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Stoops' shot ruffles ASU recruits
Jeff Metcalfe
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 11, 2008 12:48 PM

All three of the football recruits who decommitted from Arizona and signed with Arizona State dispute and take offense at comments made by Arizona coach Mike Stoops on signing day last week.

None say they were misled by ASU coaches into believing that gaining admission into ASU is easier than getting into Arizona. Stoops continued to accuse ASU coaches of that during radio interviews Feb. 7, before and after his apology for saying that "Arizona State has turned into a JC (junior college), and we're a four-year college."

Jarrell Barbour, a wide receiver from Peoria Centennial High School, said he understood during recruiting that admission requirements are the same at both schools, and ASU coaches did not suggest otherwise.





"They didn't tell me anything like that," Barbour said. "Me and Coach (Dennis) Erickson have a great relationship. He wouldn't lie to me."

Barbour told the Arizona Daily Star in August, when he switched his commitment to ASU, that ASU "has a better plan to get me in (academically)." That story also quoted Bill Morgan, UA assistant athletic director, saying that it's rare for an athlete to be accepted into ASU that UA also would not admit.

Barbour said ASU associate athletic director Jean Boyd, is the "main reason why I'm there." Boyd directs ASU's academic support for football and other sports. "He sat me down and said this is what you need to do to be eligible to play football," said Barbour, who feels his comments were misused by Stoops.

"He put my business out in the open. It was cruel. I didn't want to go there because their football team is horrible. They stunk it up bad. I didn't want to be a part of it. I want to be on a good football team that's going to go places."
Running back Ryan Bass of Corona (Calif.) Centennial also was expressed disappointment in Stoops: "I felt he was out of bounds with his comments. I hope he didn't make those comments because I switched to Arizona State. Everyone knows it's the same to get in. It didn't sit too well with me. I'm glad he (Stoops) apologized."

Bass also must work hard academically to meet NCAA Clearinghouse standards for admission. That's not the case for wide receiver Gerell Robinson of Chandler Hamilton, yet some stories about Stoops' comments included him as an academic risk.

"I've worked too hard these past four years to say I have grade issues," said Robinson, who has a 3.0 grade-point average and 1490 SAT score that are good enough for admission to Notre Dame. "We all have reasons why we decommitted and why we committed in the beginning. We're 17- and 18-year-old kids. He's a grown man. You'd expect him to take the high road. If anything, you'd expect one of the three of us to say something like that, not the grown man in the situation.
"ASU has done nothing but help get Jarrell and Ryan on the right track. I don't think Arizona was adamant about doing that at all. I was there 15-20 times myself and never once saw anything about academics. It was poor judgment on my part (to initially commit to UA). ASU on junior day showed us around to all the educational categories they have."

Robinson plans to pursue a degree from the W.P. Carey School of Business, with sports marketing or perhaps law ultimately in mind. He also has NFL aspirations, and before that, he said, in extending ASU's three-game win streak over UA.

Barbour also is more than ready for his first Territorial Cup.

"I can't remember the last time Arizona beat Arizona State," he said. "We're going to take it out on the field, and it's not going to be pretty. It'll be the best game of my life, I promise that."

Zeno

Awesome just awesome. I love seeing that the kids didn't see that and ignore that idiot down south. Take it to heart, bulletin board material in February? Good job Stoops.

MaoTosiFanClub

There's some people on this board that have a better shot at playing in the Territorial Cup next year than Jarrell Barbour. ASU fans have acknowledged on this very board have said that it's highly doubtful he makes it into school.

And I suspect fans of both schools will be celebrating when said game is over.

__________________
Addressing the Core by Rod Graves:

1. Re-sign Calvin Pace (Miss)
2. Negotiate Extension with Dansby (Miss #2)
3. Re-structure Fitzgerald (TBD)

Mr. Boldin

No offense to any ASU fans even though Barbour isnt likely to get in, he sure wasnt saying anything like that when he verballed to UA. He absolutley loved the program, now he wanted to go to ASU because they had a better system to get him in and UA is a terrible football program? So why verbal in the first place and state the exact opposite.

I think it would be best for both teams if Barbour was never heard nor seen from again.

Arizona's Finest

I am officially off the bandwagon. Fire Stoops now.

What an idiot? Even if Barbous doesn't get in does hi think these kids don't talk? And being the superior academic institution he waits until AFTER signing day to talk about ASU as a "JC"

What a joke - I was willing to give him another shot but after losing all these recruits and his continued lack of decorum and common sense I am done seeing him as a viable coach of this team.

Get rid of him. Get rid of Livengood. And as of right now (2/11/08 2:17 EST) get rid of KO too.

This past 6 months has been an embarassment to my alma mater. And I want heads for it!

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devilfan02

Barbour isn't going to graduate let alone qualify to play next year. I've heard it's Scottsdale Community for him.

Stoops is a complete moron and G Robinson hit it right on the head. He's completely lost his head.

Jean Boyd has an unbelievable program in place for student athletes at ASU. Athletes, particularly football and basketball, who are borderline qualifiers usuaully choose ASU because Boyd lays out a very detailed plan on what they need to do to get in. 19 other athletic programs across the country have put Boyd's Scholar Baller program into action due to its success.

