Head Coach Katrina Merriweather at Wright State is named HC at Memphis

[DocRon]

Pretty amazing resurrection of Merriweather's career after getting Purdue sanctioned in 2008. In February 2006 Purdue officials found assistant coach Merriweather guilty of helping a team member (Cherelle George) write a research paper in 2005. Purdue officials suspended George and Merriweather was allowed to resign. George was eventually declared permanently ineligible by the NCAA but Merriweather "survived" to coach again.

From the Purdue Exponent (Feb 18, 2008):
"(Purdue's response to the NCAA) says former coach Kristy Curry was aware of one of the violations (and) academic fraud. After two meetings with Merriweather in late 2005 and early 2006 and denials from Merriweather regarding academic fraud, Curry did not pursue it. Curry, who's now the coach at Texas Tech, would have been reprimanded and 'limited for summer recruiting' by (AD Morgan) Burke if she would have stayed at Purdue. Furthermore, it was learned that Curry made two of 49 impermissible contacts with recruits. Merriweather was implicated in the remaining 47 call violations all of which were six minutes or less.

"According to the response, 'It is noted here that had the head coach remained at Purdue University, the assistant coach (Merriweather) would have been terminated.' Merriweather, however, resigned more than a month before that conclusion had been reached."

From the Journal and Courier "The Indianapolis native (Merriweather) received a three-year show-cause penalty from the NCAA, requiring any school hiring Merriweather to appear before the Committee on Infractions. The penalty ended in August, 2010." She was named Wright State women's basketball head coach in April of 2016.

Many people blame Versyp for the decline of Purdue's WBB program and certainly she shares blame. I am happy a change is being made. But IMO the decline really started with this event.
______________________________

 

[BoilerJS]

Pretty amazing resurrection of Merriweather's career after getting Purdue sanctioned in 2008. In February 2006 Purdue officials found assistant coach Merriweather guilty of helping a team member (Cherelle George) write a research paper in 2005. Purdue officials suspended George and Merriweather was allowed to resign. George was eventually declared permanently ineligible by the NCAA but Merriweather "survived" to coach again.

From the Purdue Exponent (Feb 18, 2008):
"(Purdue's response to the NCAA) says former coach Kristy Curry was aware of one of the violations (and) academic fraud. After two meetings with Merriweather in late 2005 and early 2006 and denials from Merriweather regarding academic fraud, Curry did not pursue it. Curry, who's now the coach at Texas Tech, would have been reprimanded and 'limited for summer recruiting' by (AD Morgan) Burke if she would have stayed at Purdue. Furthermore, it was learned that Curry made two of 49 impermissible contacts with recruits. Merriweather was implicated in the remaining 47 call violations all of which were six minutes or less.

"According to the response, 'It is noted here that had the head coach remained at Purdue University, the assistant coach (Merriweather) would have been terminated.' Merriweather, however, resigned more than a month before that conclusion had been reached."

From the Journal and Courier "The Indianapolis native (Merriweather) received a three-year show-cause penalty from the NCAA, requiring any school hiring Merriweather to appear before the Committee on Infractions. The penalty ended in August, 2010." She was named Wright State women's basketball head coach in April of 2016.

Many people blame Versyp for the decline of Purdue's WBB program and certainly she shares blame. I am happy a change is being made. But IMO the decline really started with this event.
______________________________

It wasn't so much the NCAA infractions but the top recruits we lost because Merriweather would have been terminated. Didn't her dad coach an AAU team and steered the recruits away from Purdue and to Xavier?
I remember a lot of rumors and speculation at the time.
But I agree that moment in time changed Purdue WBB.

 

[TC4THREE]

Pretty amazing resurrection of Merriweather's career after getting Purdue sanctioned in 2008. In February 2006 Purdue officials found assistant coach Merriweather guilty of helping a team member (Cherelle George) write a research paper in 2005. Purdue officials suspended George and Merriweather was allowed to resign. George was eventually declared permanently ineligible by the NCAA but Merriweather "survived" to coach again.

