Michael Bradley will give up his scholarship to Andre Drummond this season. Bradley will qualify for significant financial aid due to his unique upbringing. He spent a good portion of his childhood at the Tennessee Baptist Children's Home in Chattanooga.
It's a pretty terrific gesture on Bradley's part. I've been told by those close to him that he has been willing to do it from the start, so long as everything works out financially, and that he didn't feel forced into doing it.
Still, the whole situation makes me a little uncomfortable. Why should a kid who obviously has come from a tough background have to forfeit his scholarship to a kid who didn't even decide he'd be attending college until a few days before classes started? And I'm not blaming Drummond here, either. He's 18 years old, after all -- he's allowed to be a bit indecisive, especially when you consider all the various pressures on him to finally make a choice.
I blame a system that allows these types of things to happen. And please, spare me the argument that John Calipari ran a bunch of kids off the team when he first got to Kentucky. You really want to be lumped in the same class as Calipari? Rick Pitino made players give up scholarships too, you say? Doesn't make it any less wrong.
Hopefully, everything works out well for Michael Bradley. We don't know the exact details of what kind of aid he'll be getting, and what kind of loans he may have to pay back. I'm going to assume that Jim Calhoun, who has always looked out for the best interests of his players, has done so here and has made sure that Bradley hasn't been put in a great financial burden.
I'm going to hope so, anyway.
I don't agree with the whole situation either...seems too shady. I hope that once he makes it to the NBA, Drummond will pay back any loans Bradley may incur this year.
ReplyDeleteBut isn't Michael Bradley a Pharmacy major? Pharma is a 6 year course at UConn and he would have had to pay for 2 years of school out of pocket (or with financial aid) anyway.
ReplyDeleteThis is the best thing to happen to the kid, you know, if he ever wants to play in the NBA.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.uconnball.com/blogs/uconn3432/andre-drummond-michael-bradley-hilton-armstrong-132/
The Pharmacy Major issue is an interesting one that I wish someone with access would ask about. Is this essentially a tuition quid pro quo for his redshirt last year? The red shirt gave him 5 years of a 6 year academic program on athletic scholarship, this would bring it back to 4, except that he'd be paying out of state tuition for the 2nd year of the program instead of the 5th. (I'm pretty sure the 5th and 6th years are more expensive than the first 4 anyway). Is there any possibility of him using another redshirt this season? The situation does make me a little uncomfortable but I do wonder if there's a little more to the story than I know about. Dave, do you think his 6 year academic program plays a role in this?
ReplyDeleteTrapper and Kevin ... you can't really be serious, can you? The excuses and rationalizations made about this situation -- "It's the best thing that ever happened to Bradley" -- are starting to drive me crazy. Give. Me. A. Break. It's one thing to be a fan, but maybe sometimes winning isn't everything. Don't you think?
ReplyDeleteAs for the pharmacy issue, I've been told that Michael is slanting his studies towards business. So I wouldn't make the assumption that paying out of his own pocket now will save him once he enters Pharmacy school, because I am not sure that is still in his plans.
Just read your latest piece on Bradley...And that's all I have to say about that.
ReplyDeleteYeah that's pretty amazing and also weird... but well if he's gonna do it, good luck to all people who's gonna participate because life is already expensive and many people can study because of this.
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