Jon Wilner
Commentary on Pac-12 developments on and off the field, and court …
Falling: ASU accountability
The Hotline is beginning to think working at Arizona State would be a pretty good gig, especially in a senior-level position. Apparently, managers of people at ASU aren’t responsible for the actions of those people.
We say that because, well, university president Michael Crow said that very thing in his first interview about the recruiting scandal that has swallowed ASU football for eight months and counting.
Crow, athletic director Ray Anderson and coach Herm Edwards appeared on a friendly media outlet, Arizona Sports 98.7 — that’s ASU’s flagship radio station — for separate but successive interviews earlier this week.
Notably, Crow called the recruiting scandal a “stumble” and gave Edwards a vote of confidence. In fact, listening to Anderson and Crow praise the fourth-year head coach, you’d think the Sun Devils had just won the Pac-12 championship with a scandal-free program.
(Psst: That’s Utah.)
The comment that made the deepest impression on the Hotline, however, came when Crow was asked why he continued to employ Edwards. His response:
“Coach Edwards has done an outstanding job of upgrading our overall program. We’ve got this, this collision of people that decided not to play by the rules relative to recruiting. Coach Edwards is responsible for the actions of all of his people, but these are not things that he asked them to do. These are not things that he was a part of.”
Wow. Just … wow.
Crow is essentially saying that if half the vice presidents at ASU engaged in rogue activity — a coordinated, systemic rogue activity — he would not be responsible for their actions as long as he didn’t, you know, ask them to do it.
It also appears that Crow is misinformed (to put it kindly), because Edwards reportedly did participate in some of the improper meetings with recruits.
Recall that a dossier of evidence against ASU was sent to the NCAA last summer. According to Yahoo, it included a picture of a man that appeared to be Edwards escorting a recruit through the weight room during the dead period.
The situation reminds us of the times Crow used to defend his pal, former Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott.
For example, in the winter of 2019 — following the instant replay scandal, another season without a playoff bid, no progress with DirecTV and other massive obstacles and embarrassments — Crow said of the conference:
“By my standard, we’re on track, we’re doing well, we’re making progress and we’re positioning ourselves for greatness going forward.”
After reading those comments (in the Arizona Republic), we wondered if Crow knew something we didn’t or had simply innovated himself into an alternate reality.
Turns out, it was the latter.
Now here we are, three years later, with a different issue — an issue specific to ASU — but the same reaction:
Either Crow knows something about the scandal that we don’t, or he has talked himself into an end-game that doesn’t exist.
Maybe we’ll look back on this tumultuous stretch for ASU football and conclude that Crow and Anderson were a step ahead of everyone — that they played us for the fools and will have a good laugh when the NCAA exonerates Edwards and levies the lightest of sanctions.
Or maybe we’ll regard their words and actions as examples of administrative malpractice the likes of which the conference has rarely seen.
Rising: Arizona football
Every day that Edwards remains in place and the NCAA scandal lingers, ASU’s chief rival benefits.
It’s almost as if Wildcats coach Jedd Fisch is a puppet-master — the Devil Whisperer — and has convinced Crow and Anderson to unwittingly follow a blueprint that craters ASU and elevates Arizona.
In the interview with Arizona Sports 98.7, Crow indicated resolution to the NCAA investigation could be 10 or 12 months away. If so, the Sun Devils could have a second recruiting class waylaid by the scandal, thereby giving Arizona greater opportunity to build on its 2021-22 success.
In fact, Colorado, Utah, UCLA and others in the conference — they, too, are undoubtedly delighted by ASU’s actions. After all, most programs recruit the same pool of players.
If the Sun Devils were scandal-free and winning, they could be a formidable foe on the recruiting trail.
A year ago, Arizona was coming off a winless season and grasping for traction under a rookie coach (Fisch) while ASU had just blasted its rival 70-7 and was poised for a run at the division title.
The roles haven’t flipped entirely, because ASU’s on-field product was substantially better in the fall. But step back and ask yourself which program is in better shape right now.
Which program has greater clarity?
Which has better leadership?
Which is providing fans with reasons for engagement and optimism?
In every case, the needle points to Tucson.
Rising: Oregon football
The Ducks recently received a low-profile commitment via the transfer portal that carries a potential wallop on the field.
Unless you track transfers or follow the Ducks closely, it was possible to miss the news that receiver Chase Cota had jumped from UCLA to Oregon.
But Cota is a starting-caliber player for an offense short on experience and proven production at receiver.
He averaged 16 yards per catch for the Bruins last season in a passing game that leaned heavily on other options (Kyle Phillips, Greg Dulcich).
The move isn’t surprising: Cota is from Oregon, and his dad, Chad, played for the Ducks.
In some regards, it’s the reversal of Travis Dye’s jump to USC.
Cota isn’t in Dye’s class as a talent, but in each case, the player moved home with plans to make an immediate impact on his new team.
Rising: West Coast basketball
The college basketball season began with West Coast teams atop the AP top-25 rankings: Gonzaga and UCLA were Nos. 1-2 in the preseason poll.
The regular season could end with a similar look: The Zags are No. 1, while Arizona has taken over the No. 2 spot and is on track for a No. 1 seed in the NCAAs (after being unranked before the season).
The last time two teams from the western third of the country were No. 1 seeds in the same year?
Back in 2000, when Arizona and Stanford claimed the top spots in the West and South regions, respectively. (Both were eliminated in the second round.)
But it’s not like UCLA has been banished to the role of NCAA long shot:
The Bruins are No. 12 in the latest AP poll, received a No. 4 seed in the recent selection committee projections and remain a threat to return to the Final Four.
For fans of West Coast basketball, March could be a month to remember.
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