From the Purdue Exponent (Feb 18, 2008):
"(Purdue's response to the NCAA) says former coach Kristy Curry was aware of one of the violations (and) academic fraud. After two meetings with Merriweather in late 2005 and early 2006 and denials from Merriweather regarding academic fraud, Curry did not pursue it. Curry, who's now the coach at Texas Tech, would have been reprimanded and 'limited for summer recruiting' by (AD Morgan) Burke if she would have stayed at Purdue. Furthermore, it was learned that Curry made two of 49 impermissible contacts with recruits. Merriweather was implicated in the remaining 47 call violations all of which were six minutes or less.

"According to the response, 'It is noted here that had the head coach remained at Purdue University, the assistant coach (Merriweather) would have been terminated.' Merriweather, however, resigned more than a month before that conclusion had been reached."

From the Journal and Courier "The Indianapolis native (Merriweather) received a three-year show-cause penalty from the NCAA, requiring any school hiring Merriweather to appear before the Committee on Infractions. The penalty ended in August, 2010." She was named Wright State women's basketball head coach in April of 2016.

Many people blame Versyp for the decline of Purdue's WBB program and certainly she shares blame. I am happy a change is being made. But IMO the decline really started with this event.
______________________________

It also makes you wonder about the success Curry had here that she hasn't been able to replicate anywhere else. Was it due to this type of activity and perhaps other incidents that were never uncovered?

And afterwards, were we shut out of certain recruits because of the incident which would have been no fault of Versyp's?

Whatever the case, we're so far removed from that where we can't use it as even a partial excuse for where we are today. But you are correct and I've been correcting people on here for years. The decline from the national championship program started with Curry and she did damage that lasted beyond her tenure. Some believe that we missed out on national success with the recruits that went to Xavier but I believe they were probably better coached at Xavier than they would've been here with Curry as coach and they still never went to a Final Four.

 

[illiniboiler]

Yes, Doc Ron, that turned the tide as we lost 3 five stars, two to Xavier and I think one to Rutgers. Xavier was a top ten team all the years those players were there. As to the Rutgers gal, I have this memory. They were playing high up in an NCAA game. The score was tied near the end. That player got a break away and had the ball completely alone under the basket. She shot two layups and missed them both and her team went on to lose. I remember her being slumped on the floor.
At any event, Purdue recruiting went down from there and here we are.

 

[GemstateBoiler]

Yes, Doc Ron, that turned the tide as we lost 3 five stars, two to Xavier and I think one to Rutgers. Xavier was a top ten team all the years those players were there. As to the Rutgers gal, I have this memory. They were playing high up in an NCAA game. The score was tied near the end. That player got a break away and had the ball completely alone under the basket. She shot two layups and missed them both and her team went on to lose. I remember her being slumped on the floor.
At any event, Purdue recruiting went down from there and here we are.

Illiniboiler and TC4THREE can probably remember how toxic Merriweather's dad was on this board. He would come here and bait everyone into thinking things were going to be alright and talking in tongues, but he knew that everyone was bolting after Curry left to save her soul. He was getting extreme pleasure out of the dilemma since he felt his daughter was unfairly the victim and scapegoat of the scandal. When it was all over, he never posted on this board again, almost to say "Ha,ha I got ya. " I agree that was the start of the downfall of the program. We had some okay teams here and there, but not like before. To this day, I have always thought there are 3 tiers in women NCAA basketball. There are maybe 6-8 teams in the top, and a bunch in each the 2nd and 3rd. We went from a high tier to 2nd to now a dismal 3rd tier. I really think that has hurt women's basketball and it's popularity. It hurts seeing those usual 6-8 dominant teams, with very little chance of others getting there and competing. Just my opinion, but it has affected me as I don't watch that much any more.

 

[destewart]

Illiniboiler and TC4THREE can probably remember how toxic Merriweather's dad was on this board. He would come here and bait everyone into thinking things were going to be alright and talking in tongues, but he knew that everyone was bolting after Curry left to save her soul. He was getting extreme pleasure out of the dilemma since he felt his daughter was unfairly the victim and scapegoat of the scandal. When it was all over, he never posted on this board again, almost to say "Ha,ha I got ya. " I agree that was the start of the downfall of the program. We had some okay teams here and there, but not like before. To this day, I have always thought there are 3 tiers in women NCAA basketball. There are maybe 6-8 teams in the top, and a bunch in each the 2nd and 3rd. We went from a high tier to 2nd to now a dismal 3rd tier. I really think that has hurt women's basketball and it's popularity. It hurts seeing those usual 6-8 dominant teams, with very little chance of others getting there and competing. Just my opinion, but it has affected me as I don't watch that much any more.

