Rick Pitino leaving federal court

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The gap between the Pay-for-Play news conference in 2017 by the federal government and the Monday announcement by the University of Louisville that its men’s basketball program had received it notice of allegations was a tidy 952 days.

This is a story that can be stretched 952 +1 days. Or more.

I posted my thoughts on the matter Monday. No death penalty. But likely another NCAA Tournament ban lies ahead for the Cardinals.

This is the perfect moment to share what others wrote will unfold next:

Pat Forde, Sports Illustrated

Forde, a teammate of mine at the local newspaper for 17 years, is the top writer on NCAA issues in the nation. But even he is uncertain how this case will be decided.

He called it the most complicated case since the North Carolina academic fiasco — and nothing makes the local readership howl more than a reminder of how North Carolina got nothing for its outrageous academic fraud.

Forde wonders if the Cards will get “smashed” for being a two-time offender who broke the rules while they were in the NCAA penalty box or if they will get leniency for sweeping out the previous regime.

His conclusion?

It’s too soon to have a conclusion:

“Whatever the outcome, it will be controversial," he said. "People will find fault with the ruling. There is no clear, clean outcome to the latest Louisville scandal, for anyone.”

Hard to argue.

Dana O’Neil and Danielle Lerner, The Athletic

They handled the story in conversational form, answering six questions about what is next for Louisville.

The Athletic is a subscription-only website so I’m not comfortable sharing a large portion of their story. But they agreed that Louisville was a bigger loser than Rick Pitino in Monday’s developments.

In fact, O’Neil said that the NCAA’s mention that Louisville had engaged in “intentional, willful and blatant” disregard on NCAA bylaws was not good. In fact, she said that is was “very bad.”

Her guess was that Louisville would receive “at least two years without the tourney.”

Mike DeCourcy, The Sporting News

A member of the U.S. Basketball Writers Association Hall of Fame, DeCourcy has long been a thoughtful and analytical observer of the national scene.

He wrote that Louisville should not get the death penalty but that it was possible the Cardinals would miss another NCAA Tournament and that Pitino would face a suspension at his new position as the head coach at Iona in New Rochelle, N.Y.

I agree, Mike. Pitino was locked out of his office at U of L because of not one, not two, but three embarrassing scandals at U of L. He has earned more time in the penalty box.

Like Forde, DeCourcy wrote that any NCAA decision would be hotly debated and leave somebody furious with how it is finally adjudicated.

Pete Thamel, Yahoo Sports

]Thamel reminded everybody that if you’re looking for a speedy trial, you’ve come to the wrong spot. Nothing moves slower than the NCAA investigative and judicial processes.

Thamel asked the question many have asked: Who’s going to get hit here — U of L basketball or Pitino?

His conclusion?

Both.

“The answer is that it will be some combination of both," he said. "And we’ll inevitably see athletic director Vince Tyra and Chris Mack rail on the NCAA for punishing kids who’d barely hit puberty back when the NCAA violations occurred.”

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