Any new news on Monique Willis?

[chaostheorysc]

Anyone have an update on Monique's legal situation?

[scfastpitch]

Are you referring to the shoplifting incident, or to the following which was in this morning's paper :

Beach High (Ga.) girls’ basketball star Monique Willis, a South Carolina signee, was indicted by a grand jury Wednesday on two counts of armed robbery and two counts of possession of a firearm, according to Lydia Sermons, public information officer of the Chatham County district attorney’s office.
Sermons said evidence has surfaced linking Willis to three men who face similar charges in connection with several robberies on Jan. 14, 2008. The story was first reported by The Savannah Morning News.
It is Willis’ second legal issue in the past two weeks. She faces charges of theft by shoplifting, simple battery and criminal damage to property for allegedly trying to steal clothes from Macy’s in the Oglethorpe Mall on April 3.

[usc1]

she clearly has great character and will lead this team to a national championship.

[ucan'tlickourcocks]

Does this mean she won't be playing for us? LOL

I want to win, but not this badly!!!!

Maybe Clempson will give her a Scholly!

[ConwayGamecock]

Clemson won't touch her, and hopefully we steer miles from this girl.....

[chaostheorysc]

Wow, I wasn't aware of the new stuff. Yeah, at this point, we need to part ways. How come this always seems to happen to us? This has to rank right along with the football player (can't remember who) that robbed the convenience store without a mask. It's not like people wouldn't know who she was.

[YouCanNeverTell]

I agree with you to a certain extent but this girl obviously hasn't had any type of positive role model in her life. I think we should honor our scholarship and provide this young lady with a chance to get her life on track.

Of course if she ends up in jail there isn't a whole lot we can do to help her...

[chaostheorysc]

I could agree with you if it were only the shoplifting incident, but armed robbery? Do you really want us to be the guinea pig? In the end, if she's not in jail it's Coach Staley's decision. She's obviously off to a good start here, so I'll back her in whatever decision she makes.

[09Gamecock]

The fact that this chick hasn't been kicked to the curb says a lot about Dawn Staley and the program she's willing to build. Armed f*cking robbery! Imagine what would be said if Horn or Spurrier didn't get rid of a guy that was involved in an armed robbery. This is ridiculous. Women's basketball doesn't generate any revenue or fan interest, so they should not be allowed to take on players that will tarnish the University with sh*t like this.

[brat]

I doubt the administration would allow her in, whether or not Dawn wanted her. I would hope not.

It isn't up to USC to give her another chance beyond offering her to come to school to play and get an education. The kid threw that away and her way to make a new life for herself. If Dawn kicked off the two girls last season for what they did, seems pretty certain she'll do the same thing here. You can't have a team united when you have someone on it you can't trust, that causes division and turmoil, at best, and absolutely destroys the image you are trying to build for your program. Some things you just don't risk. Odds are these were not the first times she did something illegal, but maybe the first times she was caught.

The sooner Dawn announces she is pulling off the commitment, the better, and I hope she doesn't wait until the legal process is concluded months down the road. Even if by some miracle or legal technicality the kid was not convicted on all charges, the fact she put herself in those type situations and hung around others with very shady pasts is enough to tell you all you need to know. She is a magnet for trouble and makes very bad decisions. Sayanora.

[CockOla]

Once proven guilty she will find herself in jail and by default mute all contemplations for her. Broken home background or not, she will have to live with the consequences of her actions.

[MBGCockOld]

I didnt realize it was ARMED ROBBERY, i thought it was shoplifting. Yeah get rid of here.

[ERNIET]

There were two different charges. The Shoplifting was the most recent thing that she is accused of doing. The armed robbery happened last year.

[hardcock2]

you'd think her high school coach and teachers would've been positive role models, but if not, it doesn't take a scientist to figure out that you don't rob someone, much less, with a gun. I can understand a petty shoplifting by a teenager, but she's crossed a big line and not needed here.

Staley can and will get much better.

[LtSmokes1]

I agree with you to a certain extent but this girl obviously hasn't had any type of positive role model in her life. I think we should honor our scholarship and provide this young lady with a chance to get her life on track.

Of course if she ends up in jail there isn't a whole lot we can do to help her...

Positive role model or not how stupid do you have to be to commit armed robbery? Also, as some motivation, she'd be playing for a D-I basketball team and have a scholarship to college. Sheer stupidity and I don't want her on the team ever.

According to Gogamecocks.com,

During Wednesday’s press conference on National Signing Day, USC women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley said she had yet to speak with Willis about the shoplifting charges, but said she hopes to next week.“She’s still ours,” Staley said Wednesday. “She signed with us, so we’re going to see her through the process.”

