This is the latest survey question in our annual Candid Coaches feature. College basketball insiders Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander polled nearly 100 men's Division I coaches in the thick of the offseason on a variety of questions about the sport. Honesty was exchanged for anonymity. Question No. 6 is a big/troubling issue looming over all of college athletics.
An errant pass to one player when another was open.
A lack of hustle when an opportunity seemed right there for the taking.
These things happen all the time in college basketball. Usually, they're just mental slips, fatigue, miscommunication or other mishaps organically playing out.
But what if they're not? What if, spasmodically, they're behaviors rooted in malicious intent? What if there's something much more dangerous prowling in plain sight? College basketball has dealt with a handful of cases in recent years where players were found to have either attempted to fix games or sham their personal stat lines in an effort to make money through gambling. There have also been instances where players were busted for betting on their own teams' games, which is obviously against NCAA rules and can also lead to criminal charges.
It's happened at Fresno State and Fordham, Arizona State and San Jose State and … Abilene Christian, Alabama State, Buffalo, Coppin State, DePaul, Eastern Michigan, Kennesaw State, La Salle, New Orleans, Nicholls, North Carolina A&T, Northwestern State, Robert Morris, Saint Louis, Southern Miss, Temple and Tulane.
Surprised by the number? That's the point of putting this question in this year's survey. While there is yet to be a huge scandal in this decade that's captured the country's attention, college basketball has endured a smattering of gambling-incited pyres across its schools and conferences. It's an ever-lurking problem.
What do the coaches think? What have they thought, or wondered, or been curious of inside their own programs? We asked:
Here's your headline: Nearly 100 coaches surveyed and more than 1-in-4 told us they've seriously wondered if at least one of the players they've coached has been on the take.
That's an ALARMING ratio, and an honest return on something that should capture the attention of everyone across college basketball — and at the NCAA level right here, right now. Access to gambling opportunities has never been more prevalent or easier. Advertisements are unavoidable if you consume sports, even on a casual basis, in this country.
So it's no surprise that we've had sporadic instances of athletes getting busted for game-fixing and illegal wagering on their own teams.
Near the end of my interview process, one of the last coaches I spoke to, a head coach in the Big Ten, asked me how many coaches answered yes to this question (after he answered no). I told him my return at that point was around 20% in the affirmative.
"That's a serious, serious problem," he said.
Now, a lot of the coaches surveyed had blunt and/or casual "no" answers. The idea of one of their players actually engaging in this kind of activity has never entered their mind. But, uh, this should be the baseline expectation. So for more than 25% of our polling population to at least admit to having seriously wondered about it, this feels close to a genuine crisis. Given how much time these coaches spend with their players, how well they know the flows of the game of basketball … it probably stands to reason that at least a few of those coaches may have been onto something, only for a player here or there to have never been caught.
The other interesting angle on this: Three mid-major coaches CBS Sports polled answered in the negative, but said there were instances where they thought in real time — or were curious while watching the tape afterward — if a player on an opposing team was on the take.