Another sidenote to point out is the fact that most these recruits were committed to uofa when Erickson was a new hire. Once he had time to work them, they were gone. Erickson makes Stoops look like a JC coach

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Trey

Not trying to pick a fight here, but why do UA fans continue to run around saying that they are academically superior to ASU?

Granted, the latest US News report has UA's undergrad ranked #96, while ASU is at #124.

But by the same token, ASU leads UA in most of the grad school rankings:

Business
ASU #41
UA unranked

Engineering
ASU #50
UA unranked

Medicine
both schools unranked

Education
ASU #31
UA unranked

Law
UA #44
ASU #51

Sources: http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandre...udoc_brief.php
http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsa...ndex_brief.php

ASU, also has twice as many National Merit Scholars as UA (188 to 92), more Fulbright Scholars, and more undergrads on USA Today's Academic First Team (go ahead and roll your eyes, I think some of these stats are lame too).

But the point, is that while both schools have their strengths and weaknesses, the notion that UA is academically superior across the board, is a false one.

As a side note, I think it's going to be interesting to see how these rankings evolve, as the line separating the two schools academically continues to get blurred by their melding.

MaoTosiFanClub

Thanks for answering your own question. See below.

ASU also should have better graduate programs to offer considering the talent base of working professionals from which they can recruit is much greater than Tucson whose young talent leaves town for good shortly after last call at Dirtbag's on their graduation night.

And I definitely agree on your last point. Within a couple generations or less both UA and ASU and Tucson and Phoenix are going to become one big sprawling mess of an entity that nobody outside of us old Arizonans know the difference between. Tucson will be the Riverside or San Bernadino to Phoenix's LA and nobody in the other 49 states is going to know or care about the difference.

__________________
Addressing the Core by Rod Graves:

1. Re-sign Calvin Pace (Miss)
2. Negotiate Extension with Dansby (Miss #2)
3. Re-structure Fitzgerald (TBD)

Trey

Well, that's like saying UA should have better undergrad programs because a bunch of teenagers want to get away from their parents in Phoenix. Both schools have their forte's, so to speak (unfortunately, US News doesn't break down the undergrad rankings, like they do the grad school). The point, is that there are great students and faculty at both schools. Neither is academically dominant over the other.

And to my "last" point. The growth of Phoenix and Tucson into a megalopolis is certainly part of the equation. However, I was speaking more to the growing academic and research cooperation between both schools (such as in the bioscience campus in downtown Phx.). If that kind of cooperation continues to grow (in that field, or elsewhere), it will become increasingly difficult to separate the two schools academically.

Thankfully, I'm sure we'll still be able to duke it out on the field.

AsUdUdE

... I'm sorry, did you just compare Riverside to Tucson??

Thats like comparing Jessica Alba to Rosie Odonnell... now THAT is funny...

But I do have a serious thought here.... If UofA Basketball goes down the toilet... how long before the U.S. says "SCREW it, Mexico, happy birthday, you can have Tucson back..."

Because as of right now, if UofA basketball continues down this path, the only thing I can see holding Tucson in the U.S. is Women's Softball, and a a medical school which isn't ranked... Thats not enough of a reason for me to keep Tucson around...

So anyone have a guess of the over/under as to how long Tucson has left at being a city in the U.S.?

MaoTosiFanClub

You obviously have never been to Riverside. The 909 is the laughingstock of Southern California.

Or maybe that's where you're from which would help to explain your nonsensical posts.

__________________
Addressing the Core by Rod Graves:

1. Re-sign Calvin Pace (Miss)
2. Negotiate Extension with Dansby (Miss #2)
3. Re-structure Fitzgerald (TBD)

Zeno

I don't care much for Tucson but I'd much rather be there than Riverside, that place is truly a pit.

AsUdUdE

lol.. oh I KNOW riverside... as much of a pit hole as it is... you ask 100 people under the age of 60, with no ties to Tucson, where would you rather live, Riverside or Tucson... and see how many would choose Tucson over Riverside

Stop your BLATENT love of the dumpiest town in Arizona, and realize you live in a town that NO ONE really cares if it Exists

MaoTosiFanClub

Keep going, the spelling and overall disorganization of your posts prove your opinions really well. And not only do I not live in Tucson, but you can check back and find numerous posts on this board when I've been extremely critical of Tucson from everything to sports to crime to city planning to management. Solid work as usual.

__________________
Addressing the Core by Rod Graves:

1. Re-sign Calvin Pace (Miss)
2. Negotiate Extension with Dansby (Miss #2)
3. Re-structure Fitzgerald (TBD)

Gaddabout

Mao's right. Bash Tucson all you want but in thirty years we'll only know it as GREATER PHOENIX. Or LESSER PHOENIX if you insist.

Besides which, the schools are merging at every opportunity because they see the benefit of one research grant proposal instead of two lesser, competing grant proposals. I'm guessing we'll eventually have one school, two sites: Arizona @ Tucson and Arizona @ Tempe. And several satellite sites. Arizona @ Tuba City anyone?

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