gene Clemons is a Sports Analyst and Contributor to CWN Sports. His weekly column and podcast - Gene Therapy focuses on Sports, Politics and Social/Urban issues.

   

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• Gene Therapy: Safety, Security, or Say Goodbye

  Jan 9, 2022 Gene Clemons 0 Comments

  

  by Gene Clemons

  Over recent years during the bowl season we see many players decide to opt out of playing in order to prepare for the NFL draft process. What used to be only a few of the projected top selections sitting out has expanded to any player that believes opting out of that final game would give them a leg up in the draft process. People seem to fall on both sides of this argument. Those that don't believe players should play and those that can't believe the players are missing. 

   

  Recently, longtime college football broadcaster Kirk Herbstreit claimed that players who were opting out just didn't love football. He clearly received a ton of backlash for his comments, and he should have. After all, these young men have been working their entire life to get to a point where they can attack their dream. Now that they are so close, of course they don't care about the Idaho Potato Bowl or the CarQuest Auto Bowl. But I am not upset at Kirk Herbstreit, he is a product of his conditioning. He played at a different time, and he has covered the game so long that he has adopted the antiquated thoughts of the football luminaries. That's just not where we are today.

   

  Personally, I believe that these players should make whatever decision they want; it's none of our business. I will never have an issue with any player deciding to opt out of a bowl game after they have given their blood, sweat, and teams to a team for three or four seasons. I also believe that there are advantages to playing in a bowl game. There's still value in becoming a legend at a school and maybe sometimes players forget that. The bag doesn't always need to be obtained through the NFL. I also believe that a bowl game can be a chance to put down another game of action for evaluators to consider. I believe the bowl game film is better than a college all-star game's film.

   

  What good is a complaint without a solution? So, while all of the people are out here complaining, allow me to offer a couple suggestions that would definitely solve the issue and possibly be more beneficial for those involved.

   

  Say goodbye to the seniors on senior night.

   

  So many around the landscape of college football believe that the bowl games outside of the playoff semifinals are meaningless. That's the main reason why most don't have an issue with players opting out. Well, if it is a meaningless game, then why put any player out there who is not planning to be on the team next season. So, when teams who are not in the playoff celebrate their final regular season game, they should turn the page on the season. If bowl games existed as a way to prepare for next season, then the teams and fans would go into them with their eyes wide open. The seniors and those planning to transfer or declare will be excluded from participating.

   

  This game could then become meaningful because it is a live rep, evaluation game. Players expected to be with the team next season get one more chance to show what they can do. Many of the players on the bench behind seniors, or the other players who won't be with the team, would finally get their chance to show that they can be a factor next season. Coaches could use the film from the game to evaluate areas of improvement on offense and defense and individually. They can also tell where they really need to allocate their scholarship spots based on the areas that seem the weakest or without reps. It also allows fans to become familiar with the faces who will be relied on next season. They get to see them against another team instead of in a spring intrasquad scrimmage.

   

  Payment and protection always work.

   

  If telling these players goodbye before the bowl game sparks trepidation in coaches and athletic departments I would not be surprised. Most coaches have escalators in contracts for bowl games. They also don't want to record losses on their record. They need those players to buy in one more time. But where is the incentive. There is so much more to lose than there is to gain. Especially when you think about those that are looking at a professional football career. How can you expect them to understand the value of playing a game most consider meaningless for free? That gift bag they get from the bowl game is hardly the same as a check is. So, pay them.

   

  If you want to keep players from opting out to prepare to get their bag. Secure their bag for them. Take out insurance policies on those draft eligible players. Many players who will be high draft picks get evaluations on where they will be selected. The insurance policy can protect them if they get injured and their draft position drops. That would give them the peace of mind to go out and perform without being worried about injury hurting their draft status. Also, because they are essentially professionals now, if you want them to play a meaningless game, compensate them. Teams could pay them a game check and a win bonus. This gives their first taste of professional life.

