Love to Hate 'Em: The Most Hated Players of the Past Decade

College, as we all know is nothing more than a booze and testosterone filled popularity contest. At large universities, nobody is more popular than the star athletes. The student sections bow to them, the women love them, and the teachers pass them. But every so often, there is a player that exceeds even the highest level of popularity. They become so popular that they become intolerable by anyone not enrolled at that university.

One of the aspects of college basketball that separates it from other college sports is the creativity of the student sections. It's not just about getting the whole arena to wear the same color t-shirt. There are the Georgetown fans who dress up like animals, The Purdue Paint Crew (named after head coach Matt Painter), the Duke cult icon "Speedo guy", and innumerable others at pretty much every school in the country.

Fans use creativity to feel like they are part of the action. And if a player gives the student section a reason to heckle, razz or chastise, they will be more than happy to do so. All it takes is one isolated incident for student sections across the country to rise up and continue chants and insults started by other student sections.

The following list contains the most vilified hoops players of the past decade. Be warned, because we had to delve deep into the murky depths of student sections, some of the video material might be slightly NSFW. But then again, nothing that goes on in student sections would be considered safe for work.

J.J. Redick

There has not been a college basketball player in the last twenty years who was as universally despised as Redick was. He was the type of player that was so good at what he did, that you basically had to hate him. The flashy, brash, and cocky guard who threw up "the shocker" after a made 3-pointer was the main target of every student section he encountered.

After the 04-05 season, Redick appeared on ESPN and had some choice words for opposing fans, who had irritated Redick to his breaking point. It was game-on from there, as rival student sections pulled out all the stops to try and get inside the head of Redick. J.J. was constantly bombarded with insults about his sexual orientation (Terps fans referred to him as "Brokeback Redick"), his works of poetry, and his younger sister. At one point, Maryland and UNC fans got access to Redick's cell phone number. It was said that he received anywhere from 50-75 hate calls/texts a day. In 2006, Travis Clay of CBS Sportsline dubbed Redick as "the most hated current athlete in America". Think about it, Terrell Owens was in the process of destroying his second NFL locker room and Jose Canseco was snitching on former teammates. But nobody was more hated than Redick.

A lot of the hatred towards Redick probably had to do with a couple of things: He played for Duke, he was the best shooter in the country and played for Duke, he was overly cocky and played for Duke, and he got a lot of tail and played for Duke. Needless to say, a lot of his hatred had to do with the fact that he played at the most recognizable program in college hoops history. If Redick was dropping 30 a game at NC State and not Duke, I doubt he would have been tormented as bad as he was.

During Redick's time in Durham, rumors flew around the internet that Reddick was quite fond of pounding a fifth of Jack Daniels before shoot-a-round, and even that he did lines of cocaine in the locker room. While these rumors were nothing more than that, rumors, it did nothing to help Redick's reputation across college campuses.

Think about it. Redick was 6'4" and weighed under 200 pounds, and yet was the best player in the entire country in 2005. Redick did not look like the best player in the country. Part of the reason he was so hated is because he made so many guys across the country jealous. He wasn’t big, he wasn’t strong, nor was he particularly good-looking, yet he was treated like a god. He looked like every other frat member on campus, and still, girls probably broke up with their boyfriends just to have a shot at Redick. That right there is enough to make me jealous.


Greg Paulus

Paulus was lucky that he decided to attend Duke and not Notre Dame (for football). Because during Paulus's freshman year, he got to play in the backcourt with Redick and learned how to be hated from the very best. Paulus was never the outstanding point guard he was recruited to be, but he was good enough to be hated on by every student section in the ACC. Being the starting point guard for Duke carries a lot of baggage, and Paulus tried his best to handle the weight.



Paulus was a victim of posterization multiple times, the most famous being when Virginia Tech's Deron Washington leapt completely over Paulus' head. Not once, but twice.



From here on out, whenever the student section wanted to heckle the visitors, they chanted "Teabag Paulus". The rest of the country was quick to follow suit.



