Whatever Happened to LaRon Dendy--2009

Back when I started this blog, I focused on weak reporting of a diploma mill for high school athletes up in Pickens. In particular, LaRon Dendy, a potential Clemson basketball player caught my attention.

Things didn't go exactly as planned for Dendy. [See previous posts,Forward to Pickens!, What Ever Happened to--LaRon Dendy?] Last heard of, in August 2007, he was headed to a junior college in Iowa to attempt to beef up his academic prowess while playing.

Thursday's P&C article about the breaks athletes get in admissions [Admission Breaks for Athletes Widespread] made me wonder how his story turned out. According to this AP story,

"Clemson athletic director Terry Don Phillips said the university's admissions department conducts 'thorough research' in determining whether prospective athletes will have an opportunity to be successful students.

"'The ultimate measure is how kids are performing,' Phillips said. 'Are you bringing in young people that have a chance to be successful [student athletes]? That is occurring at Clemson.'"

As it happens, Dendy never made it to Clemson. Instead he is a junior at Iowa State University, doing well but not yet a starter. See LaRon Dendy for a summary of his first semester at Iowa State.

What Ever Happened to--LaRon Dendy?

What happens to talented athletes who get caught up in diploma mills? Last year the NCAA investigated a "school" in Pickens that was attended by several top basketball prospects. In Monday's P & C, we have a further installment of the story.

"Former Clemson commitment 6'10" LaRon Dendy of Greer will try to resurrect his career at Indian Hills JC, Iowa. 'We're hoping in two years he'll be ready for major college,' said Dendy's former AAU coach Frank Ballenger. Dendy played last season at Hope Christian Academy in Kings Mountain, NC, where he averaged 23 points and 12 rebounds per game, but did not have the grades to be able to accept a major college offer. Clemson and South Carolina will monitor his progress while Dendy has also heard from Kansas State, Texas and LSU according to Ballenger."

For background on this academic situation, see my posts of last year in June and December, Forward to Pickens! and Updating the Old as the New Year Approaches, Part 1 . When last heard of, Dendy was back at Greer High School. Apparently by basketball season he had enrolled in yet another school for academically struggling athletes (as noted above). What the P & C reporter doesn't clarify is that his ineligibility for a "major" college was caused by a combination of grades and SAT scores. Also not clarified is where the tuition money comes from for these private schools.

Maybe in Iowa he'll get the academic background he needs to succeed. As I've said before, too many LaRon Dendys are out there, prepping for athletics instead of getting a decent education. What happens to them when they get injured and can't play? Not every talented athlete makes it to the NBA.

Update on Wando Football Players

Passing practically unnoticed in today's Newsless Courier is the announcement that during the month of January all of the Wando students who were arrested in last September's robberies, including the seven football players, were indicted by the grand jury.

According to the report, not one of them is still at Wando.

So, my question is, where are they? What are they doing, aside from awaiting trial, as their classmates are receiving their college acceptances and football signings?

Such stupid behavior. Such a sad story.

USC: Top 10: "Oh, Brave New World"

Okay, there had to be more to the signing-day story.

When I heard of USC's glory on high-school signing day, my first thought was, wait a minute--isn't Clemson the football power in SC? I waited for the other shoe to drop. Now today's Newsless Courier stories, one an interview that took place last July and the other regarding the successful and not-successful recruiting efforts of the two rivals: see
"Building 'A' Championship," http://www.charleston.net/assets/webPages/departmental/news/Stories.aspx?section=sports&tableId=129907&pubDate=2/9/2007 and
"Clemson President Discusses Academic Standards," http://www.charleston.net/assets/webPages/departmental/news/Stories.aspx?section=sports&tableId=129867&pubDate=2/9/2007

Back in the dark ages when I was in high school in Charleston, Clemson was the place for engineers and football; USC was for liberal arts and sciences--and those more interested in academics. In town after my long hiatus, I thought the balance had remained the same.

Then, reading further into the "'A'" story, I encountered this information:

"Two players the Tigers missed out on were Dwight Jones, a talented receiver out of Burlington, N.C., and Broome High School receiver Markish Jones. Markish Jones signed with Florida State, Dwight Jones with UNC. Both could have been casualties of the school's new tougher academic policies. Dwight Jones was the top-rated player in the state of North Carolina.

"We talked with Dwight (Tuesday) and he gave us every indication that he was going to sign with Clemson," Farrell said. "I don't understand how he could get into North Carolina and not get into Clemson. That doesn't make any sense."

