Kadeezy
Active member
Looks like the great Ken Bone was involved too...!
Thursday, October 3, 2002
Huskies slap themselves
Dollar pays price for UW basketball recruiting blunders
By DAN RALEY
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
Cameron Dollar cried. He apologized profusely. And yesterday, the new University of Washington assistant basketball coach started serving a one-month suspension for committing at least 28 recruiting violations.
Part of a new staff headed by Lorenzo Romar and hired six months ago, Dollar was cited by the school as "an overzealous recruiter who stepped over the line" largely in the pursuit of two state prospects.
AP
University of Washington men's assistant basketball coach Cameron Dollar reacts during a news conference in Seattle Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2002. A UW internal investigation revealed Dollar, who works under head coach Lorenzo Romar, violated several recruiting rules.
"He made mistakes," UW athletic director Barbara Hedges said at an afternoon news conference.
"He's going to pay for those mistakes. This is horribly embarrassing. He could have lost his job. He could have not gotten another job over this. This is a very, very serious thing for Cameron Dollar."
UW officials placed other restrictions on Dollar, banning him from all fall recruiting and any off-campus recruiting until next July. They also cut his salary.
Reprimands of varying degrees also were issued to Romar, assistant coach Ken Bone and director of basketball operations Lance LaVetter, mostly for inadvertent violations. The entire staff was directed to attend a NCAA compliance seminar and skip an AAU tournament next summer.
Romar and Dollar also will be required to sit in on monthly UW compliance meetings, which are basically rules reviews.
The players in question weren't named in a UW report made public, but there were enough references to identify them as 6-foot-9 junior center Josh Heytvelt of Clarkston High School and 6-8 junior forward Marvin Williams of Bremerton High School.
Dollar, 26, made improper phone contact repeatedly with these players, or conveniently bumped into them or relatives during known "dead periods." The report said the coach, in his first job as a primary recruiter, felt the need "to hit the ground running" and become creative and aggressive in his player pursuit.
"I blew it," Dollar said, tearing up before reporters and UW administrators in the Don James Center. "I've shown this university in a bad light, and for that I am deeply sorry. To the prospects, fans and people who have supported them, I offer my deepest regrets. They're getting negative publicity and bad press as a result of my actions.
"I apologize to NCAA coaches all over for disrespecting the game and the sport."
Hedges said Dollar's job was spared because of his previously unblemished track record as a St. Louis University assistant for Romar, and no evidence of a blatant attempt to circumvent the rules.
She said the UW punishment meted out was sufficient, though both the Pac-10 and NCAA have the right to add to the penalties upon review. Each violation was secondary by itself, but collectively demanded a harsh reaction.
"We wanted to send a message to Cameron Dollar," Hedges said. "We wanted to send a message to the basketball program. We wanted to send a message to every program in the athletic department -- that violations are not tolerated."
AP
University of Washington athletic director Barbara Hedges talks during a news conference Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2002, in Seattle. The University of Washington will send a written report within the next two weeks to the Pac-10 to report multiple NCAA violations in its men's basketball program, Hedges says.
Romar also got emotional during the one-hour news conference. He apparently was unaware of Dollar's activities, which included showing up at a Clarkston restaurant at the same time as Heytvelt and his family, greeting them several times and then engaging in a cellular phone conversation with the player while both were still inside.
The UW report indicated Dollar showed up in Bremerton to watch Williams work out and had improper contact with the player's mother. The document also intimated that Gonzaga and North Carolina coaches were guilty of the same violations.
Romar spoke of meeting Dollar, then 17 years old, for the first time at UCLA, when one was recruiting the other. Later as assistant coach and player, they shared in the Bruins' 1995 NCAA championship at the Kingdome. The UW coach was steadfast in his support of his young protégé.
Chances are, Romar's unwavering loyalty was responsible for convincing Hedges to give Dollar another chance, even though Dollar admittedly wasn't totally forthcoming with all the facts when first interviewed.