Fans never needed to be too creative when heckling Paulus, because whenever Duke was on the road, it was almost a given that there would be at least one "Teabag Paulus" chant during the game.

Paulus was the quintessential Duke point guard. He had heart and hustle, and to most non-Duke fans, it's enough to make you puke. Paulus was a master of Duke's patented "flop-charge", a maneuver that was more than enough to make opposing fans irate. Greg was never able to overcome all the heckling he received and the Duke teams he played on were never very successful. But to be frank, Paulus probably got it as bad as Reddick did from opposing fans. The only difference was that the fans hated Reddick on an entirely different level.


Eric Devendorf

Eric Devendorf was the bad boy of the Big East for the past four seasons. Every non-Syracuse fan in the northeast had something against "Devo". Maybe it was all the tattoos, maybe it was the line-beards or maybe it was his checkered past, whatever the case may be, if it was 2008, you more than likely were doing some hating on Eric Devendorf. After all, he was named by many media outlets as "the most hated player in the NCAA" for the 2008-2009 season. But obviously, a lot of this had to do with the assault charges filled against him last winter.



If you forget, Devo was said to have allegedly struck a female outside of a house party at 'Cuse. It's pretty safe to say that hitting a women will land you a spot on any "most hated" list. The public image of Devo is that he was a punk. But it wasn't just his off-court antics that landed him the title of "most hated" during the 2008-2009 season. Talking trash was his go-to move, and celebrating after a big three wasn't out of the ordinary either. In fact, Devo almost completely redeemed himself of his negative image by draining the game-winning 3-pointer in the Big East tournament against UConn. You remember, the one where he sank the three then jumped on the scorers table a la Dwayne Wade. Well, unfortunately the shot didn't count, but because of this, we were able to witness perhaps the greatest basketball game ever played.

Was Devo as bad a person as people made him out to be? It's very debatable. However, most of the hate he received was image-based. Nothing about his image said "character". Well, at least that's what most of America thought. But then again, his demeanor on the court certainly didn't say it either.

Ed. Note: We wrote a lengthy column last year defending Devendorf, and stand by what we wrote.


Luke Harangody

Notre Dame, like Duke and North Carolina, have the distinction of being prestigious athletic institutions, and therefore the athletes who represent them are scrutinized under a microscopic lens. In other words, its very easy to hate a Notre Dame athlete. It's obvious that the Irish football squad carries more pull than the hoops team. But when you are a white, Irish, 6'8" 250-pound power forward and not a nose tackle, you tend to attract a lot of attention.



Harangody entered Notre Dame with low expectations. As the largest member of the Irish squad, he was in charge of going up against some of the quintessential Big East bigs: Roy Hibbert, Hasheem Thabeet, DeJuan Blair, and David Padgett. Luke struggled mightily against the bigs, usually winding up on the bench with foul trouble.

I had the chance to see Harangody play during his freshman year in a game against Georgetown and Roy Hibbert. Harangody spent the majority of the time committing stupid fouls and complaining about them. The Georgetown student section was quick to jump on the behemoth freshman.

But Harangody made a huge leap in progress his sophomore year, propelling him into Naismith Award discussions and All-American prospective lists. Having said this, why would anybody hate a player like this?

Well first off, "The 'Gody" looks like the son of actor Gary Busey. Yup that's right, Gary Busey. Then add in the fact that Harangody doesn’t look like a chiseled NCAA power forward. His jump shot is horrendous-looking and he has a tendency to whine and complain about fouls and missed calls. His "all-out" style of play is the type that irks opposing student sections. He was named the Big East POY in his sophomore year, giving fans just another reason to hate the Irish big man. The West Virginia fans were quite fond of tormenting Harangody. It all stemmed from an incident during a ND vs. WVU game in Morgantown when Harangody and WVU's Cam Thoroughman got tangled up under the basket. The Mountaineer student section rode Harangody for the rest of the night. Give a listen to this:



Harangody never did anything off the court to draw negativity from fans (unlike his former teammate Kyle McAlarney, who was kicked out of school for drug possession, before being reinstated.) McAlarney was bombarded with chants of "Drug Dealer" and signs that said "McAlarney slept though D.A.R.E". Nonetheless it was Harangody who attracted much of the hate. He wasn't above throwing a hissy fit on the court, or trying to get in a tussle with the opposing big man. And he sure as hell didn't mind flopping on defense if he needed/wanted to. I'd say that's enough to make student sections chastise a player for 40 minutes.