kevin continued to post on Old Gold Free Press as recently as last year. That remains (barely) the most continually utilized wbb forum for Purdue. The late, great MDC ( Michael Combs) dI’d game summaries for years

 

[YouSayPotato]

Pretty amazing resurrection of Merriweather's career after getting Purdue sanctioned in 2008. In February 2006 Purdue officials found assistant coach Merriweather guilty of helping a team member (Cherelle George) write a research paper in 2005. Purdue officials suspended George and Merriweather was allowed to resign. George was eventually declared permanently ineligible by the NCAA but Merriweather "survived" to coach again.

From the Purdue Exponent (Feb 18, 2008):
"(Purdue's response to the NCAA) says former coach Kristy Curry was aware of one of the violations (and) academic fraud. After two meetings with Merriweather in late 2005 and early 2006 and denials from Merriweather regarding academic fraud, Curry did not pursue it. Curry, who's now the coach at Texas Tech, would have been reprimanded and 'limited for summer recruiting' by (AD Morgan) Burke if she would have stayed at Purdue. Furthermore, it was learned that Curry made two of 49 impermissible contacts with recruits. Merriweather was implicated in the remaining 47 call violations all of which were six minutes or less.

"According to the response, 'It is noted here that had the head coach remained at Purdue University, the assistant coach (Merriweather) would have been terminated.' Merriweather, however, resigned more than a month before that conclusion had been reached."

From the Journal and Courier "The Indianapolis native (Merriweather) received a three-year show-cause penalty from the NCAA, requiring any school hiring Merriweather to appear before the Committee on Infractions. The penalty ended in August, 2010." She was named Wright State women's basketball head coach in April of 2016.

Many people blame Versyp for the decline of Purdue's WBB program and certainly she shares blame. I am happy a change is being made. But IMO the decline really started with this event.
______________________________

You failed to mention the other asst coach.....the snitch.

 

[TC4THREE]

You failed to mention the other asst coach.....the snitch.

Roland?

 

[DavidBoiler]

Illiniboiler and TC4THREE can probably remember how toxic Merriweather's dad was on this board. He would come here and bait everyone into thinking things were going to be alright and talking in tongues, but he knew that everyone was bolting after Curry left to save her soul. He was getting extreme pleasure out of the dilemma since he felt his daughter was unfairly the victim and scapegoat of the scandal. When it was all over, he never posted on this board again, almost to say "Ha,ha I got ya. " I agree that was the start of the downfall of the program. We had some okay teams here and there, but not like before. To this day, I have always thought there are 3 tiers in women NCAA basketball. There are maybe 6-8 teams in the top, and a bunch in each the 2nd and 3rd. We went from a high tier to 2nd to now a dismal 3rd tier. I really think that has hurt women's basketball and it's popularity. It hurts seeing those usual 6-8 dominant teams, with very little chance of others getting there and competing. Just my opinion, but it has affected me as I don't watch that much any more.

Kinda like College Footbal... That's why I've been turned off by College Football the last 15 years... When Alabama wins 6 national titles in 12 years and the same teams almost always end up in the BCS playoffs, and it's Ohio State and a bunch of ACC and SEC teams the whole sport seems totally unfair for the rest of the teams in Division 1 CFB and the P5 conferences and the independents like even Notre Dame. No other programs seem to ever have a chance to be competitive. And the same is true now in WBB at the Division 1 level, and even in the Big Ten where Maryland is always the best team in the league and no other schools except maybe IU one season out of every 100 competes at the top level also. Now with the transfer portal maybe some things will change, but I'm not holding my breath. It will be interesting to see if Purdue ever becomes a Top 2 or 1 tier program in WBB ever again in our lifetimes. Hopefully it starts with Katie!

 

[DavidBoiler]

Hard to believe it's been 16 years now since all of that mess with Kristy Curry and Merriweather happened. And yes her dad was a hot mess here on GBI. He sure livened up the WBB board here with his posts and his boasts and his colorful pontifications. He was fun to follow and made it really interesting to read the discussions, and Purdue might have had a historically successful WBB team had things happened differently but it was indeed the moment that the program's fall from grace and descent from an elite WBB program recruiting wise and success started. Very sad and 16 years later it's seemingly reached rock bottom.

