By Whitney Spencer

In 2000, John Calipari wanted Dajuan Wagner to attend the University of Memphis so badly that he made Milt Wagner, Dajuan’s father, his coordinator of basketball operations. He then gave a scholarship to forward Arthur Barclay, Wagner’s best friend. Another such deal was made for a recruit that John Calipari eventually landed at his new job at the University of Kentucky.
Scott Drew, the head coach at Baylor University, hired Dwon Clifton to his staff as director of player development. Clifton just happened to be the summer league coach of John Wall, the top-rated point guard in the class of 2009. As the world now knows, Wall committed to the University of Kentucky shortly after the hiring of Calipari. The package deal didn’t quite work for Baylor, but it is a growing trend in the realm of college basketball.
This controversial issue of package deals has officially arrived to the campus of the University of Louisville. Coach Rick Pitino recently hired Indianapolis Pike High School assistant coach Shabaka Lands as a special assistant to the head coach. Pike High is the home of Marquis Teague, the younger brother of Jeff Teague, former Wake Forest University standout guard. His father, Shawn Teague, was a player for Pitino at Boston University. As one of the nation’s top recruits for 2011, Marquis Teague has been named the top point guard in the class by ESPNU, and is ranked the No.4 player overall.
From an outsider’s perspective, it looks as if Rick Pitino hired Lands in order to secure a commitment from Teague. But the head coach at Pike maintains that there are many reasons to dismiss that thought. The main reason being that, if it were a package, Marquis Teague would have already committed. Still, the situation raises eyebrows. The last thing the U of L men’s basketball team needs is more negative attention, in the wake of the ongoing Pitino extortion case.
I can’t say whether or not the reasoning behind Lands’ hiring had anything to do with Teague, or if his abilities as a special assistant are exactly what is needed. But I think all coaches and fans should be forewarned.  Package deals date back to the days when Danny Manning played for Kansas. The NCAA is just now getting fed up with it. A new monitoring team has been created to ensure compliance with current rules, but they will have a tough time proving anything. Still, that won’t stop the NCAA, who is just waiting for someone to be their first example.
Pitino has the ability to recruit top players without  taking part in this practice. Sure, it might work this time. But what happens when the program pulls a Baylor, and hires someone in order to gain a top-ranked player, and it doesn’t work. Where do you go from there? Eyebrows will be raised as soon as the person is removed from their position. Cardinal athletics have been known for playing clean; let’s not taint that image.