Wasilla grad's basketball career in limbo; Bean in battle with UAF

July 20, 2007

By Jeremiah Bartz/ Frontiersman

MAT-SU - This was supposed to be a summer of excitement and anticipation for Jesse Bean as he prepared for his first season of college basketball.

But instead, it's been months of frustration for the former Wasilla High School hoops standout.

With only about five weeks until the start of the academic year, Bean - a University of Alaska Fairbanks basketball recruit - has found himself in a battle with the school's athletics department.

In the aftermath of the resignation of former UAF men's basketball coach Frank Ostanik - the coach that lured the 2007 Wasilla High School graduate to the Nanook basketball program -Bean requested to be released from the National Letter of Intent he signed in November.

But UAF athletics director Forrest Karr has denied Bean's request.

Stuck in this situation, Bean is currently appealing Karr's decision to the NCAA. On Thursday, Bean said, regardless of the success of the appeal, he does not plan to attend UAF when classes start in August.

&#8220Even if they don't release me, I won't be attending UAF,” Bean said.

Bean, the 2007 Gatorade Player of the Year, signed the NLI in the fall, just as he was heading into a senior season of high school in which he would lead his squad to its first state championship in school history, Bean was optimistic about joining an Ostanik-led UAF program that was making waves on the Division II level.

But after Ostanik resigned as head coach of the Nanooks in May, things changed - not only for the UAF program, but for Bean, a player said to be arguably the program's top recruit.

Bean said Ostanik represented 75 percent of the reason why he chose to attend UAF and play basketball for the Nanooks. Ostanik regularly hosted camps at Wasilla High School and built a solid relationship with the Mat-Su Valley athlete.

Bean said he was a little weary of the situation when Ostanik left the program, but after discussion with Karr, Bean agreed to at least get to knew the new head coach and go from there.

UAF quickly hired Clemon Johnson to be the new head coach on an interim basis. Johnson, a former professional basketball player, had not held a head coaching position at the college level upon his hire.

With Ostanik out and Johnson in, Bean said he was still willing to give the program a chance. But months of virtually no communication with his new head coach and watching others leave the Nanooks program has left him with the desire to play basketball at another school.

&#8220Forrest asked me to hold on a little bit. He asked me to meet the coach,” Bean said. &#8220But I never got any word.”

Bean said e-mails and calls went unanswered, and the communication he has had is with UAF assistant coach Adriaan Wakefield.

&#8220They didn't even send any workouts,” Bean said, referring to the common practice of college coaching staffs supplying recruits with summer training programs.

As Bean and his family became increasingly frustrated with the situation, Bean's former coach at Wasilla High School, Jason Marvel, began to help Bean's cause.

Marvel said he called Karr last week to plead Bean's case, and on Tuesday Marvel sent a letter to Karr and the UAF chancellor's office asking the UAF administration to release Bean from his letter of intent.

Marvel has also been in contact with Wakefield, and said the opinion of the UAF basketball program differs from that of Karr.

&#8220They said they would have no problem releasing (Jesse),” Marvel said, referring to what Wakefield has told him.

Neither Karr, nor anyone from the UAF basketball program, was available for comment on Thursday.

In his letter to Karr, Marvel referenced a story Karr was quoted in that appeared in the May 23 edition of the Fairbanks Daily-News Miner.

In the letter, Marvel quoted Karr's statement, &#8220We're not going to hold anyone's feet to the fire.” Marvel then asked, &#8220aren't you holding Jesse's feet to the fire by not giving him his release.”

In the story it was stated, &#8220If a player requests to transfer, Karr also said he would grant that wish.”

On Wednesday, Karr responded to Marvel's letter with a detailed analysis of his point of view on the situation.

Karr said, &#8220 My comments were about current student-athletes and not incoming student-athletes.”

In the letter, Karr said there are three primary reasons why he will not allow Bean to be released from his letter of intent:

&#8220 1) Allowing incoming student-athletes out of signed commitments sets bad precedent for all ten programs. The NLI states that a prospective student-athlete, when signing, is committing to the institution and not the coach. Unfortunately, it is the nature of intercollegiate athletics that coaches change frequently. I empathize with Jesse's desire to play for Coach Ostanik, but that isn't possible.

2) Recruiting to Fairbanks requires coaches and administrators to devote more resources per prospective student-athlete than at peer institutions. Our coaches do a wonderful job overcoming these challenges by working hard to recruit the best possible student-athletes (both academically and athletically) for their programs. Jesse was signed to fill a specific need and, given the timing, finding a replacement would be difficult, if not impossible. Jesse is, and will continue to be, the best fit for the Nanook Basketball program, the Department of Athletics and the University.

3) Coach Ostanik resigned in May and Coach Johnson was hired immediately in part to give parents peace of mind knowing their sons would be mentored by a quality individual. Coach Johnson spoke with Jesse and, at the time, was under the impression Jesse would be attending this fall.”

Bean is currently in the process of completing the paper work necessary for a formal appeal. But Marvel said a decision may not be made for six to eight weeks. And that could hurt his chances of landing with another team.

&#8220There is a limited window of opportunity for Jesse to go sign with a different college,” Marvel said.

Marvel added he is afraid Karr may drag this process on long enough to make it difficult for Jesse to find another opportunity.

Also, if UAF does not release Bean from his letter of intent and Bean does not attend UAF, Marvel said, the school will not be able to allot the scholarship money intended for Bean to another player.

&#8220They will basically lose a scholarship,” Marvel said.

Bean said this situation has not completely soured him on college athletics, and he still wants to play basketball.

&#8220I still love basketball, but this is starting to get disappointing,” Bean said.

But right now he is stuck until a final decision is made.

If his appeal is denied, Bean cannot play for another NCAA program, but he can play for a junior college team.

&#8220JUCO, that's what I'll most likely do,” Bean said. &#8220But I really can't talk to coaches. I'm just waiting until I can start looking elsewhere.”

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.