Nevertheless, there is always that other dark cloud looming over big-time college football and basketball. And it never goes away. It is a cloud of hypocrisy. Big-time college hoops and college football are defined by the NCAA in a glib and self-serving way: As long as the players aren’t getting paid openly, legally and directly, the serious business of the multibillion-dollar games can continue the charade that they are “amateur sports.”

And it’s the players, the pre-pros, who bear the burden of maintaining the charade, get caught with their hands in the proverbial cookie jar and risk losing everything from their reputations to their eligibility to play ball and their scholarships.