If you go back to my blogs on LaRon Dendy and NCAA academic standards versus diploma mills, it all begins to make sense. Clemson has gotten religion after being hit hard with the repercussions of recruits who were "helped" out of high school.

The converse appears to be true of Chapel Hill, worse luck (at least from the point of view of this alumna). Yes, "get into Clemson and not into Chapel Hill" would have made sense in past years. However, after its scores of years of mediocre football teams (surely over the last 40 years they have occasionally been successful, but I have very vague memories that this is true), UNC has decided to go BIG TIME, damn the academics!

One step forward, two steps back!

Just Copying Wando, I Guess

Check out the Newsless Courier's "Football Star One of Holdup Suspects," in Friday's paper: http://www.charleston.net/assets/webPages/departmental/news/Stories.aspx?section=localnews&tableId=127942&pubDate=1/26/2007

What is it about football players? Isolated incidents or a desire to be known as "bad"? Here is another stupid, stupid decision by a student who probably had colleges knocking down his door. Holding up a McDonald's drive-through? Wow! Big bucks there.

Who knows? Maybe some colleges (Auburn, Georgia Tech) think he'll fit right in with the team!

Makes you wonder what ever happened to those Wando players, doesn't it? I'd like to see the Post and Courier do a follow up on that one. The results would be illuminating.

"Robinson [the female employee] and [Derrick] Middleton [the football player] will not be allowed to return to school, pending the outcome of the case, said Pat Raynor, spokeswoman for Dorchester District 2 schools.

"Robinson was working the drive-through the night of the robbery when a man ran up to her from outside and pointed a gun, Miller said.

"Deputies identified Maloney [a drop-out, apparently] as the gunman, he said.

"But (Robinson) actually turned out to be one of the suspects," Miller said. "They made statements to incriminate themselves, and investigators discovered that she was a principal in the armed robbery."

"Middleton, a 6-foot, 208-pound senior, had participated in the Fort Dorchester football program since eighth grade, said Patriots football Coach Steve LaPrad.

"Middleton was named to the Region 8-AAAA all-star team and was a second-team All-Lowcountry selection. "He's a college prospect," LaPrad said. "He's an excellent football player."
"The Patriots posted a 9-4 record during the 2006 season. Middleton showed promise as a junior, rushing 193 times for 1,048 yards and 12 touchdowns.

"He followed that up with an impressive senior season. He rushed for 920 yards and 17 touchdowns during the regular season, and had two strong performances in the playoffs. Middleton rushed for 166 yards and three TDs in a first-round Class AAAA playoff win over Sumter and added 141 yards and a score the next week in a season-ending playoff loss to Stratford."

Pathetic, isn't it?

Update: According to today's paper Maloney is not a drop-out. He's a high-school graduate and a college student.

Well, that makes sense, doesn't it?

Updating the Old as the New Year Approaches, Part 1

What ever happened to. . . LaRon Dendy?

[See June 7, 2006: "Forward to Pickens" for previous details about this Clemson recruit.]

After some confusion about his credits and whether he would attend another diploma mill this school year, LaRon is back at Greer High School, where he started. He's also taking another year to graduate. He may not think it so, but this is probably the best outcome available!

Copycat Crimes from Wando

We have come a long way from "Win one for the Gipper." But at least Notre Dame and NC State haven't lost their minds yet. The same cannot be said for recruiters at Alabama and Ohio State!

Now the question remains, will these Wando football players meet the same fate as their counterparts from "an academically acclaimed school that draws its students from upscale neighborhoods" in Maryland?

Let's see--the equivalent would be that they be allowed to finish out this year at home & then next year they could go to Burke wearing "ankle bracelets," where students who been expelled from other schools have been enrolling on a regular basis, and Burke's football team could be revived like that of Wheaton High School. Check out this article & then compare it to the Newsless Courier's below!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/07/AR2006090701712_pf.html

