This is the latest survey question in our annual Candid Coaches feature. College basketball insiders Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander polled nearly 100 men's Division I coaches in the thick of the offseason on a variety of questions about the sport. Honesty was exchanged for anonymity.
Question No. 6 is a big/troubling issue looming over all of college athletics. An errant pass to one player when another was open. A lazy attempt at a retrievable rebound.
A lack of hustle when an opportunity seemed right there for the taking. These things happen all the time in college basketball. Usually, they're just mental slips, fatigue, miscommunication or other mishaps organically playing out.
What if they're behaviors rooted in malicious intent? What if there's something much more dangerous prowling in plain sight? College basketball has dealt with a handful of cases in recent years where players were found to have either attempted to fix games or sham their personal stat lines in an effort to make money through gambling.
There have also been instances where players were busted for betting on their own teams' games, which is against NCAA rules and can also lead to criminal charges. It's happened at Fresno State and Fordham, Arizona State and San Jose State and ... Abilene Christian, Alabama State, Buffalo, Coppin State, DePaul, Eastern Michigan, Kennesaw State, La Salle, New Orleans, Nicholls, North Carolina A&T, Northwestern State, Robert Morris, Saint Louis, Southern Miss, Temple and Tulane.
That's the point of putting this question in this year's survey. While there is yet to be a huge scandal in this decade that's captured the country's attention, college basketball has endured a spate of gambling-incited pyres across its schools and conferences. It's an ever-lurking problem.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
