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Behind The Lens March 6, 2008 Be real Why did he fake it? Bobby Knight It has been a while since I wrote an article so I thought I would update you on my thoughts.  I hope all of you are ready for Spring because I hate the cold.  I have 3 topics so let's roll.  Be real If you know me well you know one thing and that is I am real.  If I am good at something you will hear it and if I am bad at something I will tell you.  Take cards for example, I love playing ROOK, but I am not that great at Texas Hold'em.  If you are a great lineman and you know it, that is good, but are you striving to get better?  One day, even if you are great, you will meet your match and so you will have to accept that "I am not the best".  There are some players that are on your team and love this game just as much as you do but they know their chances are slim to play at the college level after high school.  Even I know at 40 years old that many of the things I could do well at a young age I can do anymore, like water skiing.  All I am trying to say is that it takes all kinds of people to make up a high school football squad.  Be real and know your role. If you are on the scout team then do your best to beat the starters.  Just be real and don't try to be somebody you aren't because it could end up like the next topic.  Why did he fake it? This next topic rides on its own.  I have posted some other links from other publications, but I think you will get the message.  I will see you in a moment when I close on Bobby Knight.  A recruiting fairy tale - by Tim Stevens High-school player apologizes after fake recruiting story - AP College "recruit's" lie a tale gone horribly wrong By Gene Wojciechowski - ESPN.com Dated: February 8, 2008 The small-town football player involved in the most bizarre recruiting story, well, ever, answered the phone on the third ring.  "I'm not going to make any comment on it," said Kevin Hart, his voice subdued, almost sad.  "I don't mean to be impolite.  I'm just going to hang up the phone."  A moment later, click.  Thursday was not a good day for Hart.  How could it be?  The sheriff's department wanted to talk to him again.  But Wednesday was worse.  Wednesday is when the pride of Fernley High School admitted that he had lied to the police, to his family, his friends, his teachers, his coaches, his teammates, his classmates, and anyone else in a small Nevada town who thought Hart was going to be the first Vaqueros player to receive a Division I football scholarship. "I've been with the Lyon County Sheriff's office for 18 years," said Lt. Rob Hall, "and I've never seen anything like this." A week ago, in front of television cameras and a packed high school gymnaisum, the 6-5, 290-pound offensive guard placed two baseball caps on a table -- a Cal Bears cap on his right, an Oregon Ducks cap on his left -- and then, after a dramatic pause, put the bule-and-gold Cal hat on his head. "They really won me over," Hart told reports.  "Coach [Jeff] Tedford and I talked a lot, and the fact that the head coach did most of the recruiting of me kind of gave me the real personal experience." Actually, the Cal head coach barely knew he existed.  That's because there was no scholarship offer.  Not from CAL.  Not from Oregon.  Not from anywhere.  Hart made it up.  He made everything up. What began six months ago as a small, ego-driven lie, somehow gained weight and strength and grew into an uncontrollable hoax.  It enveloped a school, a town, a family and maybe a future.         " I wanted to play D-I ball more than anything.  When I realized that       wasn't going to  happen, I made up what I wanted to be reality."                                                                                   -- Kevin Hart, in a statement Chin strap-deep in his own confused dishonesty; Hart issued a statement Wednesday through the county school district saying that he fabricated it all.  "I wanted to play D-I ball more than anything," he said in the statement.  "When I realized that wasn't going to happen, I made up what I wanted to be reality." You've got to a least give Hart credit for facing the truth.  Not that he had any choice. Not long after hart received a standing ovation at the school assembly, word of his decision made its way to the recruiting chat rooms.  A sampling from The Bear Insider.com:    "1st DI player to come out of that high school?  he must be a superstar      at the school." ...    "I think this qualifies as a KABOOM." ... "Yes, I have      seen him play.  He's pretty good.   Has college size, good skills.  Good     addition for Cal." ... "Sounds like a great young man  with size and     attitude!" ... "I think Kevin Hart will be one hell of a sleeper recruit for Cal." Except that Cal never recruited him.  And even though Hart attended football camps at Oregon and the nearby University of Nevada, he wasn't on either programs's list of approximately 300 potential recruits. "We knew of the kids," said a sympathetic Chris Ault, head coach at Nevada.  "He was in our camp, but he's not a scholarship athlete." And yet, about 10 days ago, a Nevada assistant coach told Ault, "Coach, you won't believe this, but the Hart kids is gonna go to Oregon."  "What?" said Ault. "What?" said Ault. "Oregon's offering him a scholarship," said the assistant. A few days later, after spending time with nine players making their official weekend recruiting visits to Nevada, Ault came home, ate dinner and then saw some jaw-dropping footage on the local news. There was the non-prospect Hart placing a Cal cap on his head. Ault couldn't believe it. He started calling his assistant coaches, all the time consumed by a single, paranoid thought: Holy god, the guy's a half hour from our campus and we didn't even recruit him! What's this going to look like? As early as last September, Hart told his school newspaper, the Vaquero Voice, that he was being recruited by Nevada, Boise State, Washington, Oregon, Cal, and Oregon State -- and that Oregon and Washington had already offered him full scholarships. And last Friday, Hart told reporters how difficult it had been to choose between a list of finalists that included Cal, Oregon, Nevada, Illinois and Oklahoma State. All lies. "Didn't talk to the kid one time, never recruited him," said Cal's Tedford during a Wednesday news conference." "He was in our camp," Oregon coach Mike Bellotti told me Thursday. "We evaluated him. We did not recruit him." Nobody on that list did. But Hart apparently was overwhelmed by his fixation on playing big-time football, on being wanted, on the need to replicate what he had seen done by actual blue-chip players on national signing day: the semi-insanity of high school seniors announcing their college decisions on local and even national television outlets, including ESPNU.                              "Now that it's over, you just fee sorry for him."                                                                -- Chris Ault, Nevada coach "Now that it's over, you just feel sorry for him," said Ault. Hart created a lie of audacious proportions. It was a lie doomed at conception. After all, what did he think would happen when news of his "commitment" reached Cal? Or when the police probed just below the water line of his flimsy cover-up story (Hart told police he was duped by a fake recruiter, prompting a brief investigation)? But there are more important questions to ask, such as, where were the adults in this football horror flick? Tedford, Bellotti and Ault never set foot in Hart's home, never even contacted the family -- all standard recruiting doctrine when you're trying to sign a kid -- and yet, Hart's parents didn't think something was a little screwy? And wouldn't you think Fernley coach Mark Hodges might have been a teensy bit curious why nobody from Oregon, Cal or Nevada ever bothered with a visit, a phone call, a letter to him? Or maybe they simply wanted to believe the unbelievable. Fernley High principal Dave Regalado, when reached in his office Thursday morning, declined to comment on the situation. He referred all questions to Teri White of the Lyon County School District. White also was unavailable for comment. The adults hid, but not Hart's classmates.       "I'm dissapointed, but I'm not angry.  I texted him and told him        that I stand by him."                                                       -- Sean Lewandowski, Fernley High student "I'm disappointed, but I'm not angry," said Sean Lewandowski, a Fernley High junior who writes for the school newspaper. "I texted him and told him that I stand by him." Hart needs all the friends he can get these days. According to Lewandowski, Hart hasn't been at school since last Friday's event. And if and when he returns, Lewandowski said the reaction among the students will be "mixed." No standing O's this time. As for football, Ault suggested Hart consider playing for a junior college program. "But what if he wanted to walk on at Nevada?" I said. There was a pause. "I think it's best that we just let it lie," said Ault. "I think it would be very difficult for him here." It's going to be difficult for him everywhere. At Fernley. At the next place he wears a football uniform. That's what happens when you become the latest cautionary tale of college recruiting. "The people who have talked to him say he's really embarrassed, ashamed of himself," said Lt. Hall, whose own two sons played football at Fernley. "It sounds like he's learned his lesson." Hall's investigation should be completed by early next week. The findings will be submitted to the district attorney, but Hall said he would be "surprised" if charges were filed against Hart for falsifying a police report. Makes sense. The one truth in all of this is that nobody can do to Hart what he's already done to himself. Bobby Knight I wanted to close with a real person that I have always admired for his coaching ability. I know a lot of you are saying that he has an anger management problem, but lets not discuss his personal issues lets look at his role or leadership abilities. I am going to ask you a couple of questions and make some statements to see if you can match up to what he has accomplished. • Coaching Record  - Overall 902–371 • He didn’t cheat • Only famous player he ever coached that played in the NBA is Isaiah Thomas • From 1965 until 2008 only 4 kids who stayed the full four years didn’t graduate from college. • Famous Quote: If I came in to recruit your son, I would tell you, your wife, and your son, that I will be the most demanding coach your son can play for. A lot of coaches have had tons of talent but not Bobby Knight. He had Damian Bailey and Steve Alford but they were decent college players. Bobby built teams that played like teams. His kids nor his teams didn’t get into trouble, he ran a disciplined ship. I don’t think parents of today give him as much credit as my Mom and Dad. Like it or not he did things his way and he was successful doing them his way. I think that is enough said. That's a Wrap Well, that's a wrap.  I have a few videos that will be coming out in the next few days, so be looking for them.  I hope to see you soon.  Until then. God Bless and take care.  From Behind The Lens The Stork “A man who truly delivers”