NOTE: Red for emphasis.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 08, 2006 7:27 AM
Hatching robbery game planPolice say Wando High students huddled at house to plot their strategy
BY GLENN SMITH
The Post and Courier
MOUNT PLEASANT - On the night of Aug. 26, a group of Wando High School football players assembled at one student's house to map out strategy.
But it wasn't an upcoming game that was on their minds. Rather, the group hatched plans to rob a Food Lion supermarket at gunpoint and then divvy up the profits, police said.
Investigators say the plot came to light Tuesday as police began to round up members of the group in connection with the Food Lion holdup, a subsequent car theft and a Labor Day robbery at a Subway restaurant. Detectives have arrested 10 students and a Wando graduate, seized evidence from the crimes and recovered some of the stolen cash.
But investigators have yet to answer what is perhaps the central question in the episode: Why would a bunch of suburban teens from predominantly middle-class families participate in crimes that threaten to derail their futures?
"They have not told us why," Mount Pleasant Police Lt. Amy McCarthy said. "We don't have a reason at this point."
Talk of the arrests swirled around Wando on Thursday, the eve of the football team's game with regional rival Summerville High School. Seven members of the Wando Warriors, including their star quarterback, were among those arrested. All are now banned from participating in school sports and activities.
Some students suggested that the initial robbery was planned to aid a friend who had been booted from his house for hosting a party. But police said that doesn't make sense, as those involved reportedly split the meager proceeds of the heist. Others suggested the crimes were just a way for thrill-seeking kids to get their kicks.
If so, it wouldn't be the first time. In 2000, police arrested eight Wando students and graduates in connection with a vandalism spree at the school and a string of burglaries at local businesses.
Von Bakanik, a sociology professor at the College of Charleston, said the recent holdups appear to be a "coming-of-age phenomenon gone terribly awry."
Bakanik said teens often engage in risky behavior for thrills and to assert their independence. Girls tend to rebel sexually or romantically, while boys often act out through property damage and theft, she said.
"Boys who come from middle- and upper-class homes don't need to steal for monetary reasons," she said. "They are stealing for other motivations, mostly to feel powerful or to feel the excitement of doing something illicit."
Fred Medway, a psychology professor at the University of South Carolina, said there is an element of peer pressure as well. Teens involved in a team or group are often more likely to follow the lead of friends headed down the wrong path, he said.
"They are either trying to impress the other kids and show some bravado, or a couple of them are already doing something and it lowers the inhibitions of others," he said. "On a team, it may be a way to get additional respect, especially if you are not as competent or not a star player."
Three of those charged were starters for the Warriors, including Michael Dawley, 16, the team's quarterback and a grandson of the late Chuck Dawley, a former Mount Pleasant police chief and former Charleston County sheriff.
Dawley is accused of participating in the Food Lion robbery with students Patrick Brown, 17; Sean Shevlino, 16; Michael Anthony, 17; Jackie Washington, 18; Christopher Cousins, 16; Samuel Perez, 16; Graham Stolte, 16; Vincent Weiner, 17; and Max Hartwell, 16. Brown, Washington, Weiner, Stolte, Hartwell and Perez also play for the Warriors.
Several of the students provided police with written statements implicating themselves and others in the crimes. Police said the group held a planning session at Hartwell's house before robbing the store with a pellet gun.
Shevlino confronted employees and grabbed the loot while the rest of the teens served as lookouts, according to arrest affidavits. They had inside information about the store, as Cousins worked there, police said.
Shevlino and Anthony also are charged with robbing a Subway restaurant at gunpoint on Monday and stealing a $35,000 BMW on Sunday with the help of Wando graduate Sean Deaton, 17, police said.
The exact amount of money taken in each robbery remained unclear Thursday night.
Anthony, Deaton and Weiner were still being held at the Charleston County jail late Thursday; Brown and Washington were released on bail during the day, according to jail officials. The others had been released from the county's juvenile detention facility, according to an official there.
Charleston County School District officials are still evaluating the case and have not decided whether to suspend any of the students from school, district spokesman Jerry Adams said.
Christine Weiner of Awendaw, mother of Vincent Weiner, called the charge against her son "emotionally devastating." She said the facts of the case are being twisted and she thinks the boys "are getting raked over the coals."
"I think that the football team shouldn't turn their back on them," she said. "Everybody makes mistakes in their lives. Let's try not to ruin their lives over this horrible event."
Several friends left messages of support for the suspects on their pages at MySpace.com. Several in the group maintain a presence on the popular Web site, sharing thoughts with friends on football, partying, girls and other typical teenage pursuits.
Fellow students said the suspects are just that - typical teens.
"They can be rowdy, and they do like to party, and sometimes their fun gets out of hand," student Bri Greer said. "But all in all, they're really cool people."
Junior Lindsey Dworschak, 16, said she doesn't condone such crimes, but the suspects remain friends and "I won't bash them." She chalked up the episode to peer pressure and a football mentality that pushes players to be "big and bad."
"A lot of them are football players and you have to fit in this crowd or whatever," she said.
Senior Justin Buckley, 17, said he doubts anyone involved put much thought into the gravity of what they were doing.
"It probably started out something like - it would be funny if we actually did it," he said.
Staff writers Lucia Walinchus and Prentiss Findlay also contributed to this report. Reach Glenn Smith at 937-5556 or gsmith@postandcourier.com.
This article was printed via the web on 9/9/2006 9:44:48 AM . This articleappeared in The Post and Courier and updated online at Charleston.net on Friday, September 08, 2006.