I mean, just look at him. He looks like somebody you should hate. And most people do. But the one thing you can't hate him for is his productivity. He have averaged 20 ppg and 10 rpg every season except for his freshman year and has been a All Big-East first teamer the past two seasons.


Joakim Noah

Of all the players on the back-to-back championship Florida Gators team, nobody was as vocal as Noah. Nor was anybody as hated as Noah was. The son of a former tennis player and European model, Noah embraced the spotlight, and used his TV time to let opposing players and fans know that he didn't give a damn about what anybody thought about him or the Florida basketball team.



It can be argued that Noah was the least talented of all the players from the Gators' back-to-back title teams (five were drafted into the NBA), but nobody can argue that he was the most important player on the team. He wasn't the most skilled player on the floor, but what separated Noah from the rest was his desire.

Take a good look at Joakim Noah. It won't take long to figure out he's no pretty boy. His looks alone were enough to insight negative banter from the opposing fans. He had a nasty "independent film star" moustache that rivaled the one of Gonzaga's Adam Morrison. He had ratty hair that resembled Sideshow Bob's from The Simpsons. But worst of all, he was the guy that wore a pink tuxedo and bow tie to the NBA draft.

Noah's fame at Florida reached near cult level, but because of his flashy style and "Rodman-esque" on-court flare, he was chastised by opposing fans and the media. Some people hated the hair, some people hated the emotion, some people hated his style of play. But in the end, a lot of people just hated Joakim Noah.


We reached out to good friend, former teammate, and fellow blogger Danny Forcella for help with our Most Hated Players list, and he delivered, including sending a little love the way of JJ Redick.


Tyler Hansbrough

It's one thing to show no emotion at all, it's a whole other thing to be Tyler Hansbrough. This dude showed a lot of emotion during his four years at North Carolina, and every second of it made me want to throw up. There's a reason that his nickname was Psycho T. Hansbrough was a complete nut. His ridiculous actions on the court made me hate him more and more every time I saw him spaz around on the floor for a loose ball.



He was the epitome of getting the most out of what you have. Who likes that? I'm not a Husky fan, (just the first example that came into my head) but I loved cheering for a guy like Rudy Gay who was uber-talented but was labeled as lazy. He knew he was good and therefore didn't have to act like an idiot on the court.

Was he a star in college? Yes.

Is he now a star in the pros? Yes.

Did he ever make me want to throw myself through a window when I watched him play? No.

Tyler Hansbrough had one out of those three aspects.

He's never going to be a great pro, and everyone knew that. Sure he received numerous college accolades, and had the stats to ensure them, but that doesn't mean he deserved those stats. When you play in a manner that many basketball players can't respect, it diminishes your likeability. Falling on the ground every five seconds, pretending that you were fouled, is flat out bush league.

I was a UNC fan growing up. I loved the likes of VC, Rasheed, Stack, Jamison. Tyler Hansbrough single-handedly destroyed my fandom of the Tar Heels and turned it into a hatred for the school I once wanted to attend.


Roy Hibbert

As a generic rule, I usually dislike those that get undeserved high praise. Roy was touted as one of the best players in the country, and was even named Big East Preseason Player of the Year prior to his senior year. This is a dude who at 7'2" never averaged more than 13.4 points or 6.9 rebounds per game. 6.9 rebounds per game and you are 7'2"? His frontcourt teammate at Georgetown, Jeff Green, was miles better than him but got half the recognition.



