The one thing that is very clear the NCAA regulations are only about 1 thing....amateurism. They are not about getting an quality college education or the student athletes future. They are 100 percent about athlete not being compensated outside the scholarship. As long as you don't get caught paying players or providing financial benefits all is good. Louisville has somehow found a way to do this so poorly they got caught. On top of that they did it in a way they gained zero competitive advantage, or had player that allegedly benefit actually play for them. In fact the players that benefited played elsewhere.
To recap Louisville had to give up 1 postseason and probably another one down the road, cut scholarships, vacate wins, and vacate 2 final fours, a national title and PR nightmare in exchange for no player that actually played basketball for Louisville. At least in Blue Chips the coach actually got the players.
The one thing on the Powell issue is the NCAA really went outside of their bylaws on penalizing Louisville because of the repugnant nature of the incident. The NCAA I have no doubt, especially now, will uphold the penalties, but Louisville needs to take them to court. They will win.