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Drake star Liam Robbins transfers to Minnesota
- Thread starter Da Coach
- Start date
This is one of the sad things about NCAA basketball. Liam Robbins was a big clumsy kid at a small Catholic high school in Davenport, IA (sounds a little like the Nate Wells story). He attended Assumption HS (450 students), where he was lightly recruited and had only offers from Division II schools and a couple very-low D1's. New Drake head coach Darien DeVries took a chance and offered him late (April, 2018 ) just after he was hired, because he had an extra scholarship. Robbins played little as a freshman and average just 3.8 ppg and 2.6 rpg. But this past season he blossomed into one of the best big men in the MVC. He averaged 14.1 ppg, 7.1 rpg, and lead the MVC in blocks (2.9 bpg- 5th in the country) almost twice as many as anyone else, and was named 2nd team All-MVC as a sophomore. He was the biggest reason they stayed in contention in the MVC much of the season, and he played a huge role in Drake's 21-point upset of UNI in the MVC Tournament quarterfinals.
As much as he improved from his freshman year to his sophomore year, it looked like he'd be a stud for Drake for the next 2 years. But instead, he will play his last 2 seasons elsewhere. In all probability, some Power 6 school was looking for a big man, and somehow got word to Robbins that there was a scholarship waiting for him. I wish him luck, but I sympathize with Drake fans, their team, and coaches. I hope he doesn't become a backup for a BIg Ten or Big 12 team and realize he made a mistake.
As much as he improved from his freshman year to his sophomore year, it looked like he'd be a stud for Drake for the next 2 years. But instead, he will play his last 2 seasons elsewhere. In all probability, some Power 6 school was looking for a big man, and somehow got word to Robbins that there was a scholarship waiting for him. I wish him luck, but I sympathize with Drake fans, their team, and coaches. I hope he doesn't become a backup for a BIg Ten or Big 12 team and realize he made a mistake.
Des Moines Register article-
https://www.desmoinesregister.com/s...lldogs-missouri-valley-conference/2942751001/
https://www.desmoinesregister.com/s...lldogs-missouri-valley-conference/2942751001/
I’d be surprised if he becomes a backup, he is better than Reggie lynch was imo and he started at Minnesota iirc. His role and production were lower and Liam might be used as a defensive specialist somewhere else. I feel bad for drake tho. He could have had a great career if he had stayed.
The Old Guy
New member
This is one of those cases where the school that "stole" him should have to pay a big fine to Drake. Drake was the only school who recruited him and spent a lot of time and effort helping him develop. I wish him well, but truly hope that Drake makes the NCAA tournament while the school he transfers to is not included in the tournament. He could have had a great junior and senior career at Drake. I would like to know if he was offered a large amount of money to transfer. If a MVC school tried this, the NCAA would come down hard on them. When one of the power conference schools does this, the NCAA just looks the other way. Look at how Danny Granger was "stolen" by New Mexico after Les came and Broussard joined Alford's coaching staff at NM. Despite copies of numerous e-mail and phone messages from NM to Danny, they were never punished for the illegal recruiting. Hope Drake has a great year despite losing Liam.
bradleyfan124
Active member
I would find out who tampered with him. The grass always looks greener on the other side but when you get over there it is still the same dirt. If he thinks he will do better at another school he should talk to that big center Valpo had that transferred last year and see how that worked out for him. I believe if you are good enough the scouts will find you no mater where you are at. Ask Roger Phegley, Anthony Parker, Hersey Hawkins, Patrick O'Bryant
Tommy
Well-known member
This is a disappointing fact of being a mid-major. On the bright side, winning seems to curtail this type of thing quite well, and as of yet, BU has not been hit with this bug. If Drake hadn't been a middle of the road team this year, chances are Robbins would have hung around.
Still sucks. Just one of many things wrong with how the NCAA has created rules to benefit the Power 6 money makers and disregard the smaller schools.
