Saturday, March 31, 2012

New MSSU coach says recruiting violations had nothing to do with her leaving Newman post

Former Missouri Southern State University basketball standout Jaime Green, who was hired this week as an assistant to women's coach MaryAnn Mitts, says her troubles as Newman University head coach, including recruiting violations and players who had to be kicked off the squad after being arrested for dealing cocaine, had nothing to do with her decision to come to Southern.

"Absolutely not," Green said in an e-mail interview with the Wichita Eagle. "I am returning home to my alma mater. I have the opportunity to learn from (my) mentor and be less than an hour away from my family in Arkansas. Moving from a head coaching position in the Heartland (Conference) to an assistant coach in the MIAA is not a step backwards or a lateral move, but in my opinion, a step forward. The MIAA is the best D2 conference in the nation and the fact that my it is my alma mater and so close to my family was a no-brainer."


Things would have been difficult for Green had she stayed at Newman, according to published reports. University officials had stripped her of two scholarships and limited her recruiting visits to eight, as well as requiring her to attend a seminar in recruiting regulations compliance in May. She also was suspended for one game.


And those punishments were just the ones that came from the university after it was determined that Green had talked one of her players into using her credit card to pay parking fines for two Division I recruits so their transcripts could be released.


Green asked the player to keep mum about the deal, the player told the Eagle. "She (Green) told me to keep quiet about it. She said she'd pay me back in cash, but I shouldn't say anything because it could get her in trouble."


The university self-reported the violations to the NCAA, so the possibility of further sanctions remained.


The Turner Report's first post on Green's problems including more information can be found at this link.


Read more here: http://blogs.kansas.com/statecolleges/2012/03/29/jaime-green-on-leaving-newman-for-missouri-southern/#storylink=cpy

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