Prized recruit is ineligible to play at Nebraska after enrolling at the school in the fall of 2006.
BRIAN ROSENTHAL / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Wednesday, May 28, 2008 7:00 pm
Nebraska men’s basketball coach Doc Sadler said he didn’t know highly touted recruit Roburt Sallie, who last week was declared ineligible by the Big 12 Conference, was in any such danger until two weeks ago.
And even then, Sadler was told a waiver request, which would’ve cleared Sallie, was a mere formality.
It wasn’t.
The source of the problem, Sadler said at a Thursday night news conference, was poor communication.
“More than anything, I think probably it’s just a poor, poor, poor, poor job on my behalf and academic services and compliance,” Sadler said. “And it’s inexcusable, and it’s not the way we want to do business.
“The blame goes here, and it goes to the basketball program. It’s my responsibility.”
Sadler said he didn’t know a problem existed until Nebraska faculty representative Jo Potuto, in a normal year-end review of compliance and academics with student-athletes, came across Sallie’s name.
Sallie, who’d attended classes for a four-day period in August 2006, had left Nebraska and attended a junior college.
He re-signed with Nebraska last November.
Apparently, that news didn’t make it through all corners of NU.
“According to her,” Sadler said of Potuto, “she did not realize that we had signed Roburt Sallie.”
Potuto discussed the problem in a May 11 meeting with Dennis Leblanc, senior associate athletic director for academics, compliance and planning, and David Anwar, assistant men’s basketball coach. Sadler learned of the situation two days later.
“At that time,” Sadler said, “Jo did not think it was going to be an issue.”
That’s why Sadler didn’t tell Sallie about the need for a waiver, “because I assumed it was just a process, that it was not going to be a situation where he was going to be denied.”
The problems began in August 2006, when Leblanc enrolled Sallie in classes. Because Sallie had not yet been cleared by the NCAA academic clearinghouse, it put him in jeopardy of violating Big 12 Rule 6.2, which states that any student-athlete who enrolls at a conference institution, part time or full time, must meet NCAA initial eligibility requirements.
Sadler, hired that same month from UTEP, said he knew and understood the rule. He said Sallie knew and understood the rule.
“Roburt was well aware,” Sadler said. “Dennis told him several times. Gary Bargen (assistant athletic director for compliance) told him several times.”
Sadler said he recently learned that Sallie had told Leblanc and Bargen that if he wasn’t cleared by the NCAA, he’d probably go overseas and prepare for a future in the NBA. In that event, it wouldn’t matter if Sallie would officially enroll.
Did Leblanc interpret that statement as Sallie’s wish to enroll?
“I can’t answer that,” Sadler said. “I don’t know what they interpreted that as.”
When Leblanc enrolled Sallie, nobody told Sadler, and Sallie was under the assumption that he wasn’t enrolled. So was Sadler.
Nebraska athletic director Tom Osborne said that because enrollment is done over the Internet, and no signature is required, that it’s conceivable that Sallie, even though he was present with Leblanc, truly didn’t believe he was being enrolled.
“I don’t know,” Osborne said. “Nobody knows for sure.”
Sallie was denied academic clearance by the NCAA, Leblanc withdrew Sallie from classes, with Sallie present, and Sallie left Nebraska.
Still, nobody told Sadler about Sallie being enrolled.
“I don’t know what happened, but there was obviously a breakdown in communication,” Osborne said, “and we’re going to go over it so something like this doesn’t happen again.”
Osborne defended Leblanc and Bargen.
“If there’s anybody in the country I would rely on to get things done the right way, it’d be those guys,” he said. “And Jo herself is tremendously competent.”
As for Rule 6.2, Osborne said he’s always been concerned about the Big 12 having rules above NCAA standards, because the NCAA rules are complete and complex enough.
“It just complicates things,” Osborne said. “Why we have those kinds of rules, I don’t know.”
Reach Brian Rosenthal at 473-4736 or brosenthal@journalstar.com.