From the Pioneer...

[Goon]

From the Pioneer Press in St. Paul.

[sprig]

Would guess he's in a tutoring program to complete whatever he didn't get done the last semester. Wonder how Lucia will handle this, although it's only USCHO gopher fan posters who have said that Lucia would not give Welch another chance if he didn't do the work.

[Goon]

Would guess he's in a tutoring program to complete whatever he didn't get done the last semester. Wonder how Lucia will handle this, although it's only USCHO gopher fan posters who have said that Lucia would not give Welch another chance if he didn't do the work.

I say hey, let the kid play if he can get/remain elgible, I know most coaches around the country are sticklers for grades and that kind of stuff but If I was the coach I'd still let him play. In fact If I was a coach (and I am not) I wouldn't care as long as they could keep the Minimum standard needed to compete. I remember my old college coach saying go to calls do your work, strive to get grades over C's, he went on to say that when you go to a job interview and they ask you what your grades are and you tell them you got all C's in intro level class who are you going to hire. I probably hire the one with the good grades. It is a matter of Pride.

I have seen some things such as these in college sports, where a player from a college team was given favor over other non-student athletes, on the sole fact that just because they are jocks/jockets but I have also seen other teachers being tougher on kids just because they are jocks. So it works both ways.

Let face it not all of these kids are genisues, #### it won't matter in 2-4 years anyways. Ever listen to any of these guys in press conferences after NCAA games (especially basketball and football players) some of them are not the brightest but they can sure play college sports. Eventually it comes out in the end, but look at the positives.

Of course from a UND perspective, I could take the oh well approach, thats the breaks do the crime do the time, face the music... I can at times see both ends of the spectrum and what the big deal is, but it does seems trivial at times. I trust that Donny Lucia will make the decision he feels is best for his program. His record speaks for itself and he has been pretty sucessful. In also know that Blaiser is a stickler for his players attending class and not missing.

I remember when In college at BSU there were guys that could keep elgible I could never understand how a person can flunk out of school, there were guys flunking out of class like court ship and marriage and intro to american government, whew.

Half of it is that if you go to class and take notes you can for the most part get a C or B, read the books you increase your chances of being successful, However, if you skip class and don't take notes or attend class you set your self up for failure. Maybe this is the case in the situation. But you would think that if he was serious about remaining with the program he do what ever is necessary to get a passing grade.

I realize that we need to keep these kids in school and have them up to snuff on grades. If he has elgibility if I was the coach I would over look it. I think character does matter but going to summer school proves to me that he is serious and wants to play on the team. I hope the kid can get his act together.

[Speez]

Half of it is that if you go to class and take notes you can for the most part get a C or B, read the books you increase your chances of being successful, However, if you skip class and don't take notes or attend class you set your self up for failure. Maybe this is the case in the situation. But you would think that if he was serious about remaining with the program he do what ever is necessary to get a passing grade.

Goon,

You make some valid points.

Hockey is the longest season of any of the major sports, & half the games are on the road. The Sioux usually leave for road games on Thursday, so the players

[ScottM]

"I am still impressed by the GPA's & the graduation rate of athletes that play for UND. I believe they are way above the national average in both of these areas. I believe Dean takes pride in his players academic achievements & encourages them to do their best."--Speez

Good points Speez.  Blais made it very clear to his players from Day 1 that they are expected to perform in the classroom if they want to play.  I know from my student days, going to class with some players, that they attended class regularly, contributed to group projects and generally put a lot of time into the academic side.  (I remember once Blais actually showed up to one larger, lecture-type class to "spot check" players' attendance.)  I think Lucia imposes the same type of requirements on the Minnesota players too.  That enforced discipline not only benefits the program, but more importantly benefits the players as very few of them will actually be making "big" NHL bucks in the future.