It was Halloween night in 1988 when Kansas, then the defending national champion, got hit with three-years` probation by the NCAA. The Jayhawks would not be able to defend their title; that was the most publicized of their penalties.
But there was another, historical penalty. It prohibited the school from providing expense-paid recruiting visits for 12 months. ”To me, that was the toughest of the sanctions,” Kansas coach Roy Williams said Wednesday.
It was also the first time a basketball program had been hit with that sanction, but now Illinois expands that group to two. For on Wednesday, as part of the three-year probation slapped on them by the NCAA, the Illini were barred from recruiting off campus for two years and from providing expense-paid recruiting visits to campus for the 1991 calendar year. ”I think both together will be very difficult,” said Williams.
During his difficult year, Williams did manage to sign two prep recruits out of Kansas City-Chris Lindley, who subsequently lost his foot in an accident, and Patrick Richey, currently a Jayhawk guard. Then, last season, Williams benefitted from a roster that included three players from his school`s championship team (Mike Maddox, Kevin Pritchard and Jeff Gueldner).
”We were able to sign those two players from the Kansas City area,”
Williams said. ”If we hadn`t done that, as (Iowa State coach) Johnny Orr said, it would have been a killer. We just don`t have many top prep players here in Kansas. We have to go long distances and bring people long distances. ”But it may not hurt Illinois as much as it did us. They have a pretty big place nearby. At least, Chicago looked pretty big the last time I flew over it. So I think they might be luckier. They can have kids come down with their high school coaches.
”In Illinois, again, you have a program rich in tradition, and so many players so close. So maybe the effects won`t be so noticeable at first, but it could hurt down the road. They won`t be able to do the preliminary work you have to do on underclassmen.”