Hibbert waddled around the court like a penguin. Nobody likes someone who looks so silly when they run. At 7'2" it's going to be awkward getting around a basketball court, but Hibbert did his best to make sure that happened. His shot was goofy, he couldn't jump, but yet this guy was supposed to be a star?

The guy showed absolutely no emotion. He looked half asleep most of the time out there on the court. Showing emotion plays a huge role in whether the public is going to like you, and by the public I mean me. Some people in the world actually enjoy a dude who just goes about his business, but not me. There is risk involved with having a personality though. It may be an awful one.

And finally Hibbert is to be hated because when he finally had a good enough team to make a run through the NCAA Tournament, he let a one man show defeat the Hoyas (and ruin my bracket). Roy put up six points and one rebound in 16 minutes of action while in foul trouble against Davidson.


Adam Morrison

Adam Morrison played at Gonzaga, which is a mid-major in the West Coast Conference. We could obviously talk again about how he was hyped well higher than his skill level, but the normal hatred for this college basketball player ran much deeper than undeserved stats and honors. It really comes down to two things. A moustache and crying.



Morrison was extremely gangly and had a girl's haircut during his years with the Zags. Although both characteristics turned me off, neither caused as much pain as his disgusting quazi-moustache. Here is the thing with facial hair. If you can grow a great beard, you do it at some point in college. Hey, if you want to have the luxury of being able to sport a sweet chin strap before you leave high school, then by golly you shave twice a day when you're a freshman (I actually don't recommend this doing this). A nice goatee or some solid muutton chops can do wonders for you as a young man, but under no circumstances do you let a peach fuzz-esque moustache grow in above your lip. When hair starts to grow on your face, but you can still see through it to your face, you know it's not a good look. Not to mention it is just a straight up stash. Unless you are in the 80s or an old man, moustaches just look weird on white dudes.

In the Zags' NCAA Tournament game against UCLA, the Bulldogs led the entire way only to see their lead slip away to the Bruins in the final seconds. Sure everyone and their brother has cried at one point or another, but it wasn't like Mr. Moustache against UCLA. This dude started balling hysterically before the game even ended! Yeah I've seen some dudes tear up at the post-game press conference. It is an emotional time, and when a player really cares about the team's success, his portrayal through tears can some times be heartfelt. Morrison's tears were not simple. The dude's face was going out of control. He couldn't contain himself. Let me remind you that the game wasn't even over yet. He could've taken it down for a game-winning shot. Did he? Of course not. He just finished filling up a soup bowl with massive tears. You can't play basketball like that. If America didn't detest this kid before that, it sure did him in.


JJ Redick

JJ was hated by so many during his years at Duke. Most people in the world hate Duke and therefore hate everyone from Duke. I, on the other hand, am an impartial observer. I don't like or dislike the men's basketball team at Duke University. I hated Greg Paulus and Sheldon Williams, I liked Corey Maggette and Jason Williams. And without a doubt, I loved JJ Redick.

JJ was a two-time ACC Player of the Year and received numerous National Player of the Year accolades. He knocked down more three-pointers in his college career than anyone in history. He tallied 457 over his four years, and he did it in style. Maybe I'm biased, because I was a three-point shooter, but I loved everything about his game. He ran off screens and J'ed in dudes' faces. And then of course he'd swag his way back down the other end of the court. Sure this was exactly the type of action that increased the public's hate for him, but as others hated on him more, my love for JJ grew larger.

It was this outlaw type of persona that made him such a polarizing personality. Either you hated him or you loved him, but I still don't see how anyone hated him. JJ was the nicest out and he proved it by how cool he was on the court.

Continue reading...

Who will be next season's Public Enemy #1?

Greg Paulus graduated. So did Tyler Hansbrough. Steph Curry has entered the draft and signed with an agent.

Now comes news that Eric Devendorf, the guy that every loved to hate, has officially signed with an agent, ending his collegiate career.

Eric Devendorf has signed with an agent.
(photo credit: USA Today)

The Orange, who reached the Sweet 16 as a #3 seed after making a run to the Big East tournament finals, were an early Final Four favorite in 2010. They had everyone of significance coming back, plus they were adding wing Wesley Johnson (a transfer from Iowa State that tore up Syracuse practices this season).

