Tom Talks: Here’s how to start cleaning up college basketball

The men convicted five months ago of wire fraud and conspiring to commit wire fraud were sentenced Tuesday. A federal judge sentenced James Gatto, a former Adidas executive, to nine months in prison, Merl Code, a former Adidas consultant and amateur league director, to six months in prison, and Christian Dawkins, an aspiring business manager, to six months.

More trials are scheduled. But there’s no way authorities will scrub out all the bad guys and make college basketball clean and neat. Gatto, Code and Dawkins aren’t outliers. They’re part of a system. A lot of money is passed around, and a lot of hands are out to grab it.

The crux of the wire fraud convictions are simple transactions. An agent offers money to the families of high-profile high school players if the players agree to attend a certain school, a school that, say, wears Adidas uniforms and shoes.

I don’t know how to clean up the sport. But there are two methods I’d adapt to make the sport less dirty, one of which will happen.

The first (and unlikely to happen) is to pay college football players and men’s college basketball players. As expensive as college has become, room, board and tuition scholarships are insufficient.

The two sports that can make money are men’s basketball and football, as TV money and the salaries of the head coaches in those sports attest. Women athletes and men who play baseball, track, tennis, hockey and every other sport will be angry. But paying all college athletes isn’t feasible.

The second method, and the NBA will do this, is to free basketball players from having to spend a year in college. Finish high school, and if you think you’re good enough, go pro.

This is how LeBron James and Kobe Bryant did it, and many players you’ve never heard of did it, too. But in 2005, the NBA changed the rule that aided James and Bryant. A player has to be 19 or one year removed from high school to be eligible for the NBA.

The arguments we can make to keep that rule are obvious. Not all high school stars are prepared for the rigors and challenges of professional basketball, not physically and not mentally. And doesn’t an athlete learn, by osmosis if nothing else, by spending a year on the campus of, say, Duke or North Carolina, and presumably going to class?

Unless we’re a young man’s parent, guardian or adult authority figure, we aren’t entitled to tell him what to do. A lot of South Carolinians told Spartanburg’s Zion Williamson he should stay in his state rather than go to Duke. Did they have the player’s best interests at heart, or their own?

Athletes in sports such as baseball and tennis turn pro when they choose to. Why shouldn’t basketball players have the option?

If Williamson, class of 2018, wanted to go straight from Spartanburg Day to the Phoenix Suns or Sacramento Kings, that should be his choice. Of course, I’d much rather watch him at an in-state school than get an occasional glimpse of him on an NBA team. But Williamson doesn’t owe me that, and neither does the NBA.

What happens to college basketball when great high school players no longer are required to engage in a year of higher education? What happens to the coaches who are genius at attracting players who leave after a season?

This is what happens. Instead of recruiting fantastic players such as Williamson, they recruit very good players such as Miles Bridges.

The Charlotte Hornets drafted Bridges with the 12th pick in the 2018 draft. Although a rookie, he has delivered many of Charlotte’s did-you-see-that plays this season.

Bridges, who turns 21 in two weeks, played two seasons at Michigan State. He was a very good freshman basketball player. Now, imagine that the fantastic high school players skipped college and went pro. Imagine that Bridges, a five-star recruit, gave college a try. With the straight-to-the-pros players out of the way, Bridges’ collegiate impact would have been even greater.

In the NBA, more than in any other sport, fans cheer for players. James is coming to town, Stephen Curry is, Giannis Antetokounmpo is – and in a related development, so are their teams.

Williamson is an exception, because we have not seen anybody like him in college basketball, and everybody wants to watch. But as much as college fans love their players, the most talented of those players are temps; they’ll spend less than a year on campus, and then leave. More than individuals, college fans are true to their schools, their coaches and their brand.

Many high school stars will need seasoning, and the NBA can use the G League to accommodate them. The NBA can sign them to two-way contracts, where they’ll bounce from basketball’s minor league to the big league, the way Charlotte’s Devonte Graham and Dwayne Bacon have this season.

College basketball is a beautiful game, and the NCAA tournament is as fine a way to end a season as man has devised.

But if you hold the game to the light and examine it closely, there’s an underside. Every time there’s a trial, we’ll get a better view.

Montez Sweat likely out of reach for Panthers

Football junkies knew about Montez Sweat long before the NFL combine. Football junkies knew about him before he was considered a player the Carolina Panthers might draft. Football junkies watched him Mississippi State.

But we all know him now. Sweat, who is 6-foot-6 and weighs 260 pounds, somehow ran a 4.43 40-yard dash at the combine.

The modern day 40 record by a defensive lineman lasted 13 years. Manny Lawson, who is from Goldsboro and played defensive end at N.C. State, set it in 2006. The San Francisco 49ers took Lawson with the 22nd pick in the first round of the ’06 draft, and moved him to linebacker. A detail that might help you remember that draft; the Panthers, who picked five spots after the 49ers, selected running back DeAngelo Williams.

A 4.43 is a number that pleases most running backs and wide receivers. How does a 260-pound man do that? To put Sweat’s size in perspective, nobody on the Charlotte Hornets’ roster weighs as much as he does. Bismack Biyombo, 6-9 and 255, comes the closest.

