Tom Izzo estimates that 20% of college basketball recruiting involves cheating

Everyone knows that cheating goes on in the world of college athletics, they just don’t know to what extent. There are some who will tell you everyone does it. Others believe there’s no way their favorite coach could possibly stoop to that level. Whatever the case, the NCAA claims it is aiming to clean up college football and basketball — particularly the influence of sports agents on recruits. According to Tom Izzo, that’s going to require cleaning up about one-fifth of the game.

“I am not saying that cheating is 80% of the game,” Izzo told USA TODAY. “It’s probably 20%. But it’s probably 70% of the top 20% (of player recruitments). College basketball is a business. This (recruiting) is a business now because it leads to ours.”

In other words, most of the highly-sought after recruits wind up where then wind up because of some form of cheating. At least, that’s what Izzo thinks. If you don’t believe that then you need to pay closer attention. Izzo also said he has lost many recruits because he refuses to cheat.

The NCAA is attempting to prevent another Cam Newton scandal by both changing its rules and cracking down on violations. For example, college basketball coaches can now send unlimited text messages to recruits. The truth of the matter is there are always going to be ways to get around the rules. If the NCAA is somehow successful in preventing one form of cheating, another will be born. In the age of technology, we all have to just accept that cheating is a part of the game.