"So Much the Unfairness of Things"

How often is a college varsity quarterback suspended from playing football for a year because of plagiarism? A freshman varsity quarterback? One who graduated from a real private school, where even the bottom third of the class manages SATs over 1100? [You are looking at the football field of Xaverian Brothers High School in Massachusetts.] Not one of the Prince Avenue Preps? It's got to be a first!

Pity Zack Azack. He takes full responsibility for his actions, as he should. The terse AP article in the Sports section of today's Newsless Courier does not disclose exactly what happened, but at least this time, lack of detail is not their fault--no news source has those details--yet. My best guess is that this freshman having a super year as a starting quarterback got in over his head with time management, was too proud to admit same and ask for help, wrote an important paper at the last moment that ended up plagiarizing sources, and was caught (probably by one of the got-cha computer programs utilized by many high schools and colleges today).

I'm sorry, but I have a VERY hard time imagining such a penalty's coming from Clemson or Auburn.

Duke now rises in my estimation--even if I did attend Carolina! Apparently it is one school where athletics do not rule over academics.

I suspect one of a dying breed.

"Only Connect": E.M. Forster Was Right!

Note: For those who have not read the Dendy story,
try "Forward to Pickens" below.

C of C fires Herrion: Buyout of basketball coache's contract could cost $1 million, screams the banner headline of the Post and Courier, June 15, 2006.

On the same day in the Sports section, Ken Burger's column explains, "Fatal flaw: Herrion just didn't get it."

Burger's Friday follow-up column, "It's academic: What the College needs to learn,"
provides interesting advice to the College and insight to the careful reader.

Well, it's not about LaRon Dendy or Clemson this time, you say? "Only connect"!

Each of these articles (and others speculating on Herrion's replacement) points out that the firing "[constitutes] a messy divorce with strange timing," "timing . . . [suggesting] an unfixable problem," since "the College is left with a basketball program in shambles and a big buyout bill to pay." Okay, Herrion was hired in April 2002; a successful season allowed him to renegotiate his contract in 2003; "his win-loss record slipped a bit each of the [following] three years"; attendance at games dropped off; some players were "showing up on the police blotter" and their academics slipped. None of the foregoing explains the TIMING.

According to Burger's Friday column, grades "broke the camel's back." GRADES??? Of course, not Herrion's grades, but those of his players, spring-semester grades characterized as "pathetic." So outgoing C of C "president Lee Higdon finally" agreed to the firing.

No one would care about the grades except for NCAA rules, those that "require athletes to be on course to graduation at all times." The resulting punishment is a "cost of valuable scholarships" (i.e., the number that can be offered by the C of C), using the definition of scholarship loosely here!

Who is to blame? Herrion is fired, with the added difficulty of finding another job for 2006-07. While he is being raked over the coals, however, the incident requires another look.

In his Friday column, Burger gives some remarkable advice to the C of C. For example, he points out that entering Division I sports "in the early 1990s" meant no more "schoolboy sports," that "a different kind of player" was needed, and "that kind of player is not college material."

Let's be clear on that--"not college material" presumably means not prepared to pass college courses without intervention, that is, being accepted to colleges and universities without meeting the usual entrance requirements. Coaches do not run the admissions department, so such acceptance requires the collusion of admissions (and probably administration).

Well, at a Division II school, this loosening of requirements may help an average student gain entrance to a highly-competitive college; however, because of potential big bucks down the road in professional sports, in Division I, a student may have not met the NCAA requirements for SATs and, in fact, may be reading on the fourth- or fifth-grade level. Far-fetched, you say? Read on.

He goes on to berate the C of C for not acting as the "big" schools did when NCAA eligibility rules were tightened: "build[ing] these expensive academic support systems that basically hand-carry" weak players through college.

Question: Who pays for that? Most, if not all, of the so-called "big" schools are state-funded.

