GW Responds to BBall Controversy
A week after a New York Times exposé about basketball stars attending unaccredited and academically-lenient high schools before entering college, GW has finally issued an official statement defending Omar Williams ‘06 and Maureece Rice ‘08 and denying any notion of academic favors for any athelete.
The statement in full, as released by Tracy Schario, director of media relations:
Senior Omar Williams and sophomore Maureece Rice were recruited by GW Men’s Basketball Coach Karl Hobbs in accordance with NCAA rules. The applications of both of these young men to the University were vetted by the NCAA Clearing House (Williams in 2002, Rice in 2004). Both students met the academic standards independently set by the NCAA to obtain initial athletic eligibility for Division I competition. As a result, both were eligible for consideration for admission as recruited student-athletes to The George Washington University.
While the NCAA more recently began a review of its procedures regarding how the Clearing House manages its oversight responsibilities, this should not tarnish the good reputations of these two young men, nor should it reflect negatively on Coach Hobbs, the GW Men’s Basketball program or the University.
Both Williams and Rice are successful student-athletes at GW, and the University is proud of their achievements. Williams has made the Dean’s List and is scheduled to graduate this May. In fact, there are four seniors on the team, and all are expected to graduate in May. Rice, a second semester sophomore, has made satisfactory academic progress and will have completed half the requirements for his sociology major by the end of the current semester.
“I have great confidence in Coach Hobbs and the University’s admissions policies for student-athletes,” said GW President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg. “I trust Coach Hobbs to make recruiting decisions that not only meet NCAA guidelines, but also bring student-athletes to the University who display good citizenship, character, motivation to succeed in the classroom and who help build a quality team that fosters loyalty to and pride in the University. He is a teacher/coach. I would have been honored to have had my two sons under his leadership.”
“Success invites scrutiny, but a sense of fairness based upon the facts surrounding eligibility and academic progress must ultimately prevail,” added GW Senior Vice President for Student and Academic Support Services Dr. Robert A. Chernak. “This may be a legitimate issue nationally, and I applaud the NCAA for researching appropriate remedies. But these two young men represent success stories, not problems. We are all immensely proud of Coach Hobbs, this program and these two members of our highly successful basketball team.”
As Coach Karl Hobbs has said, “Part of my responsibility as a coach is to offer opportunities to young people who have a burning desire to graduate and the character and desire to want to succeed. I saw those qualities in these two young men. Their individual achievements in the classroom and on the court have only served to reinforce my confidence in them.”
The Times article, published on Saturday, revealed a number of high schools in which the student body is only composed of basketball players and the only teacher was the coach. “These athletes were trying to raise their grades to compensate for poor College Board scores or trying to gain attention from major-college coaches,” said the Times article. GW was specifically mentioned in the article.
President Stephen Joel Tractenberg and Karl Hobbs spoke to the New York Times earlier in the week when this followup article appeared on Tuesday:
Few basketball programs have benefited from recruiting players from Schofield and Lutheran more than George Washington. The Colonials are 24-1 this year and ranked No. 7 in the Associated Press poll. Two of the team’s best players, Maureece Rice and Omar Williams, played at schools run by Schofield. The George Washington president, Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, had a strong reaction to The Times article.
“I was embarrassed,” he said.
Trachtenberg said that he planned to forward the article to the vice president, the admissions office and the athletic director.
Asked if having two players from Lutheran tainted the Colonials’ season, Trachtenberg said: “Well, it’s hardly good news. I wished they’d all gone to Andover and Horace Mann and finished first in their class. I’m curious how they’re doing while they’re here.”
The athletic director, Jack Kvancz, refused comment. Coach Karl Hobbs said he never met any teachers or counselors while recruiting Williams and Rice, despite their academic struggles at the high schools they attended before Lutheran. He also refused to answer questions about whether he knew the school was unaccredited.
Hobbs defended Rice, a sophomore who will turn 22 in March, and Williams, a 24-year-old senior, by saying that when one talks to the players, it is obvious that they are educated young men.
Hobbs pointed to the lack of resources in inner-city schools. “I do think part of my responsibility as a coach is to offer opportunities to kids that have a burning desire to want to graduate and kids that have the character and the desire to want to succeed,” he said.