Wow - I thought you guys wanted me to let it go?

I've become a thorn in the side of KU fans. Cool.

But to be such a thorn, I have to keep in mind that some (note: I did not say ALL) KU fans have selective reading, which is quite similar to selective hearing. Meaning they only read or hear certain words or phrases.

The initial comments I received from the repost of an article I didn't even write encouraged me to just let it go, move on, quit carrying such a hatred, blah blah blah. I've tried. This is actually my third blog entry since then, but the comments, they keep on coming. And sometimes, they get personal. Let's stick to the subject at hand, shall we?

It's sad to a point, and eventually it just gets so dang ridiculous that maybe it is best to acknowledge that debating write and wrong with some people is like banging your head against a brick wall.

Let's look a little closer at two player situations: Darrell Arthur of Kansas and Keith DeWitt, an MU signee from Charis Prep School in North Carolina.

As some of you may know by now, it's been reported for the last few months that the NCAA was looking into the academic program at Charis Prep. It's been reported for awhile now that DeWitt may not make it through the NCAA Clearinghouse and be allowed to play basketball at Mizzou this in 2009-10. Yes sir, the NCAA really cracked down on this one!

Arthur, on the other hand, "graduated" from South Oak Cliff HS in Texas, and was cleared by the clearinghouse to play basketball for the Jayhawks of Kansas. According to the official KU website, Arthur was the 4th leading scorer on the team during his freshman season (2006-07) and started in 7 out of 38 games. Coming out of high school, he was tournament MVP his junior and senior years as his team won back to back state championships in class 4A. Sounds like a great player anybody would want on their team, right? In May of 2008, after 2 years of playing basketball at Kansas, WFAA-TV in Texas investigates and discovers the grade changing scandal at South Oak Cliff HS and learns that Arthur likely should not have graduated, therefore being ineligible to play basketball at Kansas. Here's a link to the story at WFAA:

Grade questions could void another SOC title

Now lets stop for a moment and emphasize a point. Missouri Head Coach Mike Anderson is not resposible for DeWitt's course selection or grades at Charis Prep. Neither is Bill Self responsible for the grade change situation involving Arthur and South Oak Cliff. The high schools are the ones submitting the transcripts to the NCAA and its up to the NCAA to clear the students to play. My argument today is with the NCAA.

Mizzou loses out on a player because the NCAA won't accept his core courses and rightfully so. Meanwhile, KU has a player on the court for them for 2 YEARS and it takes a Texas tv station to discover he didn't make the grade? Where was the NCAA clearinghouse looking on that one?

Mizzou is not perfect, I'll give you that. But in the past when Mizzou has tried to bend the rules a little bit, MU got caught and punished for it, often immediately. And I will say that I am thankful they did get caught in the past because when Mizzou gets to the final 4 and wins a national championship, then Mizzou fans can truly appreciate the journey of getting there and winning with honesty and integrity.