   

  With so much money being passed around college football there is surely a few dollars that can be spent to ensure the safety and security of players who have more to lose by playing than by not. Because the truth is players that are planning to go to the draft probably shouldn't be playing in the playoffs or national championship game either if they were going to opt out of non-championship bowl games. But like I stated earlier, whatever they decide to do, they are right.

   

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• Gene Therapy: Against The Grain

  Dec 17, 2021 Gene Clemons 1 Comments

  

   

  by Gene Clemons

   

  With a stroke of a pen, the college recruiting landscape was flipped on its head during the early signing period. Consensus number one overall player Travis Hunter decided to take his talents to…….Jackson Mississippi? That’s right! The 6’1” 160-pound cornerback shunned the advances of Alabama, Georgia, Clemson, and every other major Power Five player in college football. On signing day, the Collins Hill High School product turned his back on his long time commitment to Florida State and at his ceremony flung the FSU hat off the table, caught the Jackson State “J” hat flying at him from off stage and revealed the “I believe” tee that he was wearing underneath his jacket. 

   

  It was a banner day for Hunter who stole the entire day. It was another step for Coach Prime to show that what they were doing in the spring was not a fluke but in fact a new normal and a warning to the establishment that they and subsequently other HBCU programs would have to be respected as a legit factor in recruiting. It was celebrated by countless people who considered it a win for all HBCU’s and a win for the culture. But any time you upset the “natural order” the ugly never takes long to appear. The negative shots always start subtle and then crescendos to blatant full-fledged disrespect. 

   

  The first slight came when ESPN announced him as the second ranked player in the country. It's not that various scouting services are always aligned but when the news announces something it is usually based on the consensus. Whether it was done purposefully to lessen the magnitude of the moment or not, we will never know but it was not lost on people who followed the timeline of the announcement. 

   

  The second came with backlash from Florida State fans who declared Deion Sanders public enemy number one and denounced him as a true Seminole. "How could he do this to us?" Was a familiar phrase posted among the social media posts. The Twitter space titled "Fire Mike Norvell" flooded with people who believed there must be something wrong with the 'Noles coach if he is losing recruits to an HBCU.

   

  The disrespect continued to go deeper. The rumors that a significant corporate involvement by Barstool Sports in conjunction with Coach Prime funded an NIL deal that lured Hunter away from FSU or the other P5 suitors and delivered him to Jackson State. People commenting that Hunter will be in the transfer portal next season and that Coach Prime bought Hunter permeated throughout social media and on mainstream media debate platforms. It reached a climax when radio personality and former college basketball player Doug Gottlieb compared choosing a top FCS HBCU over a P5 school to choosing a Jewish D3 school over a P5. He also said that the decision was an obvious mistake. 

   

  The question becomes why? Why is it a mistake? Let’s examine some reasons people lay out and debunk these baseless premises. 

   

  There’s more exposure at a P5. False

   

  This is usually the first point that the uninformed make. Exposure is relative to talent. Many of these top talents don’t need a college to provide exposure anymore. They do it themselves. Many of the top recruits in college athletics have thousands upon thousands of followers. It could be argued that they help the needle move at the school they attend. This is a dilapidated way of thinking that predates the social exposure world we live in now. In this particular case, no school, including the P5 best teams, received more exposure than Jackson State since the arrival of Coach Prime. 

   

  You have a chance to play in front of large crowds full of adoring fans. True but…

   

  Have you ever been in a packed stadium of 50,000 and a packed stadium of 90,000? Both create a seemingly deafening sound. Both are electric. But the opportunity to play in front of a packed stadium full of faces that don’t look like you will never trump the feeling of a packed stadium full of people who look like your mother and father or could be a cousin. Do the fans at Florida State love you, or do they love what you can do for their team. The fans at an HBCU rock with you and want to see you succeed because they feel like when you succeed, they succeed. That feeling can not be usurped by a few thousand more people in the stands. 

