http://collegebasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/05/13/ill.../

Groce has suspended him for a year.  This will make 2 seasons without playing after sitting out last year after transferring to Illinois from WMU.  His career seemed promising after being MAC Frosh of the year at Western.  It will be interesting to see what happens to him now.

Perhaps he should have stayed at WMU?

He was arrested about a month ago for underage drinking and obstructing a police officer but it sounds like that may be just the latest in a string of incidents based on the article.

   The big boy for X, wears (wore?) glasses, did he transfer from WMU or CMU? And would he have been still on the team this past year had he not transferred?

Edit: Just rememberd his name, Stainrook, I think.

The police report is interesting and the entire story is a bit wild. JG met with parents and set down terms of suspension. After dealing with alcoholic addiction and drug use and dealing  from his transfers in Athens it seems he has taken a different approach than waiting for the problems to take care of themselves and run their course

Wow, what a story unfolding at Illinois basketball.  Paul not being at Western Michigan this past year was a classic case of "addition by subtraction".   The "team" at Western was a better "team" without Paul and his issues. 
Hopefully the action taken by JG with the involvement of Paul's family will help to get to the root cause of this young man's issues, and help him to turn his life around before it is too late.

Sometimes we tend to forget that these college athletes are growing, developing, "sub-adults" that often make the same mistakes in the maturation and growth process that we all have witnessed or made !   I hope that this young man can take advantage of this 2nd chance, or 3rd chance, or last chance, or whatever the score is !  

Coach Groce is at least getting some decent press coverage for the way he is engaged in this entire situation, trying to make a difference.

I don't think I am "in the know" but Juco's offer a place for guys right out of HS to play while they may not be qualifiers under NCAA standards they can find a place to get back on track at Juco. Other guys go the Juco route if they are not happy with their offers, don't want to do a prep school and feel they have upside that is unseen or they have not had enough exposure for a D1 coach to have them onthe radar.

Juco eligibility requirements

NCAA Div 1/2/3 and NAIA summary Eligibility requirements.


D1

Information on Admission Tests and NCAA Eligibility requirements

Standardized Tests You Need to Take

SAT:Globally recognized college admission test; test how well you know reading, writing, and math and how well you can apply that knowledge. Register at www.collegeboard.com

SAT II (Subject Tests): Content-based tests that allow the student to showcase where they excel; only national admission tests where the student chooses the subject matter; Only some schools require or recommend this test for applicants; please check admission requirements for each school. International students may be waived the SAT II test requirement depending on the institution; Domestic students still must take it for required schools. Register at www.collegeboard.com

ACT: National College admissions test with subject area tests in English, Math, Reading, and Science; accepted by all 4-year colleges and universities in U.S. Register at www.actstudent.org

TOEFL (PBT or iBT): measures an international student’s ability to use and understand English at the University level; offered as both a paper-based test or internet-based test (depends on location of student). Register at www.ets.org/toefl

NCAA Division I Core Classes

4 years of English
3 years of math (Algebra 1 or higher)
2 years of natural or physical science (including one year of lab science if offered by your high school)
1 extra year of English, math, or natural or physical science
2 years of social science
4 years of extra core courses (from any category above, or foreign language, non-doctrinal religion or philosophy);
Basic Requirements
Graduate from High School
Earn a minimum required grade-point average in your core courses
Earn a combined SAT or ACT sum score that matches your core-course grade-point average and test score sliding scale (for example, a 2.400 core-course grade-point average needs an 860 SAT).
Eligibility Center Requirements
Register with NCAA Eligibility Center
Have test scores sent to Eligibility Center


JUcos IIRC only have to be a full time student  with a General High School diploma and a 1.75 GPA. Refer to the link above for clarification or go to eligibilitycorner.njcaa.org/

Jucos themselves are places where guys can rebuild or get a career on track. Like everything else in life the next situation is going to be a repeat of the last one if thre is nochange in the basic day to day operation of a life.

JUCOs include community colleges.  To my knowledge, all community colleges nationwide practice open admissions.  For example, anyone with a high school diploma can be admitted to the branch campuses of Ohio University.  If they do OK in the classroom, they can try to transfer to the Athens campus after a year or two.

As to whether these are "outlaw" programs, it's a mixed bag.  There are many well-run JUCO programs where there are solid expectations of players on and off the court.  There are some JUCO coaches who are great people who like working at that level.    Many good kids end up playing JUCO basketball for a plethora of reasons. 

Perhaps the biggest problem with JUCOs is the constant transferring from one JUCO to another.  Kids don't have to sit out if they transfer, so there is a lot of moving around.  JUCOs have a winter break of about three weeks.  Coaches always hold their breaths to see who does and does not return to the roster after the break.

Some JUCOs have very good facilities and decent salaries for coaches.  Other JUCOs pay a very modest salary to the head coach, and the other one or two coaches on staff are volunteers.  Some JUCOs play in very small high school gyms. 

A lot of kids realize the JUCO is their last chance to pave a road to a Div. I or Div. II or NAIA scholarship, so they clean up their act and buckle down and get their Associates Degrees.  But there are some bad apples who end up being kicked off the roster or quitting.