Oh my god, give Wallace the schollie!

[GIGAFAN99]

Here's a few famous lines from any Wallace discussion:

"we don't know what his situation is"
"live with the consequences"
"It depends on what was promised"

Let me come out and say "Give JW a freakin' scholarship already!"

I think JTIII will definitely give him one so it doesn't matter what we all think, but he SHOULD get one.

A freshman walk-on just shot 37% from three and was second on the team in steals and third in assists. He deserves a scholarship, period. We're not "giving up" anything by giving Wallace a schollie. We already got lucky enough that he came in and played one of the most difficult positions in college basketball in one of the toughest conferences and performed admirably.

And I'd be floored if this weren't JTIII's thinking as well. I know "he might take up a spot reserved for [insert game-changing recruit here]." So you tell a kid to come play for you, he gives a ton of time to the team, starts immediately and then you tell him "Sorry John, we might get the third best center on the 'most lucky wonderful recruit' index in 2007, good luck paying back your loans?"

Spin it however you want but that move is just flat out wrong. And it is irrelevant that he was going to go to Princeton where nobody has a scholarship. If you were about ready to take a job and someone else hired you would you expect to make what the first company was paying or what the other people in your department with the same job responsibilities and experience were making? Now let's just say hypothetically you did take the job for the same pay as your first offer, how would you feel if after the year-end reviews you outperformed more than half the department and they gave you no pay increase but the rest of the underperformers stayed far above you?

This isn't about "what we can get away with to recruit better," it's about kids who work hard for the program. In the end I think Wallace definitely gets a schollie and deservedly so.

[hoyabinx]

Amen.

[HoyaNCCT]

Can I get one too? I'm a damn good towel waver. Our team is loading up, soon enough we're not going to have any towel wavers... besides, I want to go back to school.... this all works out.

[SFHoya99]

What if the "terms of employment" were stated that he'd never get a scholarship? What then?

That's what I mean about "We don't know the situation."

Half of you are ready to call down III as some kind of cut throat devil for possibly not giving him a scholarship.

I think there is a decent chance that Wallace came here knowing he might not ever get a scholarship -- maybe even told he would never. I think III knew he'd need to upgrade the talent level.

As I've said before, I'm perfectly fine with Wallace getting a scholarship. He's certainly a scholarship level player. But I'm not going to call JTIII some kind of evil-devil-coach if he doesn't get one, because I don't know the situation.

[bawlmerhoya]

I agree with all sides of this debate. We all want the team to get as many good players as possible. Additionally, I think everyone appreciates Wallace as a player and only wants the best for him. I think the debate over his status is pointless and hurtful. It seems to me that we, as a board can just sit back and trust III to make the right choices. This wasn't always the case in the past. I.E., grabbing Ray Reed in a panic after he was released from his commit to New Mexico. So far this offseason, we have landed Rivers and Ewing. I don't think we will panic and just grab some dude to fill out the roster. In summation, I say: CHILL.

[Churchwell]

I don't know that the debate is "pointless and hurtful." I think it's just the off-season and there is very little relevant for die hard fans to talk about and debate, so stuff like this becomes a full-blown discussion. That said, from the "we don't know what the situation is" camp...

What if Wallace is already on an academic or similar needs-based scholarship? Do you fix what ain't broken?

[prhoya]

Let's leave it between JTIII and Wallace.

[GIGAFAN99]

"Can I get one too?"

Sure thing, you just have to work your way into the starting lineup as a freshman. No problem, right?

"What if the terms of employment..."

Come on, really. Even if JW is not promised a scholarship what is the right thing to do? The right thing is to reward a starter who played a significant role on a successful team with a scholarship. This question again makes it seem like we should "review his contract for any loopholes" and try to hold a schollie he has earned. The technical term for that is a "big fat screwing."

The only legitimate reason not to give him the scholarship is if he is 100% covered in grants or other scholarships (no loans). Then, we just got unelievably lucky. Fantastic.

In the end JTIII will give him one. Why? Because JTIII is a decent human being. Bank on it.

[SirSaxa]

GIGAFAN99 said:

In the end JTIII will give him one. Why? Because JTIII is a decent human being. Bank on it.

I think you are probably right about that Giga.
And I agree with that being the right thing too.

[Nitrorebel]

What if he plays 10 minutes next year with Ashanti, Sapp, Thornton and Egerson getting most of the back-court mins?

What if he plays 5 mins in '06 when Rivers and Johnson or someone else joins for Ashanti?

What if in '07 he is an AKD-type player that comes in sporadically when there's foul-trouble?

I don't necessarily disagree with you, but this is BE-level college b-ball and schollies are precious.