 

[illiniboiler]

Gearalds has this mountain to climb now. Good luck, Katie. All that happened in the past is true and contributed to the downfall of our once great program. No looking back. Looking forward and hoping for a revival. But first of all just hoping for a reasonable upgrade in recruiting and the ability to compete for the top of the BT. I would rate us in the lower half now. One step at a time.

 

[DavidBoiler]

Gearalds has this mountain to climb now. Good luck, Katie. All that happened in the past is true and contributed to the downfall of our once great program. No looking back. Looking forward and hoping for a revival. But first of all just hoping for a reasonable upgrade in recruiting and the ability to compete for the top of the BT. I would rate us in the lower half now. One step at a time.

IU has climbed up to at least a modicum of competitiveness . If they can do it so can Purdue hopefully with Katie.

 

[YouSayPotato]

IU has climbed up to at least a modicum of competitiveness . If they can do it so can Purdue hopefully with Katie.

The retirement of "Muffet" McGraw at ND should help us recruit in Indiana. McGraw picked off the top player in the state more than once.

 

[charlespig]

Whatever the case, we're so far removed from that where we can't use it as even a partial excuse for where we are today. But you are correct and I've been correcting people on here for years. The decline from the national championship program started with Curry and she did damage that lasted beyond her tenure.

I agree that the violation from Curry's tenure is the beginning of the downfall, and it is not unreasonable to think that Curry's success might have been built on that, given that she hasn't found equal success elsewhere.

However, I think it is misguided to keep bringing up Curry and "correcting people" whenever the discussion was on whether or not to fire Versyp. Whether Curry was to blame for the beginning is irrelevant given how long it has been. Talking about Curry only distracts from the piss poor job that Versyp has done in recent years.

In any case, let's hope Katie can right the ship so that we don't have to keep bringing up Versyp/Curry over and over. Let's move on.

 

[charlespig]

The retirement of "Muffet" McGraw at ND should help us recruit in Indiana. McGraw picked off the top player in the state more than once.

Yeah, let's hope so. We just need to reestablish Purdue as the place to go for Indiana girls. We've fallen so far that it isn't just ND but IU have been the cooler in-state program, and there's no one else to blame but Versyp. Early in her tenure we were still getting Miss Basketball Indiana like C-Mo, but that was few and far between in recent years. Plus, she wasn't developing the top players. I remember the Class of 2015 with McBryde, Murphy, and Cooper, and none of them really develop during their Purdue career and all left early.

 

[DavidBoiler]

I agree that the violation from Curry's tenure is the beginning of the downfall, and it is not unreasonable to think that Curry's success might have been built on that, given that she hasn't found equal success elsewhere.

However, I think it is misguided to keep bringing up Curry and "correcting people" whenever the discussion was on whether or not to fire Versyp. Whether Curry was to blame for the beginning is irrelevant given how long it has been. Talking about Curry only distracts from the piss poor job that Versyp has done in recent years.

In any case, let's hope Katie can right the ship so that we don't have to keep bringing up Versyp/Curry over and over. Let's move on.

Well said!

 

[DocRon]

The retirement of "Muffet" McGraw at ND should help us recruit in Indiana. McGraw picked off the top player in the state more than once.

I try to be as positive as possible but recruiting against Niele Ivey will not be much easier than McGraw.
____________________

 

[TC4THREE]

I try to be as positive as possible but recruiting against Niele Ivey will not be much easier than McGraw.
____________________

At least we have pictures of her in Purdue gear haha.

 

[YouSayPotato]

I try to be as positive as possible but recruiting against Niele Ivey will not be much easier than McGraw.
____________________

That may be true but so far, Ivey has gone national for recruits and hasn't focused on Indiana girls. That's why McGraw was such a thorn for Purdue. Also, Purdue can now point to Ivey's son as a good reason to pick the Boilers over the Irish!

 

[TC4THREE]

Also, Purdue can now point to Ivey's son as a good reason to pick the Boilers over the Irish!

For men's recruits maybe.

