European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 23, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 24 the stars and stripes Friday november 23, 1990 Book review uncovering an ugly game a Victory at All  without Victory there is no  a Winston Churchill by Rob Staggenborg staff writer Alexander Wolff and Armen Keteyian showed that College basketball lives by Churchill swords. They wrote a raw recruits a a biting epic on corruption in College basketball recruiting. The result is a jaw dropping account of How big name colleges Corral recruits. Wolff a sports illustrated writer and Keteyian an Abc sports correspondent released the Book during the Mcaa basketball tournament last Spring. A raw recruits takes us inside Pandora a package a red Emery worldwide express envelope that contained a videotape and $1,000. The envelope was addressed to a 6-foot-7-Inch kid named Chris Mills. The return address was from the University of Kentucky a school in hot Pursuit of Mills. It was Early april 1988. At 11 55 a.m., Chris Mills signed for the package. Within months Mills signature led to a Chain of events that would eventually Cost Wildcat coach Eddie Sutton his Job put assistant coach Dwayne Casey in front of a jury and Mills under a dark Cloud. Rick Pitino succeeded Sutton on the Wildcat Bench. . Newton was hired As the schools new athletic director. Casey was cleared of wrongdoing less than a month ago. Mills Well he played 39 minutes of his final game As a Wildcat on March 10, 1989, hitting 8 of 14 from the Field and sinking a 3-Pointer in a 77-63 loss to Vanderbilt in the Sec tournament. A coaches buy kids to buy wins to buy time. A that is just one of the hundreds of truths that enlighten readers of the Book. Wolff and Keteyian hit the proverbial shot at the Buzzer with the Book which is appropriately subtitled a the High stakes game colleges play to get their basketball stars a and what it costs to  the Cost of winning is compromising Mcaa rules. Why according to Wolff and Keteyian winning is the ultimate for it keeps the paychecks coming and smiles on the right faces. As Churchill put it a without Victory there is no  at first glance a Reader May dismiss the authors As just another pair of sportswriters who do nothing but whine. While Wolff and Keteyian revert to lecturing their readers at times the sermons Are so masterfully written Well documented and sound that one May not realize he has been lectured. The gut of the Book is no different than Peter Golan Bockus a personal fouls and daily newspaper accounts of College basketball. But Wolff and Keteyian dig deeper. Readers should realize that College basketball is a billion Dollar Industry that is deep rooted throughout la the High Slakes game colleges play i get their basketball stars anti what it costs to win Alexander Wolff and Armen Keteyian the country. Every state May not have a pro team but every state has a College basketball team. Corruption in College athletics is hardly novel. It is a deep reaching problem Well documented by television and newspapers. Where Wolff and Keteyian Excel is the depth of their reporting. They detail How the pressures exerted on a College coach come from upstairs namely an athletic director who says he wants his team in the final four for patriotic reasons. In reality the and wants the megabucks from the final four. A i can to believe this. All the Money we pay these boys and they still can t get my defense  a Adolph Rupp former University of Kentucky coach. The recruiting process is borne out of a darwinian desire to outdo the other Guy. When a High school All everything from Podunk ky., becomes available to colleges the cutthroat chronology begins. A raw recruits covers that process in depth. It reports what happens beyond the free to shirt ticket to the football game the Little stuff. There Are Brand new cars for recruits. Cash is never a problem. Girls Well they just kind of magically float around you on visitation Day. Its a bidding War. The richest schools Are always some of the last choices recruits. A a Friend of mine called me recently a coach said a Gary you re Gonna hear rumours that in a cheats and i want you to know they re True. Five got a wife a kids. The league in a in it s the Only Way i can survive a new Mexico coach Gary Colson. Wolff and Keteyian discuss a code employed coaches of big name schools. It boils Down to t smacking reality never Tell on the other Guy. If you d you re out of the sacred fraternity of coaches. You Are social outcast. When a a recruits hit the bookstores last be coaches fumed. Sutton is painted As a sweaty brow Type who does no to take to being outbid graciously. M Souris Norm Stewart is shown As a less than Hou Orab servant of the hoop gods. The books course includes recruiting children Young As 11 years old to Nike and Reebok summer basketball Camps. The subject is distressing though the co authors a die it with dignity. They cite the Case of a Lorenzo be Luai considered at one time to be the Best 12-year-o in California and also the