[jerseyhoya34]

Giga, I really think this matter and all decisions related to schollies should be handled internally. While we all have an opinion, it is difficult to judge motivations and make judgments without knowledge of the arrangements that each player has. Wallace was willing to turn down full scholarship offers from high major schools so he could play for JT3 at Princeton/Georgetown.

[SFHoya99]

GIGAFAN99 said:

"Can I get one too?"

Sure thing, you just have to work your way into the starting lineup as a freshman. No problem, right?

"What if the terms of employment..."

Come on, really. Even if JW is not promised a scholarship what is the right thing to do? The right thing is to reward a starter who played a significant role on a successful team with a scholarship. This question again makes it seem like we should "review his contract for any loopholes" and try to hold a schollie he has earned. The technical term for that is a "big fat screwing."

The only legitimate reason not to give him the scholarship is if he is 100% covered in grants or other scholarships (no loans). Then, we just got unelievably lucky. Fantastic.

In the end JTIII will give him one. Why? Because JTIII is a decent human being. Bank on it.

What I put forward was a possible situation -- that Wallace came with the understanding that he would never get a scholarship. What if III, understanding he has obligations to the school, other players to put the best team out there, said that?

Now let's say Wallace doesn't get a scholarship. Are you going to blast III as a complete jerk? Is he not a decent human being? Is he a complete prick because he didn't get Wallace a schollie?

While I agree with much of what you are saying, I'm not going to make a moral judgement on someone when I don't know all the facts. Sue me.

[KHoyaNYC]

GIGAFAN99 said:

"Can I get one too?"

Sure thing, you just have to work your way into the starting lineup as a freshman. No problem, right?

"What if the terms of employment..."

Come on, really. Even if JW is not promised a scholarship what is the right thing to do? The right thing is to reward a starter who played a significant role on a successful team with a scholarship. This question again makes it seem like we should "review his contract for any loopholes" and try to hold a schollie he has earned. The technical term for that is a "big fat screwing."

The only legitimate reason not to give him the scholarship is if he is 100% covered in grants or other scholarships (no loans). Then, we just got unelievably lucky. Fantastic.

In the end JTIII will give him one. Why? Because JTIII is a decent human being. Bank on it.

Don't disagree with you per se, but I can certainly think of at least a few "legitimate" reasons not to give Wallace a scholarship which would still make JTIII a "decent" human being. If Wallace does not get a scholarship, let's not automatically rush to judgment and kill JTIII. We did enough of that with Esherick.

[lichoya68]

boy do we need some REAL stuff... like bball games to talk about.. bring on the kenner league.. when do the games began .. gohoyas .. go hoyas .. lets get some REAL stuff to discuss ..

[RBHoya]

JerseyHoya34 said:

Giga, I really think this matter and all decisions related to schollies should be handled internally. While we all have an opinion, it is difficult to judge motivations and make judgments without knowledge of the arrangements that each player has. Wallace was willing to turn down full scholarship offers from high major schools so he could play for JT3 at Princeton/Georgetown.

Agreed. External judgments of any sort are worthless in this debate. To say "Jon deserves a scholarship no matter what" is just not right when we don't have all the facts. It isn't as cut and dry, black and white as you're making it. I trust JTIII to make a fair and just decision, and I will respect him no matter what the outcome. I like Jon very much as a person and player, and I really like the influence he has on our team. I know JTIII will do what's best for all involved, whatever that may be.

[hoyalove4ever]

Isn't there a chance that he is receiving some sort of other (non-basketball, non-federal-loan) scholarship?

[hoya4ever]

If he is, it depends on his financial situation since Georgetown does not give academic merit scholarships. The individual schools give tons of scholarships for financial reasons (i was given a ton of money) and then there is the Pell Grant, SEOG, and work study plus any scholarships he might have applied to on his own.

[Jack]

I love statements about how "this should be handled internally" as if there was any chance it was not being handled internally. It is not like anyone is suggesting that the matter be put to a plebiscite for the Hoyatalk board. This is a discussion site, it is the off-season, and some people are stating their opinion that Jon Wallace is deserving a scholarship. I seriously doubt the opinions expressed here have any outcome on the resolution of this situation, but I happen to agree with Giga, and I think any counterarguments that do not involve academic or disciplinary reasons are absurd.

There is a scholarship available, there is no one else out there who has done more for the program, and 13 scholarships is more than enough to give one to a young man who started every game his freshman year and seems to be an outstanding exemplar of the type of student and person the basketball program has lacked in recent years, even if it is anticipated that his playing time will decline as more talented recruits come in. In the end, I am confident that the staff agrees.

[hoyalove4ever]

Unless there is some sort of other prior arrangement (another scholarship of some sort, or Wallace being told and being okay with him never taking a scholarship slot), he should definately get a scholarship.

However, if he doesn't get a scholarship, there could be valid reasons, and it is no reason to look down on the staff.