"As the Siena World Turns"

[statefan]

Olddog71 - I tend to diagree with the argument that Kojo needs to be treated more harshly than any other student-athlete who chooses to transfer because of the timing. For one thing, Siena had a scholarship recipient waiting in the wings in Duell, who by all accounts had been promised the next open scholarship. So, Siena does not lose full use of its scholarships. Secondly, they had already recruited their point guard of the future. While i realize that several years ago they recruited 5 guards at once (noting that only Tay Fisher remains), it is unlikely that they would have recruited another point guard if Kojo had made his intentions known earlier. Further, a Siena poster, Indian91, has stated that Coach McCaffrey knew of Kojo's intentions before Kojo asked for the release.

 

Believe me, i know that i am not unbiased, but it is still my opinion that Siena in making a mistake in their handling of this, and is also somewhat hypocritical. I go back to the timing of Duell getting a release from Vermont (note that Vermont obviously did not place any conditions as Duell met with Coach Brown, so he was obviously free to transfer within league); then Duell announced he was transferring to Siena and that his family would pay his way until a scholarship opened; then virtually simultaneously, Canisus recruit, Cory Magee (who Siena had recruited hard) got his release from his LOI, and little used Siena senior to be, Levi Osby transferred out. Some on the MAAC message board speculated that Osby was run off to free up a scholarship for Magee. So, the upshot of this is that Duell did not get the promised scholarship and Siena freely accepted a student-athlete who was released by a conference school (so, there obviously were no conditions on Magee's release, either.

 

My last point is that (and i'm not sad about it) the way this story is playing out will harm Siena's recruiting, as previously posted by Indian91. I've never recruited a student-athlete, and if i tried, i'd suck at it, but common sense tells me that when a Siena coach recruits an inner-city kid who is skeptical about coming to an upscale, mostly white suburban school, the recuiter at some time tells the student-athlete something to the effect of "just try it and if you don't like it in a year or 2 you can transfer and still have 2 or more years of eligibility" Most kids come and acclimate themselves and stay, but those who don't or can't should be able to freely transfer. Siena's handling of this will come back to haunt them in future inner city recruiting.

 

OK, my second last point - is it a coincidence that Kojo wanted to transfer when he saw the schedule of 2 games against NJIT, when he was probably promised that he'd be playing against higher competition?

[JonUA97]

Ok, after being away for a while I felt the need to catch up on posting...

 

I root for two teams:

 

The Univeristy at Albany Great Danes

and whoever is playing the Siena 'Aints.

 

End of story.

 

Like a blackhole

Siena still and always will....

SUCK!

[saints73]

Hey jon,

 

4 out 5 years!

 

Keep worlking that desk job in L.I.

 

Much love.

[bob87]

Hey jon,

 

4 out 5 years!

 

Keep worlking that desk job in L.I.

 

Much love.

15323[/snapback]

 

 

I go with Jon, Siena Sucks 5 out of 5 years.

But 4 out 5 years what?

Siena changed their coach or does it only seem that way.

4 out of 5 years the long established Saints underachieved.

It took for them to drop to 6 wins before they could exceed expectations.

 

4 or 5 years under coach Brown out of 5 UA has improved to the point they made their first NCAA appearance after this past season.

 

Good day

[alumni '92']

Ok, after being away for a while I felt the need to catch up on posting...  -JonUA97

i too have been away from the board for an extended period ... closing out the school year, recovering, etc ... w/the few moments i did have to view the site i was entertained by our siena friends, but chose to avoid contributing to the mudslinging ... simply stated, many on their side are unnerved by the UA ascent/potential for significant growth in the years ahead ... i've said it before, there was a time DIII/DII/early DI days where i was not confident that UA basketball/athletics would surpass siena for capital district attention/coverage/support, i think differently today ... factors are falling into place for UA to stride past a narrowly focused siena athletic dept. and aging fan base

[JonUA97]

Hey jon,

 

4 out 5 years!