   

  The education is better. False

   

  This is one of the most infuriating lies that many of these schools tell. Very similar to the lies that private schools tell players in high school, the idea that your education is better because it might cost more money is preposterous. HBCU’s have been recruiting and producing some of the best and brightest in all fields for many decades. They have done that for many years while being denied the same federal and state funding as their PWI contemporaries. It has long been preached that when you are black you have to work twice as hard to make the same mark in the world so HBCU’s prepare their students for the rigors of being black in a world that is already difficult. When they emerge, they are usually well versed in their field and ready to conquer the world. Which is why there are so many alumni doing well for themselves. 

   

  The coaching is better. False

   

  We have all heard the saying, “It’s not the X’s and O’s, it’s the Jimmys and Joes.” We make coaching important whenever we want to make the argument but in college normally it comes down to who can recruit better. It is no coincidence that when PWI’s were not accepting black players, HBCUs fielded mighty teams. Segregation saw these same school pilfer talent like a midnight raid at an auction house. They left HBCU’s to fight for talent that used to routinely populate their rosters. The coaching did not improve, the players did. But for the sake of argument in this case Hunter is a defensive back. He gets an opportunity to be mentored and taught by the greatest defensive back of all time who happens to be a meticulous student of the game and tireless worker. No other school on the planet can offer him that level of coaching. 
  

   

  Why would these P5 schools spend millions of dollars just on recruiting budgets every year if they were not setting up the opportunity to make that money back 100-fold? The recruiting budgets of programs like Alabama and Georgia hover around three million per year but the amount of money they generate is in the 100 million range. Their care for the player is based on the ability to continue to generate that type of money. How disastrous would it be for the P5 if all of these top recruits decided to follow Hunter to HBCU’s? The endorsement dollars and television rights deals follow the talent so don’t expect these schools to take this move by Jackson State lightly. They will hit back. They have already planned their smear campaign if things don’t work out. They will conveniently forget what just happened at Ohio State where a quarterback went to the school to get his million dollar NIL deal and the next season he was in the transfer portal. They will forget BYU brokering a deal to pay the tuition of all of their walk-ons essentially giving the team unlimited scholarships. They will overlook the NIL deal that Texas brokered for ever offensive linemen who attended the school in Austin. 

   

  The truth is they have no choice but to fight. They can’t afford to lose these assets, they can’t imagine life where they actually need to develop players and be patient with the process of building a team when you can’t infuse it with the best players in the country year after year. Congratulations to Travis Hunter for going against the grain. You can believe he will not be the last one.

   

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  Gene Clemons is a Sports Analyst and Contributor to CWN Sports. His weekly column and podcast - Gene Therapy focuses on Sports, Politics and Social/Urban issues.

   

   

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• Gene Therapy: Time For HBCU Football to Bump Up!

  Dec 11, 2021 Gene Clemons 0 Comments

  

   

  by Gene Clemons

   

  Every season when we arrive at the postseason for college football, the lack of representation for HBCU’s is staggering. Yes, the Celebration Bowl exists but that only spotlights two teams. This season the SWAC was “fortunate” enough to get a representative in the FCS Playoff. Florida A&M was a top 25 team and because of the way the first round is set up, not only did they have to go on the road, they were given a difficult first round opponent because of proximity. Meanwhile Holy Cross and Sacred Heart were able to play each other and neither one of them were ranked. The disrespect for HBCU programs in the FCS Playoffs is a yearly tradition which sparked the creation of the Celebration Bowl but it is just not enough. There's not enough exposure and nowhere near enough revenue generated through sponsorships and television rights. 

  At the Division 2 level it is even worse because there are no automatic bids. So the CIAA and the SIAC have been consistently squeezed out of playoff slots. This year Savannah State had a great season and didn't get a bid to the postseason. Albany State and Bowie State were the only representatives from HBCU's and they were both put against D2 playoff staples.