"Nothing has changed in my opinion of Cameron," Romar said. "He made some mistakes, serious mistakes, but his ability to respond to those mistakes has shown me once again the champion that he is."
Revelations of Dollar's infractions came to light when coaches at Gonzaga, Washington State and Eastern Washington voiced their disapproval.
One of those staffs apparently alerted a national media outlet to look into the situation, with word getting back to UW officials that there was a problem.
AP
University of Washington men's head basketball coach Lorenzo Romar prepares to respond after listening to Cameron Dollar talk about how Dollar violated NCAA recruiting rules at a news conference in Seattle, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2002.
Youthful exuberance was cited as one reason for Dollar's recklessness. He also might have been under great pressure to make something happen after most of the state's top seniors recently chose other schools.
Rainier Beach swingmen Rodrick and Lodrick Stewart will play for USC, Stanwood point guard Ryan Appleby is headed to Florida, Franklin point guard Aaron Brooks picked Oregon and Mountain View point guard Derek Raivio will sign with Gonzaga.
The school also has instructed Romar's staff that it cannot engage in any off-campus recruitment of Heytvelt, nor initiate any phone or e-mail contact with him. He will have to come to them, a severe limitation.
Reached yesterday at home, Heytvelt said he is feeling the weight of recruiting, but has not eliminated anyone yet -- not even the UW.
"I really didn't know it was illegal that they couldn't come over," said the promising post man, who averaged 10 points and 7 rebounds per game as a sophomore.
"Right now, I don't know who I'm interested in. I'm getting pounded by a lot of schools. I'm getting pounded by my coach, who wants me to narrow it to five schools. I'm interested in everybody."
Pursuit of Williams could be moot. Some say he might have enough talent to skip college basketball and go straight to the next level.
He sounded sympathetic to the Huskies' plight, adding he isn't about to abandon the school over minor violations.
"He's a good guy, that Cameron," Williams said. "Yeah, they're all good people up there. I'm sure he didn't mean to do anything wrong."
Thursday, October 3, 2002
Huskies slap themselves
Dollar pays price for UW basketball recruiting blunders
By DAN RALEY
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
Cameron Dollar cried. He apologized profusely. And yesterday, the new University of Washington assistant basketball coach started serving a one-month suspension for committing at least 28 recruiting violations.
Part of a new staff headed by Lorenzo Romar and hired six months ago, Dollar was cited by the school as "an overzealous recruiter who stepped over the line" largely in the pursuit of two state prospects.
AP
University of Washington men's assistant basketball coach Cameron Dollar reacts during a news conference in Seattle Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2002. A UW internal investigation revealed Dollar, who works under head coach Lorenzo Romar, violated several recruiting rules.
"He made mistakes," UW athletic director Barbara Hedges said at an afternoon news conference.
"He's going to pay for those mistakes. This is horribly embarrassing. He could have lost his job. He could have not gotten another job over this. This is a very, very serious thing for Cameron Dollar."
UW officials placed other restrictions on Dollar, banning him from all fall recruiting and any off-campus recruiting until next July. They also cut his salary.
Reprimands of varying degrees also were issued to Romar, assistant coach Ken Bone and director of basketball operations Lance LaVetter, mostly for inadvertent violations. The entire staff was directed to attend a NCAA compliance seminar and skip an AAU tournament next summer.
Romar and Dollar also will be required to sit in on monthly UW compliance meetings, which are basically rules reviews.
The players in question weren't named in a UW report made public, but there were enough references to identify them as 6-foot-9 junior center Josh Heytvelt of Clarkston High School and 6-8 junior forward Marvin Williams of Bremerton High School.
Dollar, 26, made improper phone contact repeatedly with these players, or conveniently bumped into them or relatives during known "dead periods." The report said the coach, in his first job as a primary recruiter, felt the need "to hit the ground running" and become creative and aggressive in his player pursuit.