But then a weird thing happened. Jim Boeheim all but ushered his top three scorers out the door. He "recommended" that Jonny Flynn enter the draft, and essentially forced Devo and Harris to leave school.

Flynn made a good decision to leave. With so many potential first rounders pulling out of the draft, Flynn has an outside chance of sneaking into the lottery, and is pretty much a first round lock.

To be honest, I think Devo was gone regardless. He graduated this past year (he was a junior in basketball terms because he missed a season with a knee injury), has a kid, and couldn't seem to keep himself out of trouble. Devo is a long shot to be a first round pick, and there is a good chance that he goes undrafted on June 25th. He is not big, strong or quick enough to play in the NBA, and while he is an excellent shooter (especially in the clutch) and solid playmaker, he won't be able to defend NBA wings. But his game (if not his attitude) is perfectly suited for Europe, and I would expect him to make a nice living over there for years.

The curious one is Harris. Most people expected him to be a one-and-done guy coming out of high school, but playing in the Big East really exposed Harris's weaknesses. While he is an excellent athlete, aggressive on the glass, and a solid defender, he is only 6'5" and lacks the handle or the jumper to play the perimeter in the league and he is a terrible decision maker. He really could have used another season to hone his skills.

So why did Boeheim show these guys the door?

Well, for starters they needed the scholarship space for their incoming class (and for Johnson).

But more than that, it just seems that Boeheim never really liked this group, especially Harris. According to Andy Katz, after the season, Boeheim didn't hear from Harris, who was in the coach's doghouse for much of the second half of the season, for three weeks. Boeheim also gave this quote to Katz:

We lost three starters but I'll take Wesley Johnson over Paul Harris and Andy Rautins over Eric Devendorf. In some ways, Triche will be better for us. He's really good.

While Boeheim may be correct, I don't think I would want to stay and play for a coach that has no qualms with blasting his former players in the media like that.

The Orange should, however, still compete atop the Big East next season. They return an excellent front line with Arinze Onuaku and Rick Jackson and Rautins was really impressive down the stretch last season as more than just a shooter. If Triche and Johnson can come in and be as good as Boeheim is saying they are, don't be surprised if this Cuse team makes another Sweet 16 trip.
Continue reading...

Syracuse Orange: Without a sure-fire lottery pick on their roster, the Syracuse Orange have been one of the trendy picks for 2009-2010 NCAA champion. I mean, they made it to the finals of the Big East tournament and reached the Sweet 16 of this NCAA tournament this season.

But just because you aren't projected as a lottery pick doesn't mean you won't declare for the draft.

Earlier this week, news came out that Jonny Flynn, Jim Boeheim's stud point guard, would be declaring for the NBA Draft, although he won't be signing with an agent. This makes sense for him as most have him going somewhere in the middle of the first round. Hell, Boeheim even pushed him to leave.

(photo credit: Syracuse.com)

Thursday, reports started to trickle out that Eric Devendorf and Paul Harris would also be declaring for the draft, but they would, in fact, be signing with an agent.

As far as academics are concerned, Devo is a senior and is on track to graduate in May (for all the negative things said about him, Devo managed to graduate from Syracuse in four years - how many college hoopers can say that?), although he does have one year of eligibility remaining. With everything he has gone through in his four years at Syracuse, and given the fact that he has a daughter, can you really blame the guy for wanting to get out and start making some money? I doubt he is cut out for the NBA (simply just not athletic enough), he is a smart basketball player with a great jump shot. I'd be willing to bet he heads to Europe and makes six figures.

Paul Harris is a different story. Harris has a shot at turning himself into a first rounder. He has the body and the athleticism to be a good small forward in the NBA if he can get his jump shot and handle to NBA caliber. But Harris and Boeheim seemed to be feuding a bit at the end of the season. Harris put up some great numbers, but never was a good decision maker. It seemed like, at some point, Boeheim became fed up with it and began yanking Harris from the game early and often.