 

[destewart]

Illiniboiler and TC4THREE can probably remember how toxic Merriweather's dad was on this board. He would come here and bait everyone into thinking things were going to be alright and talking in tongues, but he knew that everyone was bolting after Curry left to save her soul. He was getting extreme pleasure out of the dilemma since he felt his daughter was unfairly the victim and scapegoat of the scandal. When it was all over, he never posted on this board again, almost to say "Ha,ha I got ya. " I agree that was the start of the downfall of the program. We had some okay teams here and there, but not like before. To this day, I have always thought there are 3 tiers in women NCAA basketball. There are maybe 6-8 teams in the top, and a bunch in each the 2nd and 3rd. We went from a high tier to 2nd to now a dismal 3rd tier. I really think that has hurt women's basketball and it's popularity. It hurts seeing those usual 6-8 dominant teams, with very little chance of others getting there and competing. Just my opinion, but it has affected me as I don't watch that much any more.

Kevin, the son of former Boilermaker basketball All American and Crispus Attucks‘ teammate of Oscar Robertson, Willie Merriweather was very benefificial to Purdue wbb recruiting. He appeared on the Old Gold Free Press WBB site before and after Katrina left Purdue and has been here there as recently as last year. Seldom if ever posted on this wbb site. Since Katrina’s departure his Father has been inducted into the Purdue Athletic HOF and I have detected no overt ill feelings. The Merriweather family has a long history of beneficial relationship with Purdue athletics.

 

[GemstateBoiler]

Kevin, the son of former Boilermaker basketball All American and Crispus Attucks‘ teammate of Oscar Robertson, Willie Merriweather was very benefificial to Purdue wbb recruiting. He appeared on the Old Gold Free Press WBB site before and after Katrina left Purdue and has been here there as recently as last year. Never seldom if ever posted on this wbb site. Since Katrina’s departure his Father has been inducted into the Purdue Athletic HOF and I have detected no overt ill feelings. The Merriweather family has a long history of beneficial relationship with Purdue athletics.

Yes, I have not seen him here on this board for mega years, maybe because we have been so bad, but with the 2006 Curry and Merriweather dilemma I remember he was on this board virtually every day for 1-2 months, feeding us tidbits of his insider's insight, just to lead us on. I do recall the feeling was that he knew that Harris and Phillips weren't coming here anymore, but stated there was still hope and played us on it. He seemed to get satisfaction out of it also, just to say ha-ha Purdue and fans. He definitely had vengeance for how his daughter was portrayed and treated after she was caught cheating. Most parents would I guess, but he obviously thought she was taking the whole blame and the scapegoat for vision purposes, even though there was blame elsewhere. That's what I remember. All hindsight now though.

 

[TC4THREE]

Yes, I have not seen him here on this board for mega years, maybe because we have been so bad, but with the 2006 Curry and Merriweather dilemma I remember he was on this board virtually every day for 1-2 months, feeding us tidbits of his insider's insight, just to lead us on. I do recall the feeling was that he knew that Harris and Phillips weren't coming here anymore, but stated there was still hope and played us on it. He seemed to get satisfaction out of it also, just to say ha-ha Purdue and fans. He definitely had vengeance for how his daughter was portrayed and treated after she was caught cheating. Most parents would I guess, but he obviously thought she was taking the whole blame and the scapegoat for vision purposes, even though there was blame elsewhere. That's what I remember. All hindsight now though.

He was the master of posting without saying anything and then seemed to enjoy watching people here guess at what he may mean. He'd act like he knew something and then would speak in code. Is Phillips going to go to Purdue? "Well, the blue fox enters the hen house when the moon is full." One of those people who used to feel important and really aren't anymore so they enjoy trying to hold whatever little power/info they have over other people. It's karma though because those girls never got to the Final Four at Xavier.

 

[mathboy]

I would say that the loss of Harris and Phillips was the inflection point when the program went from "gentle decline with hope of resurrection" into a "steep drop into ignominy and mediocracy". The ugly churn in coaches and the bad publicity, combined with the loss of critical recruiting channels spelled doom. We haven't been the same since that point.

 

[destewart]

I have no recollections of Kevin n this forum. He could be obtuse, but I would say he was very collected and hardly vengeful, bit that was all from postings on OGFP forum.