product of a poot household Lorenzo a father David saw his songs athletic Abili As a get Rich Quick scheme trying to squeeze $5,000 o of one recruiting suitor. The authors write a David is a Broad shouldered an warm Man who Speaks English with More confident than nuance. But As a doting Parent he has picked up sophisticated knowledge of where his boy fits in the hoops pecking order. He understands fully Why Hig school coaches have been calling his  the authors also charge that under the table Indue ments such As free sweatsuits free Tennis shoes and fre warm up bags abet the corruption. Pat Barrett an . Summer basketball league coach put it this Way a fall hands Are out. A pair of nikes and sweatsuit to a sixth grader is like $100,000 to a Colleg  the implications of feats far worse than pilfering from a shoe company a Reserve also abound in this Book a raw recruits does not take an overtly firm Stan against the corruption but it reports enough evidence denials and rebuttals to Sway opinions in that direction Wolff and Keteyian present enough detailed evidence that even the hardest heart could not justify the Means. A raw recruits should be required Reading for any one who has a love for basketball. The Book demolished a game that has been patched up for years and suggest Why schools have lost control of their recruiting pro Grams. The Book will be available in paperback by Early de Cetner in the states. The stars and stripes Bookstore will carry the hardcover edition at selected locations. A sometimes i wonder what dishonesty is. Is it Dishon est for a kid to be paid. Oris it just against the rules a a John Thompso Georgetown basketball Coa author Wolff devours College hoop cheaters by Rob Staggenborg Stai writer done to expect Alexander Wolff to be elected to a Public office in Kentucky. Or Missouri. The sports illustrated writer burned those Bridges with last years a raw recruits a an exposition on the corrupt Ness of recruiting in College basketball he wrote with Abc sports correspondent Armen Keteyian. With each Page comes a different implication. With each Page a different twist to the twisted realm of recruiting in College athletics. Despite paving the Way for former Kentucky coach Eddie Sutton a removal and Missouri a recent probation Wolff remains the same person As he was when he and Keteyian embarked on their journey through the ludicrous. Despite the rumblings around the collegiate Hardwood Wolff is Back on the Trail for is covering College basketball. A raw recruits is scheduled for release in paperback next month in the states. Wolff and Keteyian added an epilogue. It has been a weird year Wolff said by phone from his port Smith n.h., Home of fice. A a number of coaches have gone out of their Way to say they appreciated the Book a he said. A these Are the mid level coaches. They said it accurately portrayed the pressures of coaching. We tried to be fair and we tried to give everyone a Chance for a  the Book opened More than one set of eyes. A even got a nibble from Hollywood a said Wolf. Alexander Wolff a that should be interesting because in this Case reality is stranger than  a raw recruits brings the underground network of Street brokers Over zealous College recruiters and can to miss prospects with outstretched hands to Light. The Book documents the scandalous dealings involved in College basketball recruiting including improper inducements such As cars recruitment of players As Young As 11 and the hidden Power of shoe companies to Sway a recruits decision. The Book includes reports that sixth graders in los Angeles have been known to receive up to $15,000 to play basketball. A Carmen and i agreed that the first thing that shocked us was How savvy these kids Are a said Wolff. A a it a amazing that sixth graders have a sense of their Worth in the pecking order. Kids look for something material As a status Symbol. Kids have an acute sense of Worth. A when a kid makes up his mind where he a going to go to school he a smart enough to take his five free visits so he can travel and see the country. Just ask the University of Hawaii coach How Many recruits have been  Clemson coach Cliff Ellis on a trip through a Safe basketball clinic Las year favored bringing Back a a land  that is give the players some thing to live on. A Carmen believes passionately that Kia ought to be paid and in a leaning tha Way too a Wolff said. A but if we hav rules then we need to follow them. A there Are a lot of Young people involved Here a lot of kids. I Hope All educators players and even kids read this Droit. They need to know that everyone s trying to get a piece of you. There Are a lot lessons to be Learned Here. A where do we begin in be never been Able to answer that completely. The n Small step toward sanity is to divorce lege basketball from the production Money. What the Mcaa has done which is just a baby step a 1s App Rev committee to determine How that Mon y will be split up. ,. A in. A we did no to want to put anybody on pm done to say that too loudly in Kentucky. Or Missouri