Fox, Meet Henhouse.

If there is such a thing as a habitual violator of NCAA rules, it's Jim Harrick. Let's face it, Jimmy H. is to the world of college basketball what Pierce Brosnan was to the art world in the Thomas Crown Affair. No one ever actually sees him steal the Monet, but he always seems to be unaccounted for at the time of the heist, and no one really takes seriously his protests of innocence.
I don't trust this guy any further than I can throw him. No, I mean the one on the left.

That's why it struck me as a little odd when I learned that Jim Harrick is now coaching an AAU basketball team. Granted, no one has ever doubted Harrick's chops as an X's and O's coach. But given the amount of Outside The Lines-esque journalism involving the seedy underbelly of AAU basketball ( example here ) , it seems that this may be a partnership that ends badly for all parties concerned.

Let me get this out of the way up front: Jim Harrick serving as lifestyle advisor/surrogate uncle for heavily recruited high school basketball players is like putting Snoop Dogg and Robert Downey, Jr. in charge of your school's drug education program. The man has a history of abusing the rules and then blaming everyone for it but himself. I have no doubt whatsoever that within the next three years he will be implicated in something below board. I hope I am wrong, because such would inevitably dredge up UGA's own Harrick-induced scandal.

This egomaniacal, hypocritical son of a biscuit-eater is responsible for disgracing the name of our state's flagship institution of higher learning. No, I mean the one on the left.

My understanding of these summer programs is that they are not actually sponsored by the Amateur Athletic Union, but more often by private individuals, many of whom are trying to turn up the next LeBron James or Sebastian Telfair. AAU basketball is for NCAA enforcement folks what in military parlance is called a "target-rich environment". Translation: there are more low-lifes and cheaters than you can shake a stick at. Fortunately, there are also a lot of good-hearted people who have the welfare of today's youth at heart. I think the good ones are probably the majority. And I hope the Pump family (yes, that's really their name) who hired Harrick for this gig are good people. Because if they are I think they'll keep an eye on him, and dump him like a bad habit if he crosses the line.

But if I were in their shoes, I wouldn't hire Harrick in the first place. That dude is bad for business. The NCAA will be watching him like a hawk, because I'm sure that like me, they know that a violation addict like Harrick doesn't hang around the proverbial crackhouse just for the stimulating conversation. And even if he does, it's only a matter of time before opportunity presents itself.

In my opinion, one of these guys is bound to screw up again and draw the ire of the NCAA enforcement division because he simply cannot understand the concept of fair play and has yet to learn that those who lay down with dogs (as opposed to dawgs) get up with fleas. I'll let you guess which one.

Initiating Harrick self-destruction countdown, now.