Just last week we wrote about an ad taken out in a local paper criticizing the Arkansas basketball program under coach John Pelphrey. It was bad enough to have the fans questioning the direction of the program. Now they have to deal with an actual violation committed by the coach. CBS’ Gary Parrish posted a picture Thursday of Pelphrey posing with recruits Trey Smith and Archie Goodwin at a high school tournament in December:
The picture isn’t the problem, it’s that it proves Pelphrey had contact with juniors off-campus which is against NCAA rules. Off-campus contact with recruits can’t be made until after July 1st following completion of their junior season. Oops!
Typically I say question the rules rather than the entire NCAA body, but there’s nothing wrong with this one. Just being around recruits gives one coach an unfair advantage over the others who are following the rules, and that’s the bottom line.