Still sucks. Just one of many things wrong with how the NCAA has created rules to benefit the Power 6 money makers and disregard the smaller schools.
LongTimeFan
Active member
It is a shame. Bradley's games with Drake should be easier but this makes the MVC weaker. A weaker conference makes it harder to recruit.
Bradley3342
New member
These young guys always looking for greener pastures and most of the time that isn’t the case. Great point bradleyfan124. I’ve always said that if you’re good enough the pro scouts know where your at and will come to watch you play. I hope he didn’t make a mistake and end up sitting the rest of his career. Depends on where he lands.
Cousins Cuts podcast
New member
For your information i happen to know that Danny did not like Jim les and that is a big part of why he left. As a matter of fact Les basically showed him the door because he didn't like him either. And also new Mexico is also a mid-major but i get your point
New Mexico was actually punished, but it was only a minimal token punishment. And their head coach at the time was Ritchie McKay, who had been a former assistant under Jim Molinari. After appeals by Bradley to the NCAA, the NCAA finally did do an investigation months after the Granger transfer. And the Albuquerque Journal had already obtained the cell phone records for McKay and Broussard through FOIA which proved they had tampered by making dozens of calls to Danny Granger, his father, and his high school coach after they had lied and had initially claimed there was never any contact. After the Abuquerque Journal exposed their lies, they changed their tune and claimed the calls were simply to wish Danny Granger "happy birthday" and see how he was doing (Broussard had known and recruited Granger when he was an assistant under Jim Molinari). The NCAA had no choice but to rule that there had been illegal tampering by Broussard. But then the punishment consisted merely of a 2-day reduction of the number of days he could be off campus to recruit and requiring him to attend one NCAA Compliance seminar, and a one month ban on Broussard making recruiting calls (tnone of these penalties applied to any other assistant or to McKay). There was no meaningful punishment and no loss of scholarships, and McKay, who had talked to Granger on some of the calls, got off scott free. The recruiting limitations did not include other New Mexico assistants, so the effect on recruiting was negligible. And there was absolutely no punishment applied to Danny Granger, who had also lied and claimed he left Bradley because he was homesick, and was treated poorly by Jim Les and denied there was any illegal contact until the newspaper proved otherwise. Incidentally, no other BU players corroborated any of Granger's claims.
Summaries- https://www.theintelligencer.com/new...y-10532037.php
http://a.espncdn.com/ncb/news/2003/0304/1518186.html
But as Old Guy said, the NCAA is not the least bit concerned when bigger schools cheat and tamper with players from smaller schools and raid their rosters for talent. If it had been the other way around, there would no doubt have been far greater punishment.
Bradley had one other player tampered with when they changed coaches in 2002. Joah Tucker was freshman on the 2001-02 Molinari team with Danny Granger. He also showed flashes that he was a very good player. But after Jim Les was fired, Tucker went home for spring break and visited the UW-Milwaukee campus, and scrimmaged in open gyms there with players from the UW-Milwaukee team. UW-M Head Coach Bruce Pearl was present at at least one or more of those open gyms, which is a violation in itself. But he also had conversations with Tucker, who then decided to leave Bradley and transfer to Pearl's UW-Milwaukee team. Tucker went on to become an All-Horizon League player and was the key player who carried UW-M to the Sweet 16 in 2005.
Ken Kavanagh also appealed for the NCAA to investigate that case of obvious tampering, but after reviewing the claim, they refused to investigate.
Cousins Cuts podcast
New member
I happen to know Danny and yes Danny may have been illegally tampered with but he did not lie. I know that Jim Les did treat him badly and he was homesick.
I like Danny, and I am happy for him that everything eventually worked out well, and he had a successful career.
But I am sure Danny's side of the story is different, and people can believe whatever they want. Danny at first denied that he had been illegally contacted by Broussard, but it was proven that he was. So he was not truthful with that, though I can understand that he was trying not to get anyone into trouble. But, as far as the abuse claims, none of it is true, IMO. He was simply held to the same standards as every other player.