"I blew it," Dollar said, tearing up before reporters and UW administrators in the Don James Center. "I've shown this university in a bad light, and for that I am deeply sorry. To the prospects, fans and people who have supported them, I offer my deepest regrets. They're getting negative publicity and bad press as a result of my actions.
"I apologize to NCAA coaches all over for disrespecting the game and the sport."
Hedges said Dollar's job was spared because of his previously unblemished track record as a St. Louis University assistant for Romar, and no evidence of a blatant attempt to circumvent the rules.
She said the UW punishment meted out was sufficient, though both the Pac-10 and NCAA have the right to add to the penalties upon review. Each violation was secondary by itself, but collectively demanded a harsh reaction.
"We wanted to send a message to Cameron Dollar," Hedges said. "We wanted to send a message to the basketball program. We wanted to send a message to every program in the athletic department -- that violations are not tolerated."
AP
University of Washington athletic director Barbara Hedges talks during a news conference Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2002, in Seattle. The University of Washington will send a written report within the next two weeks to the Pac-10 to report multiple NCAA violations in its men's basketball program, Hedges says.
Romar also got emotional during the one-hour news conference. He apparently was unaware of Dollar's activities, which included showing up at a Clarkston restaurant at the same time as Heytvelt and his family, greeting them several times and then engaging in a cellular phone conversation with the player while both were still inside.
The UW report indicated Dollar showed up in Bremerton to watch Williams work out and had improper contact with the player's mother. The document also intimated that Gonzaga and North Carolina coaches were guilty of the same violations.
Romar spoke of meeting Dollar, then 17 years old, for the first time at UCLA, when one was recruiting the other. Later as assistant coach and player, they shared in the Bruins' 1995 NCAA championship at the Kingdome. The UW coach was steadfast in his support of his young protégé.
Chances are, Romar's unwavering loyalty was responsible for convincing Hedges to give Dollar another chance, even though Dollar admittedly wasn't totally forthcoming with all the facts when first interviewed.
"Nothing has changed in my opinion of Cameron," Romar said. "He made some mistakes, serious mistakes, but his ability to respond to those mistakes has shown me once again the champion that he is."
Revelations of Dollar's infractions came to light when coaches at Gonzaga, Washington State and Eastern Washington voiced their disapproval.
One of those staffs apparently alerted a national media outlet to look into the situation, with word getting back to UW officials that there was a problem.
AP
University of Washington men's head basketball coach Lorenzo Romar prepares to respond after listening to Cameron Dollar talk about how Dollar violated NCAA recruiting rules at a news conference in Seattle, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2002.
Youthful exuberance was cited as one reason for Dollar's recklessness. He also might have been under great pressure to make something happen after most of the state's top seniors recently chose other schools.
Rainier Beach swingmen Rodrick and Lodrick Stewart will play for USC, Stanwood point guard Ryan Appleby is headed to Florida, Franklin point guard Aaron Brooks picked Oregon and Mountain View point guard Derek Raivio will sign with Gonzaga.
The school also has instructed Romar's staff that it cannot engage in any off-campus recruitment of Heytvelt, nor initiate any phone or e-mail contact with him. He will have to come to them, a severe limitation.
Reached yesterday at home, Heytvelt said he is feeling the weight of recruiting, but has not eliminated anyone yet -- not even the UW.
"I really didn't know it was illegal that they couldn't come over," said the promising post man, who averaged 10 points and 7 rebounds per game as a sophomore.
"Right now, I don't know who I'm interested in. I'm getting pounded by a lot of schools. I'm getting pounded by my coach, who wants me to narrow it to five schools. I'm interested in everybody."
Pursuit of Williams could be moot. Some say he might have enough talent to skip college basketball and go straight to the next level.
He sounded sympathetic to the Huskies' plight, adding he isn't about to abandon the school over minor violations.
"He's a good guy, that Cameron," Williams said. "Yeah, they're all good people up there. I'm sure he didn't mean to do anything wrong."
