Richardson Leaving Ensworth

[brothers]

I guess this is only news because he was a senior? Lots of these type schools lose boys to grades, and they pack it up and go back to a public school, I should say some do. These schools are hard enough for the kids who come up in private schools, at least MUS and CBHS are tough I know.

[Redtwin]

I would agree with 3yardsandacloud. He should have been suspended from athletics at EHS until his academic standing improved. These high profile football players at Ensworth (Jefferson/Darkwa/Richardson) have sure had interesting tenures with the school: Jefferson was certainly athletic enough to play football in the Big 12/ACC/SEC but he signs with MTSU, Darkwa is one of the most prolific backs in recent DII history and ends up at Tulane (a fine school, but bound by C-USA restraints...aka not many), and Richardson is apparently not even a qualifier yet (kind of unreal if you think about it). Thank goodness for the sliding scale the NCAA introduced as a means of determining who is eligible to play DI football...because the GPA factor isn't incredibly important if you score high enough on the SAT or ACT. If you only have a 2.000 Core Sum GPA in HS, you only need a 1010 on the SAT math and reading sections or a 86 sum score on the ACT. Anyone got a link to EHS's list of core classes?

 

There does seem to be a pattern developing with some of the star players at EHS you mentioned having difficulty in the college recruiting process due to academic concerns. You don't see Vandy offering any of them and they're in its back yard.

[Antwan]

There does seem to be a pattern developing with some of the star players at EHS you mentioned having difficulty in the college recruiting process due to academic concerns. You don't see Vandy offering any of them and they're in its back yard.

 

Heck...Vandy probably doesn't know about them.

[williamsoncounty]

Wasn't the young man injured last week?

[Bucksfan]

TSSAA eligibilty which is very lenient and Qaulifying for NCAA clearing house two different worlds, it may not have been until he tried to get through the clearing house that the issue arose. To agree with the other poster who said the transition from public to private is very tough and we will never know what kind of student he was upon arrival. If he does not have the tools or the want to there is only so much any support can do. I do hope it works out in his best interest.

Edited October 24, 2010 by Bucksfan

[bellringer83]

Wasn't the young man injured last week?

 

I heard from some people who were there that the "injury" last week was a mysterious one that appeared only after he was benched by the head coach for the 2nd half of the game after committing a personal foul.

 

After halftime, he was sitting on the bench when the coach told him that only players who were going to play could sit on the bench and that, since he was not going to play, he would have to go to another area on the sideline. At that point, he got up from the bench, took off his pads, and told the trainer that his shoulder was sore and that he needed to have ice applied to it.

[RedRobin]

Wow - so much hate for Ensworth that some are willing to use a teenager's (apparently) unfortunate circumstance to get the hate train rolling. Sorry to rain some facts on the parade of assumptions and innuendo, but here goes:

 

1. Unfounded allegation/assumption: "The tragedy here (I guess overlooked because Ensworth won last night largely on the back of another "recruit") is for this young man. After all the talk about the "nurturing" environment at Ensworth and how he was valued as an individual rather than an athlete, it is clear that the best interests of the young man were not the priority. If they were, he would have been suspended from the football team until his academic performance rose to a level that gave him the best opportunities in life."

 

His dad disagrees with you re: the "nurturing environment" at Ensworth. Read the article in the Tennessean which quotes Lanny (Antonio's dad) as saying, among other things, "...Antonio is better for being at Ensworth." Your own proposed plan of action regarding what would be in Antonio's best interests (i.e. "suspending him from the team until his academic performance rose") sounds exactly like what happened here - not sure what the school could or should have done differently..

 

2. Unfounded allegation/assumption: "This young man was used and then tossed away."

 

Again, this statement conflicts with the feelings of the family involved. Moreover, if Antonio's academic career at Ensworth was merely some ploy to get him on the football field, would they not have kept him eligible through the end of the season? If the school was only interested in having him play football, would they have brought this problem to a head on the eave of their biggest game of the year as the state playoffs loom?. If Ensworth is, as you imply, evil, they certainly aren't very good at it. You may want to ask yourself whether your school would have had the integrity to act under similar circumstances.