I know there was friction between him and Les. But a lot of it stemmed from Danny's tendency to be late for practices and bus trips and he expected special treatment because he was the star. The final straw was when he was quite late for a bus trip to Evansville for a game on January 11, 2003, Coach Jim Les' first season at Bradley. Coach Les had put up with enough, so despite Danny being the star of the team, he ordered the bus to leave without Danny. The bus was scheduled to stop at The Beef House at exit 4 on I-74 for the players to eat lunch. When Granger realized the bus left without him, he called Danny Adams, a freshman who was redshirting that season and was not allowed to travel with the team. Danny Adams had a car and Granger asked Adams to drive him to meet up with the team at The Beef House, which he did. Granger did not start the game that night in Evansville. I think it might have been the only game in his Bradley career that he did not start. But he did play a lot and was the leading scorer that night. That was the last game he played for Bradley. He quit the team as soon as the bus arrived back in Peoria. Later we learned he had received numerous phone calls from Duane Broussard, who was an assistant coach at New Mexico, and he quickly announced he was transferring there.
I am sure Granger has a different story, but there was no other player who backed up his stories of abuse. And all of this, including the episode of January 11, 2003, was well documented by the Peoria Journal Star sportswriters.
And Jim Les went on to coach 9 seasons at Bradley and another 9 at UC-Davis, and oddly, there has never been any another claim by any other player for Jim Les of player abuse. Every player who has ever played with or for Jim Les has spoken highly of him, and not a single one ever alleged abuse.
I also know Jim Les quite well, and attended numerous practices and went on road trips with the team as a member of the Braves Scholarship Society (the BSS did not start until around 2006), and can vouch that he always treated players, as well as everyone else, fairly and respectfully, and is not a guy who would ever abuse anyone.
Many of the sources that verify all this have been long since purged from the internet, including the PJ Star articles and the Albuquerque Journal articles about all this.
If anyone knows how to find those, let me know.
Here are a couple others-
https://www.bradleyfans.com/forum/sp...8081#post38081
https://archive.sltrib.com/story.php...rts/ci_2533843
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...155-story.html
http://a.espncdn.com/ncb/news/2003/0304/1518186.html
https://www.theintelligencer.com/new...n-10508124.php
Here is one that includes the worst allegation that Danny Granger could muster, that after the loss at Evansville, the bus came directly home and did not stop to "let the players eat". Granger was the only one who made any issue about it.
https://www.koat.com/article/lobos-t...coach/5014986#
Of course, they were able to eat as soon as they got home. But then Granger made up a story about being hypoglycemic, which nobody believed, and which curiously never resurfaced again despite a long career at New Mexico and in the NBA.
But I am sure Danny's side of the story is different, and people can believe whatever they want. Danny at first denied that he had been illegally contacted by Broussard, but it was proven that he was. So he was not truthful with that, though I can understand that he was trying not to get anyone into trouble. But, as far as the abuse claims, none of it is true, IMO. He was simply held to the same standards as every other player.
I know there was friction between him and Les. But a lot of it stemmed from Danny's tendency to be late for practices and bus trips and he expected special treatment because he was the star. The final straw was when he was quite late for a bus trip to Evansville for a game on January 11, 2003, Coach Jim Les' first season at Bradley. Coach Les had put up with enough, so despite Danny being the star of the team, he ordered the bus to leave without Danny. The bus was scheduled to stop at The Beef House at exit 4 on I-74 for the players to eat lunch. When Granger realized the bus left without him, he called Danny Adams, a freshman who was redshirting that season and was not allowed to travel with the team. Danny Adams had a car and Granger asked Adams to drive him to meet up with the team at The Beef House, which he did. Granger did not start the game that night in Evansville. I think it might have been the only game in his Bradley career that he did not start. But he did play a lot and was the leading scorer that night. That was the last game he played for Bradley. He quit the team as soon as the bus arrived back in Peoria. Later we learned he had received numerous phone calls from Duane Broussard, who was an assistant coach at New Mexico, and he quickly announced he was transferring there.
