Background checks might not be confined just to certain jobs in the private sector in the future.
Colleges like Kansas University – hit with controversy and negative publicity after J.R. Giddens was stabbed in the calf in a May 19 melee outside the Moon Bar, combined with John Randle getting booted off the football team following legal issues – at least have discussed the possibility of having firms investigate prospective players.
“We’ve talked about it,” KU senior associate athletic director Larry Keating said of background checks, which are run on incoming players at the University of Oklahoma, a school believed to be the pioneer on the issue. “We’ve not made any decision either way. It’s a big undertaking in some ways.”
It’s an undertaking that might not be worth the cost.
“It sounds good, but you would have to look at it to see if it has value you’d want to get out of it,” Keating said. “If it can’t provide everything you need, you question if it’s worthwhile.
“If you look into it,” Keating added, “you may not have a big bank of information – not a lot of documented information about a 17-year-old coming out of high school.
“When people do background checks on potential employees, they have a history at (the age of) 25, 35, 40. When you have a 17-year-old, there’s not a lot of history unless it’s a police matter open to the public. If there are public records, you can run a name check.”
Generally, college coaches are able to unearth on their own a prospect’s personality traits and history.
“It’s something we gather as much information as we can in the recruiting process,” KU men’s basketball coach Bill Self said. “We feel we have a good feel for the players we bring in. It’s probably easier in basketball not dealing with as large numbers as football. I think it’s something we as a department should and will continue to look into.”
Giddens had history
KU, without the benefit of background checks, knew junior-to-be Giddens had at least one scrape in the past.
It was widely publicized Giddens was involved in a case involving stolen merchandise at an Oklahoma City Wal-Mart during his high school days. Giddens never was convicted of wrongdoing, and then-KU coach Roy Williams, who recruited Giddens, allowed him to fulfill his scholarship agreement.
Now coach at North Carolina, Williams learned an incoming player, JamesOn Curry, had run into legal trouble over drug charges. Williams passed on that player, who surfaced at Oklahoma State, a school fully aware of Curry’s problems, again without needing background checks.
“Through the coaches and parents, friends, teachers, the principal, guidance counselors and the neighbor down the street, grandparents : we talk to about everybody in the process,” Self said.
KU women’s basketball coach Bonnie Henrickson agrees. Since coaches can’t hold the players’ hands every step of the way, she says it’s even more crucial to recruit players she can trust to represent the program positively.
To do that is to know the people in the recruit’s inner circle.
“It’s not just the young lady we’re recruiting,” Henrickson said. “It’s the 10 to 15 people she’s close to. That’s very important to us.”
More checks to come?
Still, even more extensive background checks are being considered. What about any other policy changes in the wake of the Moon Bar melee?
KU athletes will continue to have a code of conduct to abide by, and the school will continue drug testing. Aside from that, it’s up to the coaches to make and enforce their own rules.
“You have to have people in the program you trust and make good decisions,” Self said. “Kansas has had that. We have had that.
“In this particular case, there were seriously poor decisions made. We will adjust and emphasize much more to create a better environment where better judgment is issued. As far as specific policies, I will never publicly announce those.”
Self stressed it was impossible for coaches to watch all their players around the clock.
“You can’t prevent situations in life in which there is not potential for confrontation. It could happen driving and somebody cutting into traffic and emotions rising,” Self said. “But you must always be respectful of the university you represent. I think it’s done through recruiting and education-type sessions.
“We talk about these things all the time. Impulses kick in. I will not make excuses because if you tell somebody 1,000 times, maybe the 1,001th time it’ll sink in. You shouldn’t have to do that. The uniform you wear should be enough to wear it proudly.”
Self said the buck stopped with the head coach when problems arise. The coach is praised when the team wins and must take heat when there’s a problem.
“Everything the players do is a reflection of the coach and staff,” Self said. “We have to educate our guys from entering situations with conflict in the situation. I would say that most parents are responsible for their children, and coaches are responsible for their players.”
Keating agrees to a point.
“You look at history,” Keating said, “the coach obviously has a responsibility to educate the kids what might be going on in that area. Sometimes kids make wrong decisions even when educated. Coaches do not pay for one specific incident. Three, five to seven years : if it’s happening to 50 percent of the recruits, you’d factor these things in an evaluation of the coach. Kansas and its coaches have an excellent track record. You do not hold a coach accountable for one incident with one kid.”
Will recruiting suffer?
KU had a strong track record this past season, something Self will mention in recruiting lest any schools use the Giddens incident against KU.
“I don’t know if it will or not. Short term it’s a concern,” Self said of negative publicity hurting recruiting. “Over time, I don’t believe it will. There are a lot of things we can sell.
“We can talk about graduation (of five players) and Wayne Simien winning the Senior CLASS award and Aaron Miles scholar-athlete of the year. These are things going good. We had 10 3.0 (grade-point averages) both semesters – that’s 10 3.0s.”
Keating, a former coach and AD at Seton Hall, said recruiting should not suffer.
“I don’t think it will hurt. This is the first time it’s happened to basketball. It is one issue,” he said. “Kansas has a pretty good history of kids being great kids. I’d stand pretty tall with the record of Kansas recruiting athletes in every sport is pretty good in terms of quality of the kids.”
The father of KU sophomore Rodrick Stewart, who has worked in weight training with college prospects, also says KU recruiting will not suffer.
“This is an individual situation. It will not have an effect on KU basketball at all,” Bull Stewart said. “Things happen. It’s part of life. It’s unfortunate this has happened, but I’m proud my son is going to Kansas and playing for coach Self.”
Former player Nick Bahe, who is headed to Creighton, added: “I think anything not positive in the media is not good for recruiting, but a kid’s decision to go to a school should be based on sheer relationship with coaches and players. Kansas will always get great players.”