To support his claims, Burger cites the complaint of Steve Spurrier in May about "lack of academic support for football players" at USC and Burger's own knowledge of "huge athletic buildings for academic support" at Clemson and Georgia, "staffed by tutors [who] get athletes to class and make sure they do the work," even push[ing] them through summer school" to become "graduate students in their senior season."

Okay, so how did Clemson get the money for that? And, whose pockets does it come from?

"Way behind the curve" is the way Burger describes C of C. He also wonders if a special program at C of C (SNAP--for "students with learning disabilities") is being abused by coaches (i.e., Herrion) "looking for an edge."

As opposed to not being abused elsewhere? Why would C of C be different, unless players have routinely been routed through SNAP as a substitute for the academic support they would have received at Clemson?

Why the problem now? The College of Charleston entered Division I sports in "the early 1990s," a decade before Herrion was hired. Therefore, if a new kind of athlete were needed, these must have been recruited by John Kresse, who retired in 2002.

Why was Herrion's contract renegotiated in 2003 on the basis of the performance of students recruited by Kresse? Maybe it was the "fog" of victory?

How could C of C players who were "not college material" stay on track to graduate for a decade--from the early 1990s when the college entered Division I (and won a championship in four years!) until 2002 when Kresse retired? Is this why Burger complains about Herrion's not getting along with faculty and administration? As if he didn't smooze enough to get instructors to pass his players? May we ask what Kresse's secret was, if not that?

If the basketball roster is almost exclusively made up of players who spent at least one year at a private prep school prior to entering the C of C, why aren't they better prepared as students? Isn't that what prep schools do? We have now come full circle to LaRon Dendy, who is on track to join recruits at Clemson who have done the same. IS academic preparation what "prep" schools do? For basketball players at Division I schools, apparently not!

Why did the majority of C of C players attend prep schools then? Aha! That takes us back to NCAA rules. If a player's SAT scores are below the minimum, his grade-point average must meet a minimum or the player is red-shirted and must sit out freshman year while he brings up his grades.

[NOTE: A student who could not meet a minimum grade-point doing high-school-level work will now excel doing college-level work.]

Here's where the prep schools perform. Students who do not meet SAT minimums or grade-point minimums are encouraged by Division I schools not to graduate but to enter prep schools instead, where miraculously in a short time they raise their grade-points so that they do not need to red-shirt! As a coach quoted in a New York Times article said earlier this year, "We can't do anything about the SATs." What are coaches talking about? See quote below from a website on NCAA rules:

The "sliding scale" has also been extended. It will now allow a higher core GPA to reduce the SAT component. A 2.5 core GPA will still require a 820 SAT score, a higher core GPA of 2.75 GPA would need a 720 SAT score, a 3.0 core GPA would only require a 620 SAT score and a 3.55 core GPA would require just a 400 SAT score.

So, Tavon Nelson, who left C of C after drug charges against him were dropped, came from South Kent Prep in Connecticut, having started out at a Baltimore public high school; Josh Jackson, from Notre Dame Prep in Massachusetts (a school of 38 students, half of whom are seniors); Dontaye Draper, from Trinity-Pauling of New York; Jermaine Johnson, from Winchendon Prep in Massachusetts (tuition $34,000 per year); Junior Hairston, from Fork Union Military Academy; Marcus Hammond, from Brewster Academy; Drew Hall, from Montrose Christian Academy in Maryland via two years at Georgetown after being turned down as a sophomore transfer to Gonzaga for not meeting academic standards.

The team's record's slipping for each of the last three years suggests recruiting problems, does it not? Kresse's recruits graduate and Herrion's take their places? What changed? Obvious answer is, the coach, but perhaps strengthened athletic academic programs at "big" schools also played a role. And another mystery arises.

Who pays the prep school tuition?

Forward to Pickens!

"Clemson's prized recruit may be ruled ineligible" by Larry Williams, Post and Courier, June 6, 2006, Sports

What do these cities have in common: Baltimore, Maryland; Durham, North Carolina; Binghamton, New York, Augusta, Georgia; and Queens, New York?

Give up?

. . . All of them were represented on the 2005-2006 varsity basketball roster of an 85-student, 1st-through-12th grade "Upstate private school" (that would be in Pickens) also attended by LaRon Dendy, Clemson's prize commitment to its basketball program.

I confess I do not always read the Sports section thoroughly. However, since one of my former students rejected a hefty sum from the Major Leagues to play on USC's baseball team this year, I do peruse the headlines every day, usually pleased by what seems to be the higher quality of writing in that section. After one of my former Texas students, whose SATs and grade-point average were so low that she was red-shirted as a basketball player at A&M-Kingsville, made a 4.0 her freshman year of college (smile), I HAVE paid attention to NCAA academic eligibility issues.