I am sure Granger has a different story, but there was no other player who backed up his stories of abuse. And all of this, including the episode of January 11, 2003, was well documented by the Peoria Journal Star sportswriters.
And Jim Les went on to coach 9 seasons at Bradley and another 9 at UC-Davis, and oddly, there has never been any another claim by any other player for Jim Les of player abuse. Every player who has ever played with or for Jim Les has spoken highly of him, and not a single one ever alleged abuse.
I also know Jim Les quite well, and attended numerous practices and went on road trips with the team as a member of the Braves Scholarship Society (the BSS did not start until around 2006), and can vouch that he always treated players, as well as everyone else, fairly and respectfully, and is not a guy who would ever abuse anyone.
Many of the sources that verify all this have been long since purged from the internet, including the PJ Star articles and the Albuquerque Journal articles about all this.
If anyone knows how to find those, let me know.
Here are a couple others-
https://www.bradleyfans.com/forum/sp...8081#post38081
https://archive.sltrib.com/story.php...rts/ci_2533843
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...155-story.html
http://a.espncdn.com/ncb/news/2003/0304/1518186.html
https://www.theintelligencer.com/new...n-10508124.php
Here is one that includes the worst allegation that Danny Granger could muster, that after the loss at Evansville, the bus came directly home and did not stop to "let the players eat". Granger was the only one who made any issue about it.
https://www.koat.com/article/lobos-t...coach/5014986#
Of course, they were able to eat as soon as they got home. But then Granger made up a story about being hypoglycemic, which nobody believed, and which curiously never resurfaced again despite a long career at New Mexico and in the NBA.
Yes, I believe Minnesota is at the top of the list of likely places he'll land. Richard Pitino likes to raid midmajor rosters for talent. I suspect Iowa State might also be a possibility, though current coach Steve Prohm is not as aggressive in recruiting transfers as Fred Hoiberg was. Both Minnesota and Iowa State have openings.
As OhRotanes said, the Minnesota Associate Head Coach under Pitino is Ed Conroy. He is a Davenport, IA native (the hometown of Liam Robbins)-
https://gophersports.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/ed-conroy/1991
JC
Member
Clipped from that link from the Salt Lake Trib ...
Les screamed foul and school officials decided not to release Granger from his scholarship, but McKay proclaimed New Mexico's innocence in the whole matter.
At one point, Granger Jr. held a press conference in Albuquerque, where McKay allowed him to tell his side of the story.
"The purpose . . . is to let Danny speak his mind," McKay said. "I think he was a little frustrated as to all the accusations that have been out there."
Les saw the press conference from a different angle: "It's disappointing that the University of New Mexico would use a student-athlete as a shield to deflect attention from their admitted NCAA violations."
McKay admitted that Broussard broke "the spirit" of NCAA laws by talking to Granger, but not the "letter of the law" because transferring to New Mexico was never discussed.
I have a question.
If someone made 42 phone calls from Kerry Rupp's cell phone to Andrew Bogut or his father . . . if he ended up leaving Utah next week . . . if he surfaced at Indiana next season, could anyone possibly believe they did not talk about changing schools?
I didn't think so.
I joined Bradleyfans after all the Danny Granger drama, but I do remember some of it. But this quote from the Utah writer is how I feel about it. It there were over 40 documented calls from the New Mexico coach to Granger and his dad, anyone would have to be insane or have an agenda to believe there was never any talk of transferring. But regardless, even one call constitutes an NCAA violation, regardless of what was discussed. I'll bet if someone uncovered 42 phone calls between one of Bradley's coaches and Terry Nolan, Jr. prior to his transfer, Bradley would have gotten the death penalty.