Regardless of the reasoning, Syracuse stands to lose their three best players from last season's team. You can end all that national title talk now.
Continue reading...

Now We Know How Good Syracuse Can Be

Seton Hall is not a very good basketball team.

Their best wins are against Virginia Tech and USC early in the season, neither of whom look destined to be dancing. The Pirates 7-11 record in the Big East has a grand total of zero wins versus anyone from the top half of the league.

But yet in the Big East tournament in Madison Square Garden, a nationally televised game on ESPN in front of a de facto home crowd, the Orange were going basket for basket with the Pirates. The Orange had jumped out to leads of 8-3 and 18-10, but they could not maintain that level of energy.

It has been the problem for the Orange all season long. They have as much talent 1-7 as just about any team in the Big East, but talent gets you no where without effort, motivation, or a desire to play hard.

That is why a team that can boast wins over Florida, Kansas, and Memphis went 11-7 in the Big East, winning just two games against the top of the league - at home against West Virginia and in overtime at Marquette (after the Eagles had lost Dom James).

All it took yesterday was a hard foul and a little pushing and shoving for us to see what this Syracuse team can be.

The refs had to separate the teams twice in the span of about 15 seconds.
(photo credit: Julie Jacobson/AP)

With 15:58 left in the game, Syracuse was up 46-44. After a block by Arinze Onuaku where John Garcia thought he got fouled, Onuaku clapped in the Pirate center's face. This led to him slapping away Onuaku's hands, starting a little jawing between the teams. Double technicals were called, and things seemed to settle down.

But on the next possession, Kristoff Ongenaet went strong to the basket and was fouled very hard by Seton Hall's back-up center Brandon Walters. There was a little pushing and shoving between the two teams, when Eric Devendorf and Eugene Harvey both got their hands up on the other's neck. They were separated, and both teams were sent to their benches to calm down. After another set of double technicals, the game resumed.

It was a different Syracuse team that came out after that incident. More importantly, it was a different Devendorf.

On the very first possession, Devo hit a tough three-pointer with Harvey right in his grill, yapping all the way back down court. That sent the Orange on a huge run, out scoring the Pirates 35-14 over the next nine minutes of game play. Devo had 16 himself.

Let me repeat - 35-14 over nine minutes, where Devo scored 16 himself.

The Orange were everywhere - forcing turnovers, running the break, hitting three's, getting dunks in the paint. The run was capped by, who else, Devo. Jonny Flynn (who finished with 19 points and 11 assists, some of them worthy of the And-1 mixtape) threw a beautiful, one-handed, cross court bounce bass (literally, across the entire court) threw the defense to Devo in the corner, who buried a three (ED. Note: Devo's celebration after hitting this three was hilarious. It was half Zorro, half King-Kong. See this picture of it).

And that was it.

Once the Orange decided they wanted to play, the Pirates had absolutely no chance to compete with them.

Jonny Flynn, dropping one of his 11 dimes. This one was behind his head to Onuaku for a dunk.
(photo credit: Julie Jacobson/AP)

When Syracuse is playing like that - not just playing hard, but playing with emotion, playing with the mindset "I'm not going to just beat you, I'm going to embarrass you and run you off this floor" - they are talented enough to make a Final Four.

If they aren't, any team in the country can play with them. Continue reading...

Eric Devendorf: Suspension Revisited

We've touched on this before (here and here), but this Eric Devendorf saga took another turn as Jim Boeheim vehemently defended his player to the media and denounced the impending suspension.

Here is video of the interview:

You can't really blame Boeheim for taking his player's back. And you really cannot be mad at him for being upset when the Syracuse judicial board basically said that his player's were lying, both to them and to the district attorney under oath.

When it comes down to it, he makes a very good point. This girl's story has changed a number of times. At first it was a closed fist he hit her with then it was an open had. She said he approached her but the players say she approached them. She said that she did not know any of the people, did not know Devendorf, and did not know that there were basketball players there, but she had dated two of the players (Boeheim leads you to believe that one was Arinze Onuaku), and AO lives with Devendorf.