  Without much in the way of postseason representation how do these teams get to prove their mettle when the most eyes are on them? Recruiting the best and brightest has been a mission that Coach Prime has rejuvenated and we can already see the results rippling throughout the landscape. But regardless of what is said, how can you tell a student to turn down a scholarship to Ole Miss or Miss State to go to Jackson State. It is hard enough to get them to choose the Tigers over Southern Miss. At the end of the day the SWAC and MEAC both are FCS conferences and therefore considered lower than FBS programs. So that is always the trump card FBS teams play when recruiting the best. At the lower level they use playoff berths to out recruit HBCU programs. Because they can not attract the best talent the teams lose and then it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy and it is all recycled and used to continually paint HBCU programs in a negative light. 

  So what happens when a team begins to win? You would think everything would open up for them but unfortunately the preconceptions still exist and it is almost impossible to shake unless you do something to shake it. You have seen in recent years HBCU programs leave HBCU conferences with the belief that inclusion would allow them to further thrive but it has not taken shape. Storied programs like Tennessee State, Hampton and North Carolina A&T are treated as if they don’t belong in their new conferences.

  For years despite the product on the field fans have flocked to HBCU games. The pageantry that is supposed to surround college football is alive and well at HBCU’ s everywhere. The attendance numbers at many HBCU games rival or even eclipse those of teams in the Group of Five at the FBS level. The pageantry and fanfare at programs like Grambling, Southern, FAMU, Jackson State, Alabama State and so many more can make a tailgating situation outside of your favorite G5 school look like a mere picnic. After all, HBCU games are not just limited to the game itself. It is the night before and the night after. It is a true weekend experience when you talk about the football season at an HBCU. So why should the SWAC as the number one conference in attendance in the FCS subject itself to the Orphan Annie treatment at the hands of a lesser level. It is time to bump up and while doing so create a system that dramatically closes the gap between the FBS PWI and the new FBS HBCU’s.

  So how would it work? The college football landscape is changing and now is the time to jump up. It's not like the FBS is full of traditional historic conferences. Many have only been around for a short time so adding another conference would not hurt. Especially when that new conference would bring in attendance numbers better than the MAC. The SWAC has the most teams ready to jump to the FBS based on the teams that we've seen make the move recently. The conference would take a contingency of teams from all of the HBCUs and create a super conference of 16 teams divided into two divisions.

  The new FBS SWAC would be: Jackson St, Alabama St, Alabama A&M, Grambling, Southern, Alcorn St, Arkansas Pine Bluff, Texas Southern, Prairie View A&M, Florida A&M, Tennessee St, Hampton, North Carolina A&T, South Carolina St, Morgan State, and Delaware State.

   The new FCS MEAC would include: Bethune Cookman, Mississippi Valley State, North Carolina Central, Howard, Norfolk State, Savannah State, Fort Valley State, Albany State, Morehouse, Miles, Kentucky State, Lane, Bowie State, Fayetteville State, Virginia Union, Virginia State.

   The new SWAC as a FBS to schedule a Power Five conference team and not cost them strength of schedule because they played an FCS school. That would allow these HBCU’s to still take guaranteed pay games.. They could then schedule a FCS from the new MEAC and guarantee them a payoff that would help their bottom line. The FCS teams could do the same if they scheduled the remaining D2 schools for a pay game. It would allow every team to increase their revenue and demand a place at the table of the level they are at. It is a "for us by us" philosophy that may never come to fruition. People should ask themselves why it doesn't make sense when we consider that three teams who do not draw nearly as well as some HBCU squads are about to ascend to the FBS with nothing more than hope. 

  The time is now for HBCU teams. They are raising the bar with coaches who move the needle. Coach Prime has paved the way for Eddie George and Hue Jackson to join the ranks. They have shed light on the other talented coaches already at HBCU programs and that has helped to increase the talent pool attending those schools but that only scratches the surface. They have already begun to position themselves by galvanizing a strong conference. They should not let the train pass them by. 

   

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  Gene Clemons is a Sports Analyst and Contributor to CWN Sports. His weekly column and podcast - Gene Therapy focuses on Sports, Politics and Social/Urban issues.

   

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