[Go Carolina]

Let her go play for Tarkanian, she doesn't belong here.
I don't think there is any chance she enrolls, regardless of what Staley says publicly.

[CockOla]

In Coach Dawn Staley I'd trust to make the right decision.

[MEL]

I know alot of kids that have had a bad childhood and they didn't go and commit armed robbery! This girl needs some serious counseling and if she goes to jail, then hopefully she'll get that while she's there. I believe in 2nd chances, but this girl has alot to prove. And, I don't think USC ladies basketball needs anybody like this on their team.

[LtSmokes1]

In Coach Dawn Staley I'd trust to make the right decision.

Kinda like we all trusted in Holtz and you see the thugs he recruited.

[Go Carolina]

She would be our 3rd highest rated commit this year, not to mention the transfer that sat out last year and will play this year.
She won't be a huge loss to this team in terms of talent and may be addition by subtraction in terms of other things.

Of course Coach Staley isn't going to go out to the news media and say bad things about her. She has way too much class. But rest assured she will make the decision that is best for USC.

[Ph/JDCock]

LtSmokes,

With due respect, how does Lou Holtz have anything to do with what Dawn Staley decides in this matter? Whether folks around here like it or even believe what was written about Holtz prior to his arrival at USC, he had a reputation for questionable recruiting, academics and discipline, and he was always perceived in media circles as being overly lenient to his more talented players. There were numerous opinion pieces in local and national media when Holtz was hired here that we were setting ourselves up for troubles similar to the ones that programs experienced when he was at Notre Dame and Minnesota. Guess what? They were largely correct.

I appreciate what Holtz did in his time here, but he was, is and always will be a coach with "baggage," and anyone who placed too much trust in his methods and discipline were being overly optimistic.

By contrast, everything I have read about Staley indicates that she has character beyond reproach. In Holtz's case, I think there was just cause for skepticism regarding his decision-making... not so sure that this is the case w/Coach Staley. Although I can't speak for another poster, I don't think it would be too much to give Coach Staley the benefit of the trust she's earned (rather than it being conferred merely because she's a USC coach).

As an aside, coaches generally know more about a student-athlete's character (even in the face of trouble), motivations, and desire to make amends for past transgressions. They aren't always right in their assessments of these kids, but they don't have the benefit of 20/20 hindsight that we as fans do.

[LtSmokes1]

LtSmokes,

With due respect, how does Lou Holtz have anything to do with what Dawn Staley decides in this matter? Whether folks around here like it or even believe what was written about Holtz prior to his arrival at USC, he had a reputation for questionable recruiting, academics and discipline, and he was always perceived in media circles as being overly lenient to his more talented players. There were numerous opinion pieces in local and national media when Holtz was hired here that we were setting ourselves up for troubles similar to the ones that programs experienced when he was at Notre Dame and Minnesota. Guess what? They were largely correct.

I appreciate what Holtz did in his time here, but he was, is and always will be a coach with "baggage," and anyone who placed too much trust in his methods and discipline were being overly optimistic.

By contrast, everything I have read about Staley indicates that she has character beyond reproach. In Holtz's case, I think there was just cause for skepticism regarding his decision-making... not so sure that this is the case w/Coach Staley. Although I can't speak for another poster, I don't think it would be too much to give Coach Staley the benefit of the trust she's earned (rather than it being conferred merely because she's a USC coach).

As an aside, coaches generally know more about a student-athlete's character (even in the face of trouble), motivations, and desire to make amends for past transgressions. They aren't always right in their assessments of these kids, but they don't have the benefit of 20/20 hindsight that we as fans do.

I found it that the most relevant comparison I could make would be between two USC coaches. Holtz recruited sketch players, and hopefully Staley doesn't, but it seems that she already has with this player. And this player didn't even play a game yet before she committed a crime.

As for your paragraph saying that us fans don't know as much as coaches do, I agree except for some cases - and this happens to be one. I don't see how Coach Staley's knowledge of the player has anything to do with the fact that she committed more than one crime, with the main crime being armed robbery. There is no inside information to defend her on that.

[brat]

There is an excellent chance that Dawn didn't know about her criminal past, since they can't do background checks on the recruits and I doubt seriously, if anyone volunteered such info, knowing that would probably nix any offers. Heck, SOS didn't know about Whitlock's multiple kids and his unique situation. If so, he might not have gotten an offer, either, as a reasonable guess this might cause some problems down the road with his football regimen, as it has proven up to this point.