Has Holy Cross play-by-play man Bob Fouracre emerged as an unlikely apologist for Lehigh University senior Joe Knight? Twice during last night's WTAG broadcast of HC's tough loss to Lehigh, Fouracre ranted on about how "poor Joe Knight" was a victim of a "screw up" by the Lehigh athletic administration.Knight, of course, missed the first half of his senior season because of eligibility questions surrounding his transfer from High Point to Lehigh, with a questionable stop at a Texas CC along the way. And I'll admit that the incompetence in Lehigh's AD in this case is glaring and unacceptable.
Maybe Fouracre read Tom Housenick's story blasting the officials at Lehigh. It's a worthy read, and a contrast to the Lehigh U. defenders out there.
But Bob, "poor Joe Knight?" Call me a PL elitist. I don't care. I'm not willing to absolve Knight of guilt in this matter. He had to know what he was getting into when he began his journey after High Point. If he wasn't a hoops player, there's no chance he'd be matriculating at Lehigh. None. So can we please stop with the Joe Knight pity parties? Thank you.
And for the record, Bob, there's no "Fisher" or "Gilliam" on the Lehigh men's hoops roster. I'm guessing you meant Fischman and Gilfillan. And Joe Knight didn't play at Delaware prior to arriving at Lehigh, even thought you stated that about three times. It's okay, everyone has an off day now and again.
2 comments:
Great blog, Jon. We miss your frequent posts on CrosSports. However, I definitely disagree with your assessment of the Joe Knight situation.
Look at it this way, if you will. A kid with a 1000 SAT score and a 2.7 GPA applies to Holy Cross. HC accepts him/her, they struggle academically as a freshman, go on academic probation, and take a leave of absence. The next year, though, the grades improve, the student returns to HC, and finishes his/her curriculum and gets his/her degree.
In that scenario, the above student did nothing wrong by applying to HC. They put HC on their "reach school" list of applications, happened to be accepted, and struggled in an environment they shouldn't have been put into. It is the school's administration that should be held accountable for accepting this student in the first place.
Though a different situation, the Knight dilemma is along the same lines. He failed out of High Point, but wanted to get his grades up so he could play D1 hoops again. So he went to a community college to raise his grades. And though his application to Lehigh was severely deficient by Patriot League standards, it is not on Joe Knight to be the moral arbitor here - all he did was apply to a reach school, so to speak. It is on the Lehigh administration to see this application and throw it in the garbage. They did not, and as a result both the kid and the program suffered for it this year.
All that being said, keep up the good work!
Thanks for your thoughts, SoS. Very compelling points. However, I still have trouble with the notion of "Joe Knight as victim."
I don't believe it's as simple as Joe innocently applying to, and being accepted by, a "reach" school. Sure, Lehigh should have squashed his application, but I have to think there was some premeditation on Joe's part, knowing he was going through machinations to land himself at a place he really didn't belong. Granted, I'm speculating. But it's enough to convince me he's not an unfortunate victim.
As for Crossports, I still post there. I'm trying to post different content here than what I'd post there. Lack of time affects my posting in both places. Glad you're enjoying the blog, and thanks for reading.
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