So, the headline caught my attention. As I read, the article became more and more fascinating. "Recent investigative reports in The Washington Post and The New York Times" had not entered my radar screen previously, that "the NCAA is scrutinizing secondary schools with questionable academic rigor." And Prince Avenue Prep, run by a former attendee (NOTE: not graduate) of Bishop England High School, right here in Charleston, is one of them.

Let me be clear about my intentions. I wish LaRon Dendy the best of basketball careers at Clemson, injury-free. May he be the next Michael Jordan! My questions surround the mysterious details of Prince Avenue Prep, Clemson recruiting, and IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. Those were not so clear.

1. How old is LaRon Dendy? What grade did he just complete? Probably the reporter assumed that anyone reading the article would be familiar with the Dendy-Clemson story, but as a teacher, I can say, "Never assume." After considerable sleuthing on the Internet, I deduced that Dendy completed his junior year in May and has committed to Clemson in 2007. What I was unable to find out is how old he is; my original suspicion that he was over-age, given the three schools mentioned that he has attended, probably is unfounded, but I can't be sure.
2. Why did Dendy leave Greer High School? Where is he from? On the Internet Dendy is variously identified as being from Greer, Greenville, and Taylors, South Carolina. It turns out, as those from the Greenville area undoubtedly already know, these are all in Greenville County and the Greenville County School District. Further investigation reveals yet another mystery.
3. If Dendy is from Taylors, as he is currently identified on the Prince Avenue Prep website, why did he attend Greer High School at all? Eastside High School, also part of the GCSD, is IN Taylors! Why wasn't Dendy leading Eastside to a state championship? Surely Greer High School doesn't recruit players from other attendance zones! (What a thought!)
4. A new question arises: where did Dendy attend high school as a freshman?
5. Let's be generous and assume that Dendy USED to live within the Greer High School attendance zone. When and why he left Greer High School, enrolled at Prince Avenue Prep, left and traveled down to Bradenton, Florida, and bounced back to Pickens, South Carolina are still open questions, with murky answers at best.
6. When did he leave Greer High School? The reporter states that Dendy attended Prince Avenue Prep in 2004-05 AND 2005-06. Problem is, the former is the same year that he led Greer High School to its state championship. Then the reporter states that "Dendy led Greer to the Class AAA state title in 2004 before transferring to Prince Avenue. He transferred to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., after the 2005 season but re-enrolled at Prince Avenue after just a few months." Clear as mud! Would "2004" be the 2003-04 season or 2004-05? Would "2005" be the 2004-05 season or 2005-06? Well, at least we can assume those are two DIFFERENT seasons! Assuming the latter in each case, he must have left Greer High School almost immediately after it won the state championship. WHY???
7. What basketball team did Dendy play for during the 2005-06 season? This is where it gets interesting. Reports available on the web show that he played on IMG Academy's "Blue" team during the first semester of the season; then he returned to Pickens in mid-January to play on the Prince Academy team. Even at this date the Clemson website shows him to be still in Bradenton. Now, we seem to have established beyond a reasonable doubt that he finished his sophomore year at Prince Street Academy in order to bring up his grades, transferred to IMG to get more advanced basketball experience, then transferred back to Prince to . . . bring up his grades? Hmm.
8. When did Dendy give Clemson a verbal commitment? That appears to be around the time that he transferred to Prince.
9. How much is tuition at IMG Academy? Would you believe $15,000 per year? $25,000 per year? How about nearly $34,000? That's right. Gosh, the Dendy family must be really wealthy.
10. To come full circle, WHY might "Clemson's prized recruit ... be ruled ineligible"? That's because Prince Avenue Prep is being investigated as a "so-called diploma mill." As it turns out, on Tuesday, June 6, the NCAA reported the first 15 schools now no longer approved, and Prince Avenue Prep is not on the list--YET. Another longer list is expected by July 1.

Meanwhile, Dendy is "hoping to attend Hargrave Military Academy as a senior in 2006-07."

Why not stay at Prince?

Go back to IMG Academy?

Will he find himself back in Pickens in January of 2007 as he did last January?

Stay tuned.

Purely for conspiracy theorists: What if the Clemson scout said to the Greer High School star, "We're going to help you get through high school academically and prepare for the next level of competition athletically if you commit to us now." Would the record look any different?