 

[GemstateBoiler]

I would say that the loss of Harris and Phillips was the inflection point when the program went from "gentle decline with hope of resurrection" into a "steep drop into ignominy and mediocracy". The ugly churn in coaches and the bad publicity, combined with the loss of critical recruiting channels spelled doom. We haven't been the same since that point.

Agreed. Funny when the crazy Dunn thing happened we weathered the storm and actually flourished afterwards. That second time wasn't so forgiving with the basketball gods and goddesses. A sad place now.

 

[DavidBoiler]

Agreed. Funny when the crazy Dunn thing happened we weathered the storm and actually flourished afterwards. That second time wasn't so forgiving with the basketball gods and goddesses. A sad place now.

And you could argue that Stephanie White, who I covered in HS and did radio play by play of her HS games, is maybe the single most influential and most valuable athlete historically in any PU sport, right up there with Drew Brees. Without her, Purdue doesn't win the NC in 1999 and makes this current mediocrity even more cringeworthy and hard to swallow. Because at least we can say that once upon a time PU WBB won a NC, not many D1 schools can say that. Without Stephanie being a local HS star and some of her family members working at Purdue, and her being the best player in the country at the time and deciding to play at Purdue and making it easier to recruit other HS WBB stars to Purdue to surround her like Ukari Figgs and Katie Douglas, the taste in our mouths right now would be even more bitter. Its easy to overlook how vitally important she was to this program and to Purdue athletics in general.

 

[GemstateBoiler]

And you could argue that Stephanie White, who I covered in HS and did radio play by play of her HS games, is maybe the single most influential and most valuable athlete historically in any PU sport, right up there with Drew Brees. Without her, Purdue doesn't win the NC in 1999 and makes this current mediocrity even more cringeworthy and hard to swallow. Because at least we can say that once upon a time PU WBB won a NC, not many D1 schools can say that. Without Stephanie being a local HS star and some of her family members working at Purdue, and her being the best player in the country at the time and deciding to play at Purdue and making it easier to recruit other HS WBB stars to Purdue to surround her like Ukari Figgs, the taste in our mouths right now would be even more bitter. Its easy to overlook how important she was to this program and to Purdue athletics in general.

I bow to your thoughts.

 

[destewart]

I bow to your thoughts.

I think a strong argument could be made thst the greatest women’s basketball player in Purdue history was Katie Douglas. More success as a collegian and far more success as a professional.

 

[DocRon]

He was the master of posting without saying anything. "Well, the blue fox enters the hen house when the moon is full."

Kind of like Q? Grin
________________________

 

[DocRon]

Because at least we can say that once upon a time PU WBB won a NC, not many D1 schools can say that.

Or any other B1G team ever.
________________________

 

[KidsDoc]

In Kevin's defense most parents would be angered if there daughter was accused of cheating and was banned from coaching, especially if she was told to do what she did by the Curry. Not sure if that what happened but it sure is a great possibility. And I will have to say that many, many worse cases of cheating have been turned in to the NCAA and nothing was done, plus if I remember in this particular case there was some mitigating circumstances in the athletes personal life.

 

[YouSayPotato]

Or any other B1G team ever.
________________________

We would have two NCs were it not for a totally incompetent and inconsistent female ref in the Purdue-ND game.

 

[TC4THREE]

We would have two NCs were it not for a totally incompetent and inconsistent female ref in the Purdue-ND game.

Was with you right up until the word "ref", although that may be correct also.

 

[DavidBoiler]

I think a strong argument could be made thst the greatest women’s basketball player in Purdue history was Katie Douglas. More success as a collegian and far more success as a professional.

I could agree with that and both Steph and Katie were indispensable parts to that Championship team, but it just seemed that Steph galvanized that team and was the MVP and a Drew Brees type presence for the WBB program. But I get your point.

 

[DavidBoiler]

Or any other B1G team ever.
________________________

yep the only Big Ten program to win a NC

 

[YouSayPotato]

Was with you right up until the word "ref", although that may be correct also.

Here, see it for yourself. . . .

 

[TC4THREE]

Here, see it for yourself. . . .

View embedded media

Remember it quite well. Just saying that wasn't the primary reason we lost that day in my opinion.