 

Keep worlking that desk job in L.I.

 

Much love.

15323[/snapback]

 

 

I go with Jon, Siena Sucks 5 out of 5 years.

But 4 out 5 years what?

Siena changed their coach or does it only seem that way.

4 out of 5 years the long established Saints underachieved.

It took for them to drop to 6 wins before they could exceed expectations.

 

4 or 5 years under coach Brown out of 5 UA has improved to the point they made their first NCAA appearance after this past season.

 

Good day

15324[/snapback]

 

And this ladies and gentlemen is why we have a rivalry.

 

Why else would we talk about College Basketball in July?

 

It's like Crazy Eddie's Christmas in August....

 

It's Innnnnnnnsssssanne!

 

That is why DG04 asked me when the season is starting while watching baseball before the All Star Break last week at Shea.

 

BTW S73- In this summer heat I wish my job was a desk job....

 

Although I must admit my hospitals have good A/C units....

 

 

You know how we roll here ON LI (not in LI)....

 

......SSS

[Patch]

From the Siena site - Kojo may be welcomed back????????

 

http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?name=katz_andy

 

Siena balking at transfer requestposted: Thursday, July 13, 2006 | Feedback | Print Entry

 

Kojo Mensah wants out of Siena. That much is a given.

Siena isn't opposed to losing him, although the Saints will still take him back if he asks and have kept a scholarship open for him, according to Siena athletic director John D'Argenio.

 

Here's where it gets sticky, though.

 

If Mensah wants to transfer anywhere outside the MAAC and Duquesne out of the Atlantic 10, the matter can be peacefully mitigated. However, if Mensah and/or his lawyer can't agree with Siena on a conditional release, this situation will continue to be one of the more heated stories of the summer.

 

Here's the background: Mensah, who is the Saints' top returning scorer after averaging 16.6 points as a sophomore, let the team know in June that he wanted to transfer. The timing of that request irritated Siena, since it was after the spring signing period. In addition, his desire to possibly join friend Shawn James, who himself recently transferred from Northeastern to Duquesne to follow his coach, Ron Everhart, apparently has rubbed the Saints the wrong way, too.

 

The Saints won't call out Duquesne for tampering, but there is a clear hint that they don't want Mensah going there. Under NCAA rules, Siena has the right to release a player with conditions, meaning there are select schools to which Siena won't give a full release. A full release allows a player to receive athletic aid. A release that singles out a school, such as Duquesne, would mean the player would have to pay for his own scholarship.

 

Where does this mess stand as of Thursday? In a quagmire, as neither side even agrees on the facts of the case.

 

"It is my understanding that Kojo didn't submit any dates for an appeal and hasn't submitted a list of schools to get a release," D'Argenio said.

 

Meanwhile, Mensah's lawyer, Michael Rosenblatt of New York City, said Mensah did give a list, one that included Duquesne, Providence, UMass and St. John's.

"They want a blanket release with no conditions," D'Argenio said.

 

At least there's agreement on what Mensah wants -- a release with no strings attached.

 

Rosenblatt said, "Why can't he play at Duquesne? Why can't he play with Shawn? There is nothing illegal about wanting to play with a friend."

 

"I have my suspicions," D'Argenio replied about the possibility of tampering. "I want to go over this on a school-by-school basis. The ones I have a problem with, I won't release him [to]. I won't release him to any conference school and a few others.

 

"Generally, that's how it is done."

 

When asked specifically about Duquesne, D'Argenio said, "[Mensah said] he wanted to go to a higher program, be on TV more and improve his NBA chances. I have no problem with a young man thinking that way, but we have all of those laid out here at Siena. He can appeal or give us a list of schools [he wants releases for]. Based on what he said to me, I would expect a list of schools from the ACC and Big East. The last three or four times we played Duquesne, we beat them." (Siena actually is 2-0 since 2000.)