 

3. Unfounded allegation/assumptions: "These high profile football players at Ensworth (Jefferson/Darkwa/Richardson) have sure had interesting tenures with the school: Jefferson was certainly athletic enough to play football in the Big 12/ACC/SEC but he signs with MTSU, Darkwa is one of the most prolific backs in recent DII history and ends up at Tulane (a fine school, but bound by C-USA restraints...aka not many)." and "There

does seem to be a pattern developing with some of the star players at EHS you mentioned having difficulty in the college recruiting process due to academic concerns. You don't see Vandy offering any of them and they're in its back yard."

 

Not sure what constitutes an "interesting tenure" at a high school in your mind, but maybe you should ask them what they think of their H.S. matriculation before you try to smear these young men on a message board. Do you know that Jefferson was named the scholar athlete of the year at MTSU as a freshman last year? Or that the conferences that you mention do not offer many football scholarships to players that are 5'8*, 170 lbs. (though listed at 5'9", 180 lbs.), even if they have tremendous talent? Your unfounded implication that Tavarres is at MTSU rather than at another school due to some mysterious academic problem/deficiency is shameful (and, I might mention, quite ungentlemanly). I really do not get the point as concerns Orleans; Tulane is a much better school academically than any of the schools in the SEC (with the notable exception of Vanderbilt). Tulane football seems to have worked out extremely well recently for another running back who currently starts for the Chicago Bears. Not sure what Orleans could have done regarding his college choice that would not have aroused your "suspicion" - perhaps Ensworth athletes should start checking with you before choosing a college? Care to let us know the college/university at which you matriculated so that we can all second-guess your choice while implying that you could have done better had you not had "academic concerns"?

 

Baylor, Father Ryan, BGA, CBHS and other schools from Division II AA also have no football players at Vandy. Does that mean that these schools are academically deficient in your mind as well? Does the fact that Smyrna has a player at Vandy mean that it is a better school than any of these? Does the fact that Ensworth has had a football player score a perfect score on the ACT (a 36) make you more or less suspicious of its academic credentials? Would the football culture at your school support and encourage such a young man to join the football team? My point is that you have no point here. If for whatever reason it makes you feel better to believe that

Ensworth is not a premier college preparatory school, then so be it, but please do not use false information and innuendo to support your position. The bottom line is that from its 3 graduating classes, Ensworth has a total of 3 graduates (one from each graduating class) who are on football scholarships at FBS schools: UCLA, MTSU and Tulane. You can argue about the relative quality of these schools as much as you like, but I think it unfair for you to imply that they would be somewhere else if they were not the subject of some phantom "academic concerns" that you just made up because you hate their high school.

 

Ensworth has done very well in football against schools that have graduated far more DI players during the last 3 years. Kinda ironic that fans of some of those schools seem always to be first in line to accuse Ensworth of "recruiting", isn't it? I guess they are just good at "recruiting" guys who happen to be great citizens, students and high school athletes. Sounds like a pretty good thing to me!

 

You can support your school and team without having to libel other programs.

Edited October 24, 2010 by RedRobin

[sarahpalin]

Only the family and a few at Ensworth will know the whole story behind this. What is truly unfortunate is that a high profile 18 year old, is having a traumatic experience played out in the newpaper, radio, television and internet sites. While I haven't looked on any college recruiting websites, I am sure this will be a topic.

The young man will be called lazy and the school and family will have accusations thrown at them. In the meantime, a young man must feel divestated. For it to happen at this point in the season, it has to be a very significant event. Whether or not Antontio has fault in the matter, it is truly a shame that it has to be played out before the public, but then America loves a good scandal.

 

points to ponder :

-was he given the chance to stay at EHS as just a student

-was all educational assistance used by EHS to help the student, and in return did the student just not respond and/or care about his grades

-did he use EHS or did EHS use him

 

I was an o-cord for a major catholic high school in the chicago area for over 10 years - my son was recruited by Northwestern so i do have some knowledge of what goes on in regards to this subject.