The Panthers need a pass rusher to complement Mario Addison, whom, I always feel obligated to point out, is himself a big-time pass rusher and player. Wouldn’t you love to see Sweat there?

The problem for the Panthers is that 15 teams draft before they do, and at least four of them could use a pass rusher. Sweat is too big and fast to be a secret. If he falls to Carolina, fans should rejoice. The Atlanta Falcons pick two spots in front of Carolina. If they take Sweat, does that ruin the first round or your life?

A player many of us have watched is Clemson defensive end Clelin Ferrell. He’s 6-5 and 250, and as you know, intense. He had 11.5 sacks last season, and 21 the last two, and what he has, he gives. Start him at defensive end, and watch him go.

If Sweat and Ferrell are gone when Carolina drafts, there’s an intriguing pass-rush candidate -- Jachai Polite of Florida. He’s 6-3 and 258 pounds (Addison’s size) and had 11 sacks last season. His weight fluctuates.

Like Addison, Polite might begin as a designated pass rusher. He ran a 4.8 40 at the combine, has an array of pass-rushing moves, and goes after the quarterback as if its what he’s designed to do.

Is there any way, with such a glaring need for a pass rusher, the Panthers take an offensive lineman or defensive back with their first pick?

Sure. They could take somebody who is expected to go top 10 or even higher but slides down to 16. It could a big name. It won’t be Sweat.

Relationships with media can be complicated

Last week, Harry Pickett, a friend and the Charlotte Observer’s deputy sports editor, retired. Even though I left the paper at the end of 2015, I returned to write this weekly newsletter, or column or, well, thing. I’ll miss a lot about Harry, including our conversations about Muhammad Ali. We both adored the man, and every conversation felt fresh and new.

After Davidson’s victory against Fordham Saturday, Harry was invited to the Wildcats’ locker room. He had no idea what was coming. Coach Bob McKillop stood with Harry and talked about him, and his interest in Davidson. McKillop gave Harry an autographed game ball, and asked his players to give him a Davidson hug.

What interested me is this: The relationship between the media and the people we write about can be adversarial

I’ve had wars with players, coaches, owners and general managers. I like those who tell you why they’re angry rather than let it simmer, and some have been very good at that.

One man called me and yelled so loudly that after getting the gist of his message I held the phone away from my ear so I wouldn’t lose my hearing. My then wife was upstairs on this Friday night, and she heard the yelling from my cellphone, which was downstairs with me. If you lived in the neighborhood, you might have heard it, too.

She asked, “Is it X?”

I mouthed, “Yes.”

X was wrong, incidentally. The column was fair. I promise.

To expect every relationship to work, or even to be civil, is silly. One guy I admire called and blasted me five seconds after I had walked out of a barbecue restaurant. The food was good. The conversation was terrible. A source gave me inaccurate information, and I trusted him.

“There’s a place in hell for sources like that,” said the caller.

Yeah, but I believed him, so the error is mine. I offered to correct it. He asked me not to, and said please. He didn’t want to call attention to the inaccuracy.

I ran into Allan Bristow, the former Hornets coach, after not seeing him for decades. Talking to him about the old days made us laugh. I love seeing former Hornets coach Paul Silas and his wife, Carolyn, who are still in town. When they left with the team for New Orleans, Carolyn called to thank me for what I wrote about Paul. I never had to write about Paul. I got to.

I enjoy talking to Dom Capers, the first coach of the Carolina Panthers, on the rare occasions I see him. I run into racing’s Rick Hendrick or Felix Sabates, and the conversation always comes easily. I see boxers and promoters and managers I use to write about and, because I was their connection to the Observer, it’s like seeing an old friend. Better, it is seeing an old friend.

Several months ago, I ran into Mark Maye, the world’s nicest guy who once was a tremendous athlete and is the father of famous sons. It took me a minute to recognize him. It had been 20 years, or 30, since we’d talked. But we talked as if it had been only a few minutes. I felt like I had won something when I walked away.

I met Virginia coach Tony Bennett when he backed up Muggsy Bogues as the Hornets’ point guard. Bennett was a good guy with a famous name, and he was humble. Going against Bogues every day in practice will teach humility. Bennett doesn’t have to be humble now; he’s one of the best coaches in college basketball.

He was on a bus with his Virginia team, headed from Charlottesville to Charlotte for the for the NCAA tournament, when he returned a call. What big-time coach will call from a bus? I’ve run into Bennett several times. Despite his success, he’s the same guy.

So is the guy he backed up in Charlotte – Bogues. When I run into Bogues or any of the original Hornets, we have fun. When the team was assembled, I had no idea how special the group was. Nobody did. Even the players didn’t.

There always will be inherent tension in the relationships between the media and those we write about. I understand that some people won’t like me, and accept it. It’s how the business works.

And then there’s McKillop, who is such a fine leader. You can see why his players follow him. If coach believes, why wouldn’t they?

Yet when I see him, there’s always a price to pay. No matter what I wear, I feel poorly dressed.