 

D'Argenio said that Siena had to make a decision on renewing Mensah's scholarship by July 1. Once he didn't act on an appeal, the Saints relinquished the scholarship -- something that is within their right. But D'Argenio added that if Mensah talked to the coaches and the team about coming back, he could do it and that "we haven't used his scholarship yet."

Meanwhile, Rosenblatt's response is that once they took away his scholarship, "they don't own him. They want to back him into a corner and take away his right to transfer and earn a scholarship."

 

Rosenblatt is threatening legal action and vowing that Siena won't get another player from the New York-New Jersey area, a charge that he likely has little to no control over with the sheer volume of talent in the area. Rosenblatt also was angered that Mensah's name was taken off the 2005-06 roster on the Siena Web site, but he remains in the team picture and also is on the team stat page. A school spokesperson said the team photo remains but the roster is updated once the seniors graduate or move on and/or players who are no longer on the team leave. That's why Mensah isn't on the roster.

 

Meanwhile, Everhart wanted no part of this controversy when approached during last week's Reebok ABCD Camp in New Jersey. He did say the Dukes don't have a scholarship available for next season. If that's true, this whole debate could be moot.

 

Nonetheless, no one will come out of this as a winner. Most coaches agree with Siena's stance on the conditional release.

 

Siena also is looking at itself as a destination, not a connecting stop. D'Argenio said he doesn't want Siena to be perceived as a developmental squad, especially after Jack McClinton transferred from Siena to Miami for the upcoming season.

 

When asked why it was OK for a coach to do that [like when Paul Hewitt left Siena for Georgia Tech], D'Argenio responded, "He had a contract that said there would be penalties in it if he did that."

 

Rosenblatt said he had "people" ready to donate to Mensah's scholarship fund to offset financial aid at a school like Duquesne, but he was informed that would be an NCAA violation.

 

For now, Mensah remains in limbo, until he either appeals (which Rosenblatt said he won't do, since the appeal committee is at Siena, which he claims is biased against his client) or gives the Saints a list that doesn't include a MAAC school or Duquesne.

 

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I guess the truth is out Siena is giving Kojo a major problem hoping he can't afford to pay for a year by himself and therefore be forced to go to the coaches and the team and ask forgiveness.

 

I guess this is the Saintly way to do business!

 

Siena win or lose really does not come across to well on this one.

 

I wonder who is lying the AD who said no list was rendered or Rosenblatt who says Kojo submitted one?

 

I also guess Duell is getting an education from all of this, when Kojo's "ship" was terminated it seemed that Duell was next in line but I guess he is limbo too.

[bob87]

This quote absolutely kills me.

 

"I have my suspicions," D'Argenio replied about the possibility of tampering. "I want to go over this on a school-by-school basis. The ones I have a problem with, I won't release him [to]. I won't release him to any conference school and a few others.

 

 

 

Yeah Siena may be following the letter of the NCAA law. But morally this is extremely weak. It sounds like they got nothing on tampering other than Darg's suspicion. I really hope word gets out to potential recruits. Come to Siena and if you don't like it Darg will decide where you can or can not transfer based on his suspicions and all knowing what is best for the kid.

[UAalum72]

The latest from the T-U: Mensah's lawyer stokes fire

 

Rosenblatt says he phoned in a list of schools; "D'Argenio is a liar".

 

Does Siena wish they got as little coverage in the T-U as Albany gets in the summer?

[Gorvy]

The latest from the T-U: Mensah's lawyer stokes fire

 

Rosenblatt says he phoned in a list of schools; "D'Argenio is a liar".

 

Does Siena wish they got as little coverage in the T-U as Albany gets in the summer?

15360[/snapback]

 

 

You guys are having fun now, but wait until this happens to your school. I hope our fans don't wish the ill will I've seen your fans display.

 

JG

[UAalum72]

You guys are having fun now, but wait until this happens to your school.  I hope our fans don't wish the ill will I've seen your fans display. 