If we found out that Jimmy John was a standout at his middle school,we would make sure he got one of our letters to invite him to our "summer camp" or perhaps, i would go to his middle school talk to his coach and many other ways to entice the kid to come to our school = technically we wouldnt call it recruiting but.....

 

 

Dont forget hte hoopla when this kid was enticed to come to EHS, from his old school ( cant recall the name of his old high school , think it was a lil south of Maury County - heck did his daddy move closer to EHS, did he live with extended family, or did his dad play taxi driver each day - hey does ehs go out to find the best tuba players for the band?

[AP.battleground.59]

 

points to ponder :

-was he given the chance to stay at EHS as just a student

-was all educational assistance used by EHS to help the student, and in return did the student just not respond and/or care about his grades

-did he use EHS or did EHS use him

 

I was an o-cord for a major catholic high school in the chicago area for over 10 years - my son was recruited by Northwestern so i do have some knowledge of what goes on in regards to this subject.

If we found out that Jimmy John was a standout at his middle school,we would make sure he got one of our letters to invite him to our "summer camp" or perhaps, i would go to his middle school talk to his coach and many other ways to entice the kid to come to our school = technically we wouldnt call it recruiting but.....

 

 

Dont forget hte hoopla when this kid was enticed to come to EHS, from his old school ( cant recall the name of his old high school , think it was a lil south of Maury County - heck did his daddy move closer to EHS, did he live with extended family, or did his dad play taxi driver each day - hey does ehs go out to find the best tuba players for the band?

I bet the best tubas players look for the schools with top music programs. Much the same way as a top athlete would want to attend a school with great facilities and one of the best coaching staffs in the state. Usually, top private schools sell themselves through reputation without having to directly recruit students...so you're dumb.

Edited October 24, 2010 by AP.battleground.59

[owlbooster]

I am repeating what a poster said last year when the "recruiting" issue raised its ugly head. Technically, all private school students are "recruited." There is no "geographical base" of students.

 

My school (MUS) has an "open house" Sunday. This has been extensively advertised in the media. Athletic camps and combines are held on our campus and athletes naturally are invited specifically. (Why invite a tuba player to this?) The Grizzlies held an open intrasquad scrimmage in our gym. Little League teams use our various fields. Sometimes their coaches talk about their "studs." In the eyes of many, some or even all of these are considered recruiting. So be it. We, like many private schools, have superlative facilities and we make them available for public events. No red tape like in the public sector. It's advertising and a pubic service too. Private schools do it to attract athletes, musicians, chess players, supporters, whatever. And for it, we have been relegated to a separate division of the TSSAA.

Edited October 24, 2010 by owlbooster

[KWoodroof]

I was an o-cord for a major catholic high school in the chicago area for over 10 years - my son was recruited by Northwestern so i do have some knowledge of what goes on in regards to this subject.

If we found out that Jimmy John was a standout at his middle school,we would make sure he got one of our letters to invite him to our "summer camp" or perhaps, i would go to his middle school talk to his coach and many other ways to entice the kid to come to our school = technically we wouldnt call it recruiting but.....

 

 

Dont forget hte hoopla when this kid was enticed to come to EHS, from his old school ( cant recall the name of his old high school , think it was a lil south of Maury County - heck did his daddy move closer to EHS, did he live with extended family, or did his dad play taxi driver each day - hey does ehs go out to find the best tuba players for the band?

You're on your third identity here, yet it's always the same drivel.

[KWoodroof]

My point is that you have no point here. If for whatever reason it makes you feel better to believe that

Ensworth is not a premier college preparatory school, then so be it, but please do not use false information and innuendo to support your position.

Long post, and I saw no reason to repost all of it. Excellent points, though I would quibble with the idea that it's merely a hatred for Ensworth here; it's directed at all of Div II. It's a bit harsh of you to suggest that they shouldn't use false information and innuendo to bolster their arguments, given that they have nothing else. I've never seen any evidence cited here at all. Heaven knows I've asked a couple of times.

 

And one last thing...I flatter myself to think that from time to time I have a good line in one of my posts. "My point is that you have no point here" is one of the finest I've seen in a long time, one I'd be proud to have penned. My hat's off to you: well-crafted.