By now you've probably heard about former University of Georgia assistant basketball coach Jim Harrick Jr.'s 2001 quiz in the Coaching Principles and Strategies of Basketball class. It included such questions as:
How many points does a 3-point field goal account for in a basketball game?
Diagram the half-court line.
Why has it taken three years for this test to be released? Probably because, while it's funny, it's not that shocking. What, you thought major college athletes are under the same academic pressures as the kid with financial aid? Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha. You think my alma mater, Syracuse, admitted Carmelo Anthony last year because he intended to get a four-year degree? Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha. You think Cincinnati keeps Bob Huggins around because his players have an excellent graduation rate? Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha.
College sports. It's a business. There are exceptions, but it's a business. Ironically, Major League Baseball, the most maligned of the major sports when it comes to operations, does it best when it comes to developing talent: a professional minor league with no pretense.
In honor of Jim Harrick, Jr. (whom we wish luck finding another job) we present the PK.com version of the UGA quiz:
1. If Manny Ramirez walks half-way to first base after a sixth-inning home run against the A's, how many games will it take for Oakland to bean his punk ass in 2004?
2. If Sean Landeta, who just re-signed with the Rams, is 42 years old, how many years does he have remaining till he collects social security?
3. Diagram an Alex Rodriguez home run at Fenway Park.
4. The Red Sox got kicked in the gut when Aaron Boone hit his home run in Game 7 of the ALCS and again when he opened up the trade for A-Rod when he injured his knee by playing basketball. How many times have the Red Sox been kicked in the gut as a result of something Aaron Boone has done in the past five months?
5.I have eight tickets to the Friday, Sept. 17 game at Yankee Stadium against the Red Sox. How early will me and seven friends hit a bar before the game?
6. The Yankees are expected to win at least 100 games in 2004, while the Mets are expected to win about 75. Which minor league team is expected to win less?
If you answered at least one out of six questions right, you get an A!
I agree with you 100% that college sports is a business. While I was a paying student (on a partial scholarship) at Temple University (Philadelphia) I earned extra credit by tutoring a basketball star (who was there on a full athletic scholarship)HOW TO READ. Yes, you read that correctly- a young man on a full ride to a college to play hoops that couldn't even fucking read. What a kick in the balls to all of the academically talented people of the world who get stuck footing the bill for their education.
Posted by Cass at March 5, 2004 10:37 AM