Todd Bozeman - Irresponsible mistake cost him a career

Todd Bozeman had it all but wanted more. (see quote and link below for full story)

He was one of the top coaches in college basketball especially after he defeated Duke, the defending NCAA chamption.

A BIG mistake cost him dearly. He paid money to the parents of of top high school player which is illegal. The pressure of being the best and winning at any cost was probably on his mind at the time.

In life, one must make responsible mistakes, not irresponsible ones. His mistake derailed a promising and most likely lavish career.

It is a good lesson for anyone. There are no shortcuts to success just hard work. One must "put in the time" to get ahead.

I am happy he is back in basketball and seems to be ready to do what he loves, teaching basketball and education young men about life.

I wish him well.

Gswede

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/28/sports/ncaabasketball/28bozeman.html?ex=1199509200&en=38722713eb057b7a&ei=5070&emc=eta1

December 28, 2007
For Bozeman, Road to Redemption Winds Slowly
By JERÉ LONGMAN

As clearly as any coach, Bozeman, 44, understands the consequences of decisions. In 1993, he was the upstart at California whose team stunned the defending champion in the N.C.A.A. tournament. His star player made the cover of Sports Illustrated, shooting a jumper over Bobby Hurley, vaulting over a headline that read: “Jason Kidd and Cal Dethrone Duke.”

Bozeman was 29 at the time, the youngest coach to reach the Round of 16. He would become the first to win three straight games over U.C.L.A. at Pauley Pavilion. He was going places, all right, just not the places everyone expected.

Seeking a replacement for Kidd at Cal, Bozeman admitted paying $30,000 to the parents of point guard Jelani Gardner. “I knew right away that wasn’t good,” Bozeman said. “But the wheels were already going.”

Eventually, those wheels crushed his career.

Upset about Gardner’s playing time, his parents went to the National Collegiate Athletic Association and told about the payments. By late 1996, Bozeman was gone from Cal. The N.C.A.A. imposed an eight-year show-cause ban, meaning that any university wanting Bozeman had to show just cause why he should be hired.