Les screamed foul and school officials decided not to release Granger from his scholarship, but McKay proclaimed New Mexico's innocence in the whole matter.
At one point, Granger Jr. held a press conference in Albuquerque, where McKay allowed him to tell his side of the story.
"The purpose . . . is to let Danny speak his mind," McKay said. "I think he was a little frustrated as to all the accusations that have been out there."
Les saw the press conference from a different angle: "It's disappointing that the University of New Mexico would use a student-athlete as a shield to deflect attention from their admitted NCAA violations."
McKay admitted that Broussard broke "the spirit" of NCAA laws by talking to Granger, but not the "letter of the law" because transferring to New Mexico was never discussed.
I have a question.
If someone made 42 phone calls from Kerry Rupp's cell phone to Andrew Bogut or his father . . . if he ended up leaving Utah next week . . . if he surfaced at Indiana next season, could anyone possibly believe they did not talk about changing schools?
I didn't think so.
I joined Bradleyfans after all the Danny Granger drama, but I do remember some of it. But this quote from the Utah writer is how I feel about it. It there were over 40 documented calls from the New Mexico coach to Granger and his dad, anyone would have to be insane or have an agenda to believe there was never any talk of transferring. But regardless, even one call constitutes an NCAA violation, regardless of what was discussed. I'll bet if someone uncovered 42 phone calls between one of Bradley's coaches and Terry Nolan, Jr. prior to his transfer, Bradley would have gotten the death penalty.
Liam Robbins has announced he will transfer to Minnesota.
https://www.thedailygopher.com/2020/...s-daniel-oturu
http://verbalcommits.com/players/liam-robbins
Also note this tweet. It makes sense to me...
https://twitter.com/CBB_Central/stat...38284976193536
The top article makes the claim "The thing that stands out about Robbins is that the led the nation in blocked shots this past season."
But that is not true. Here are the official NCAA stats-
https://www.ncaa.com/stats/basketbal...individual/138
Robbins ranked 5th in blocks per game, and 3rd in total blocks.
They also say-
Robbins should be able to step in and immediately be adept at protecting the rim. Scoring and rebounding should be solid....
He is not a graduate transfer but it is widely expected that the NCAA is going to grant a blanket waiver this season for all transfers.
Of course, that is not a guarantee. He does not meet the current criteria for an NCAA waiver, though the NCAA has been overly generous with their handing out waivers in recent years, so I think the odds are good he will get one. The NCAA is scheduled to vote on a measure to allow all Division I student-athletes the right to transfer one time during their career without penalty.
However, there are reports that if this happens, it would not start until the 2021-22 season and would not apply to Robbins anyway.
https://twitter.com/JonRothstein/sta...11510804418560
https://www.thedailygopher.com/2020/...s-daniel-oturu
http://verbalcommits.com/players/liam-robbins
Also note this tweet. It makes sense to me...
https://twitter.com/CBB_Central/stat...38284976193536
The top article makes the claim "The thing that stands out about Robbins is that the led the nation in blocked shots this past season."
But that is not true. Here are the official NCAA stats-
https://www.ncaa.com/stats/basketbal...individual/138
Robbins ranked 5th in blocks per game, and 3rd in total blocks.
They also say-
Robbins should be able to step in and immediately be adept at protecting the rim. Scoring and rebounding should be solid....
He is not a graduate transfer but it is widely expected that the NCAA is going to grant a blanket waiver this season for all transfers.
Of course, that is not a guarantee. He does not meet the current criteria for an NCAA waiver, though the NCAA has been overly generous with their handing out waivers in recent years, so I think the odds are good he will get one. The NCAA is scheduled to vote on a measure to allow all Division I student-athletes the right to transfer one time during their career without penalty.
However, there are reports that if this happens, it would not start until the 2021-22 season and would not apply to Robbins anyway.
https://twitter.com/JonRothstein/sta...11510804418560