Bob is smart and he’s interesting and he has many fine suits, and his post-game celebration was not a surprise. I texted him afterward and told him that what he did for Harry was classy.

He returned the text, and about Harry he wrote: “What a classy guy.”

Class all around.

West Charlotte should have hosted playoff game

My West Charlotte High Lions beat the Ardrey Kell Knights Tuesday in their state quarterfinal basketball game.

I say my because I like underdogs, and the powers that be turned the Lions into one. The game was played at Vance because Vance can accommodate 1,100 fans in its gym and West Charlotte can accommodate only 450. As the higher seed, the Lions had earned home court.

The N.C. High School Athletic Association apparently made the call; the moving the game rule is predicated on anticipated attendance.

But what a dangerous precedent it sets. Virginia and Duke played Jan. 19 at Duke’s Cameron Indoor Stadium. The matchup between great teams and programs also was highly anticipated.

Yet Cameron seats only 9,314 fans. North Carolina’s Smith Center, which is 17 minutes away, seats 21,750. Should the ACC have moved the game there?

Racial tensions in our city, and just about every other, are high. That tension was exacerbated when one of Ardrey Kell’s best players wrote a racial slur directed at West Charlotte’s players, on Snapchat. He was suspended for the game, and his father apologized effusively.

Ardrey Kell is 58.8% white, West Charlotte 84.4% black.

Look. I understand why the game was moved to Vance. This was the most anticipated high school basketball game in Charlotte in years. Why not allow as many people as possible to watch?

But West Charlotte planned to host this game, and earned the right to. There are traditions. Go to almost any high school gym where people care about basketball. Fans and parents and former players gather, and some sit with the same people in the same place every time.

A game is an important piece of a community. Pride is involved, and it wears school colors. See those kids on the court? You know them or you know their parents or know somebody who does. West Charlotte is your place as well as theirs, and everybody in that packed little gym gets to play a part in it. Afterward, fans gather in their places to celebrate or commiserate, perhaps near the school.

According to MapQuest, Vance is only 8 miles from West Charlotte (and 27.7 from Ardrey Kell). West Charlotte fans showed up early Tuesday and claimed most of the space.

But the gym wasn’t theirs. This was West Charlotte’s game, and it was wrong to take it away.

Short takes: Hornets’ playoff hopes; hopes up for Deacons, 49ers?

▪ The Charlotte Hornets are tied for eighth in the Eastern Conference with the Miami Heat going into, appropriately enough, Wednesday’s game at Spectrum Center between Charlotte and Miami.

Other games with playoff implications Wednesday are Cleveland at seventh-place Brooklyn and Minnesota at sixth-place Detroit. I’m pro playoff implications.

The Hornets can be tough to watch because they are consistent only at being inconsistent. They’ll win a game they’re supposed to lose, and lose a game they’re supposed to win.

Point guard Kemba Walker is a talent, and a show, although lately he hasn’t shot as successfully as we’ve come to expect. If you’re 6-feet and carry a team, legs will tire.

After Walker, it’s guard Jeremy Lamb. And after Lamb, well, you don’t know.

Charlotte wants to support this team. I know that some fans would rather have a lottery pick than a playoff spot. I want the playoffs. The NBA playoffs are one of the great events in sports. And while Charlotte will be an enormous underdog if it opens in Milwaukee against the Bucks or Toronto against the Raptors, these aren’t Eastern Conference super teams like Miami once was.

Those of us who hope for the playoffs check standings and schedules daily. On Friday, the 31-31 Detroit Pistons play at the Chicago Bulls, Charlotte hosts the Washington Wizards, Cleveland plays at Miami and Dallas plays at Orlando.

The Hornets play Saturday at Milwaukee, the first of four straight on the road. After Milwaukee, they have only 16 games remaining. Each has playoff implications…

▪ Wake Forest played one of its best games of the season Tuesday at Cameron Indoor Stadium, losing to Duke by only a point. The Deacons missed two late shots, frantic last-second shots, that could have gone in.

Here’s where Wake Forest is in the ACC hierarchy. When it plays a good game, but loses, it feels like a victory. The Deacons are 4-13 in the conference. What they do on the basketball court doesn’t work…

▪ The Charlotte 49ers’ last game is Saturday at Rice, before they shut down the season. They are 7-20, 4-12 in Conference USA. But I like this season, and I like their style. They made a good hire in Ron Sanchez, and he will incrementally leave his imprint on the team and program. The 49ers desperately need continuity, and they finally appear to have it.

Wait. They’ll have the same coach for two consecutive seasons. They will…

▪ How will the NFL punish New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft? He faces solicitation charges in a Florida case that involves human trafficking. The two soliciting charges are misdemeanors, and Kraft has pleaded not guilty.

The NFL goes after its miscreants. To be gentler with an owner than with a player undermines the league’s credibility, and makes a mockery of whatever discipline it next imposes on an athlete…

▪ I still like to pick games. Since football season ended, I’ve picked an English Premier League game and an Alliance of American Football game. I’m 2-0.

This week’s pick: On Thursday, the Portland Trailblazers beat the Oklahoma City Thunder.