This is clearly not a cut and dry situation, and it absolutely is more complicated than a simple he-said-she-said issue. I don't want to come off as saying that I believe the players were lying (because I don't), but I can definitely see how a judicial board could interpret three of Devendorf's teammates taking his side and defending him as "orchestrated statements".

In itself, this seems to be the type of thing that would warrant some type of probation or community service - there is a serious lack of evidence on either side (which is why the DA declined to press charges), all involved parties were more than likely intoxicated (it was 3AM on a Friday night/Saturday morning outside a frat house on a college campus), and the girl's credibility is just about non-existent.

So what is comes down to is Devendorf's credibility and prior behavior. Boeheim said that he was on probation. The Syracuse Office of Judicial Affairs handbook lists three different types of probation (scroll down to Part 10): social, residential, and disciplinary. Only disciplinary probation lists extended suspension or expulsion as a punishment for further violation.

If you scroll down to 10.6, the handbook gets into standard sanctions for violence-related violations. From the Handbook:

Category:

Physical harm or threat of physical harm without a weapon resulting in little or no physical injury to involved persons.

Sanction:

• Disciplinary probation, suspension, or indefinite suspension as determined by the case manager or hearing board
• Participation in the Anger Management Program
• Options Program referral, if alcohol or other drugs were a factor in the incident
• Minimum of 80 hours of community service and/or other educational sanctions as deemed appropriate by the case manager or hearing board

For a student already on disciplinary probation:

Further violations may result in immediate suspension, indefinite suspension, or expulsion from the University.

There are two things that I take from this entire situation. One is that it sounds like Devendorf has been in trouble before at Syracuse, and that more than a punishment for this specific offense, Devendorf is being punished for his body of work, so to speak. The other is that Boeheim has had bad experiences in dealing with the Judicial Board in the past. By all accounts, it seems like an organized kangaroo court.

So this is what I will leave you with. I stand by my statement that Devendorf should have been held out of games while his appeal is pending, if for nothing else being dumb enough to put himself into this situation. But given the circumstances in this instance, I can't say I wouldn't do the same thing if I were in Boeheim's shoes.

When it comes down to it, if Devendorf does end up getting suspended, I don't think he has a right to be mad at anyone except himself. If you are on probation at school, and you know that one more offense could result in a punishment like this, why do you let yourself get into this situation? Why do you even get involved in an altercation with this girl? Why not just walk away from her? Yes, she more than likely shoulders just as much blame as Devendorf does and should also face some kind of punishment, but do you think she has anywhere near as much to lose in this situation as Devendorf does?

Like it or not, athletes at big time schools get held to a higher standard than regular students. They are the face of the university and their athletic abilities generate an unbelievable amount of revenue for the school. In general, I find it unfair that athlete's get held to this higher standard. But this is the world that we live in, and these guys will have to adjust off the court, just like they have to adjust if they are facing some junk, triangle-and-two defense on the court.

If this was Devendorf's first time in trouble, I would say forget it - make the kid do a bunch of community service, let Boeheim run his tail off in practice, give him some probation, and don't punish him too harshly for making a dumb decision when he was drunk. But this was not his first offense. So if the Judicial Board decides that they want to throw the book at him (however unfair that decision ends up being given this offense) it is his own fault for putting himself in that situation.

All of that said, I don't think Devendorf should be suspended for the rest of the season. But if he is already on probation, what else can you do? Is it fair to allow Boeheim to deliver a punishment of, say, five games? Normal students do not get that luxury. It's not like the Judicial Board can go to a frat president and say "we will allow this kid to stay in school if you suspend him from a month's worth of keggers". If the suspension is upheld, then what it would come down to is basically a one-semester suspension.

Is that really all that unfair? Continue reading...

Eric Devendorf is done ... again

On Monday we wrote about how Eric Devendorf was facing the Syracuse judicial board after being accused of hitting a female student in the face. Well, word has come down that the Syracuse board wants to suspend Devendorf for the rest of the academic year. It would be the second straight season that Devendorf has lost (last year he tore his acl 10 games in).