 

JG

15362[/snapback]

Too late - they did when Gallup transferred.

 

And what has anyone 'wished' on Siena? Like when Will Rogers said that if he ran out of comedy material, he just opened up the Congressional Record, all we're doing is reading the paper.

[Patch]

Gorvy -

You guys are having fun now, but wait until this happens to your school. I hope our fans don't wish the ill will I've seen your fans display.

 

Most of what I have read on this site - is the rehashing of what has been in the media and/or of course what was written on the Siena site - with some rivalry editing.

 

What is surprising is how well D'Arg and the Administration has again tried to shield McCaffrey - when we all believe it was his decision from the start.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Now the following is from the Times Union not the mouth of any UA fan.

 

It's called others opinions and how Siena is viewed by some.

 

"Siena is trying to hold (Mensah) prisoner because they think he's going to come back to the school," Rosenblatt said. "They're playing a race card. They're taking an inner-city youth and trying to put him in a corner." - Times Union

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I can hear it right now it doesn't matter if it is in NYC or Iowa - in a conversation by a recruiter in a possible recruits home when speaking to a prospective Student/Athlete and his parent(s)....

 

"If you're leaning towards Siena, it is a fine institution BUT....... make sure it the right choice - you know - they do have a history in regard to wanting to release athletes who want to transfer......"

 

You know it will be happening forget about "street agents and/or advisors" most of the college coaches out are known to thrive on other schools "mistakes/misfortunes" or percieved mistakes/misfortunes.

 

For most ( of course not Siena or UA) - "Basketball Recruiting" is a dirty business top to bottom - if you don't believe that you're rather simpe or avoiding the truth.

Edited July 16, 2006 by Patch

[B9j2j6s]

Even though we are rivals I think I can speak for everyone by saying congrads to McCaffery and his wife on the new baby boy.

 

http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp...sdate=7/16/2006

[olddog71]

I'm mostly with Gorvy on this issue although I'm not exactly ready to accuse many of our posters over here with schadenfreude.

 

Mr. Mensah has simply not followed the rules, and then he expects everyone to bend over backwards to comply with all his requests. His timing has been particularly poor, and he should not expect to get off completely and avoid all the consequences associated with his indiscretions. If schools' administration has to play by the rules, then student-athletes should also be held up to the same standard of behavior.

 

It is noteworthy that the NCAA came out resolutely and relatively quickly on this matter. The NCAA ruling is testimony to how unjust Mr. Mensah's demands are.

 

I also dislike Mensah's attitude toward the school. He has displayed an utter disregard of loyalty to the institution that is basically giving him free clearance to obtaining an education. He could have made his decision much earlier.

 

I think that the Siena administration was put into a corner by Mensah's late desire to transfer. The school had to make quick decisions that would comply with NCAA regulations regarding transfers which caused the administration to look hard-nosed in the matter. Siena also gave this young man some choices to avoid the situation the two sides are in now. All the kid had to do was submit his requests in writing, and then the school could make a decision. It is galling that his lawyer, who should be very knowledgeable about such processes, seems to ignore this requirement. Everybody knows such requests should be put in writing!

 

Most deplorable of all, however, is the lawyer's decision to play the "race card." His ploy, at least for me, calls into question his whole strategy and all the legal maneuvers he has made on his client's part. I have no sympathy at all for such tactics. The lawyer is becoming very desperate and will stoop at nothing to get what he wants for Mensah.

 

It's too bad this matter has not already been resolved. At many points in these proceedings, Mensah could have chosen to defuse this situation and chosen another path to attain his goal, but he and his lawyer have opted instead for an uncompromised resolution.

[UAalum72]

I'm mostly with Gorvy on this issue although I'm not exactly ready to accuse many of our posters over here with schadenfreude.

No accusation necessary - I'll admit to it freely.

 

That doesn't mean I actually WISH misfortune on Siena; I'll just enjoy it.

 

As has been said, you can't make this stuff up.