It looks like Devendorf is going to be appealing the decision, which could take as long as 15-20 days to get a ruling. Now Jim Boeheim has always struck me as a class act, and if he wants to keep my respect, then he will sit Eric Devendorf against Long Beach State on Saturday. And Cleveland State on Monday. And Canisius on Wednesday. And he will keep Devendorf out of the line-up until the appeal has gone through and an exact punishment has been determined.

Let's be real for a second. This is no longer a case of innocent-until-proven-guilty. Devendorf has been found guilty. Of a very serious crime. If Boeheim wants his program to keep any respectability, then he will reinstate Devendorf if, and only if, he wins his appeal and is allowed to return to school.

I mean, are the 14 points and 3 assists Devendorf averages really that important for the next few games when odds are they won't be there in March?

Losing Devendorf is a huge blow to Syracuse (I wish I would have written this a day later). I would argue that he is the third most valuable player on the team, behind Jonny Flynn and Arinze Onuaku. Without him, Flynn will not only be the only PG on the roster that should be allowed to see the court, but he will be the only guy that can penetrate and create for himself and for teammates.

I'm not going to sit here and preach to you about how dumb Devendorf is or how bad of a person he is. Think back to your days in college. We have all had a night where we did something we regretted. What I will say is this: if Devendorf actually did what the reports are saying he did, than I am sure that this was not a first for him. And without a wake-up call like this, I doubt that it would be a last.

If everything were to work out, then Devendorf will realize that he is not only wasting away a possible career in basketball (maybe not the NBA, but he has Europe written all over him) but also wasting away a scholarship to a very good school, and he will decide that instead of letting this ruin him, he is going to use this opportunity to become a better person and a better man for it.

As much as I hate Devendorf as a UConn fan, you hate to see a kid go down in flames like this. Continue reading...

11/22 - Some Links, Some News

Just two quick newsworthy items:

• St. John's forward Anthony Mason Jr. is done for the year after tearing a tendon in his foot. Apparently he hurt it a while ago but played through the pain for the two games in the Pre-season NIT opening round. Mason is a senior, but he will apply for an extra year of eligibility.
• Classy Eric, real classy. From the Daily Orange:

  Kimberly Smith, a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences, told police she was stopped on the 900 block of Walnut Avenue around 3 a.m. when several people began yelling at her and kicking the 2007 Hyundai Elantra she was driving, Connellan said. SPD was called by SU's Department of Public Safety, and met Smith at the intersection of University Place and Comstock Avenue, he said.
  
  Smith told police that when she got out of her car, Eric Devendorf allegedly approached her with a closed fist and punched her in the face, Connellan said.
  
  Attempts to reach Smith Tuesday night were unsuccessful. There were dents in both the passenger and driver sides of the car, Connellan said. Smith told SPD she didn't recognize the other people in the group, but that she had been an acquaintance of Devendorf. She said she wanted Devendorf arrested, Connellan said. He said the charge would be for harassment in the second degree.

  Devendorf has not been arrested and no charges have been filed, but this isn't the first time a Syracuse player has been in the news for something other than basketball. Jonny Flynn, Scoop Jardine, and Rick Jackson had to go to court to testify at a Grand Jury hearing in August regarding a sexual assault accusation (charges were never filed). DeShaun Williams was suspended in 2002 for a bar fight that put a woman in the hospital. And remember Billy Edelin?
  
  I doubt that Devendorf will end up in trouble because, like the Flynn-Jardine-Jackson incident, it seems like a he-said, she-said kind of thing. And I don't want to speculate what happened, especially since the incident occurred at 3 am on a Saturday morning (I doubt anyone involved really knows what happened). I don't like judging players that make mistakes that typical college students make. But a college athlete punching a woman in the face? No matter how drunk you are that should not happen. As much as I hate Syracuse, I hope that it isn't true.

Continue reading...