Michigan State need only look around the country to see the season isn't over ... yet

By now, you've surely heard -- Korie Lucious has been suspended for the remainder of the season by Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo. Michigan State announced the suspension late Tuesday night in a statement.

"Unfortunately, Korie Lucious displayed conduct detrimental to the program," Izzo said in the statement. "My focus is on this team for the remainder of the season."

"I didn't live up to the standards of the program," Lucious said. "Unfortunately, I let my teammates, my coaches, and myself down, and wish them the best for the rest of the season." Lucious also tweeted "Man did I really mess up this time...off 2 the gym I go!"

First, the specifics. The way that the suspension was worded -- the "remainder of the season" -- implies that Lucious could potentially return to the team next season if he can repay his debt to Izzo and the team. We all know how that worked out with Chris Allen this summer, who is now at Iowa State.

I'm not going to speculate on what it is that Lucious did, but if you remember, he was suspended for a game and an exhibition at the beginning of the season as a punishment for getting a DUI over the summer.

What does this mean for the Spartans? In terms of personnel, it means that Kalin Lucas will not be back to handling the point guard duties full-time with freshman Keith Appling providing him help in the back court. Lucious was struggling this season, but anyone that watched last year's tournament knows the kind of playmaking and clutch shooting this kid is capable of.

Michigan State has had their issues this season, both with their behavior off the court and their play on it. They are just 12-7 on the season and 4-3 in Big Ten play, losing just about every important game on their schedule.

But don't throw the season away yet, Spartan fans.

Memphis had Wesley Witherspoon get suspended for behavioral issues, and the Tigers have responded with three straight wins, including at Southern Miss and at UAB. Washington lost point guard Abdul Gaddy for the season, but with the ball in his hands and the team relying on his playmaking ability, Isaiah Thomas saw his season turnaround. He's now playing as well as any point guard in the country.

Can the same happen to the Spartans? I guess I should say again; if you remember, they rallied when Kalin Lucas went out with his achilles injury and made a run to the Final Four last season.

I've been expecting a turnaround from this team for a while. In hindsight, heaping this much expectation on Michigan State may have been unfair. They were a borderline top 20 team most of last season and made a fluke run to the Final Four without beating anyone higher than a four seed. This season, we expected Lucas to immediately be 100% despite the severity of his injury and counted on the consistently inconsistent Durrell Summers to put it all together.

That said, there is talent on this team. They have a legendary head coach.

Maybe this shake up was just the wake up call his team needed.

Then again, maybe the Spartans are already too far gone.

Me?

I'm still not ready to bet against the Spartans, but I would recommend you start hedging anything you bet on the Spartans.
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Korie Lucious gets his punishment from Tom Izzo for his DUI

Korie Lucious has finally gotten word about what his punishment will be for getting a DUI during the offseason.

According to the Lansing State Journal, Izzo said on Monday that Lucious would miss, at most, two games. He won't be in uniform against Eastern Michigan on Nov. 12th, but he will be allowed to suit up with the team when they head to the Maui Invitational. That starts on November 22nd. The only game seemingly in question right now is the Spartans date on the 16th with South Carolina.

(Ed. Note: I can't stand when people say that a player will be suspended for two games, but one of those games will be an exhibition. That's not a suspension for two games. Its a suspension for one game and one exhibition, and in all reality how many people really care about exhibitions? So what you see written here will differ from most sites simply because I like to refer to the actual number of games that will be missed.

/stepping down from my pedestal)

Keep in mind, Lucious also underwent minor arthroscopic surgery to fix a meniscus tear in his knee, but he is expected to be back to 100% by the time the season starts. So, yeah, it was quite the eventful offseason for Lucious.

Now the only question is whether or not two other Spartans will face punishment for the other festivities that happened the night Lucious got his DUI.

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NCAA Tournament heroes Korie Lucious and Joe Mazzulla both get arrested

The end of August in college towns only means one thing -- the students are back. And if you harken back on your days as a collegian, I think you'll remember some pretty legendary nights during those first days back at school.

No one has home work yet and many finally feel the freedom that comes with being released from a summer in your parents house. You head to a party, the booze is flowing, you're with all your friends, you see that cute blonde you had such a crush on. Basketball players aren't immune to it just because everyone knows who they are.

But they aren't immune from suffering the consequences when they aren't responsible after they put a few away, either.

Take Korie Lucious, for example. At 2:20 am, on Monday morning, Lucious was arrested for drinking and driving. He blew a 0.09. The legal limit in Michigan is 0.08, which means that Lucious' crime in and of itself is not horrific. He wasn't driving blacked out; he simply had one beer too many. It seems as if he was at least attempting to be responsible. I'm not justifying what he did, but, well, I guess I am downplaying it a little. There's a difference between slapping someone in the face and hitting them over the head with a baseball bat, just like there's a difference between blowing a .20 and a .09 when you are pulled over for a DUI.

Korie Lucious hit the game-winner against Maryland in the 2nd round.
(photo credit: NY Post)

The bigger issue is that Lucious doesn't turn 21 until November 5th, which completely changes the context of the charges. Not only was he driving over the legal limit, but he was driving over the legal limit as a 20 year old. That's a much different story.

Lucious was given a ticket for Operating While Intoxicated. Tom Izzo released a one sentence statement, simply saying "We're aware a ticket was issued, and we're still gathering information." According to the Detroit Free Press, "Lucious posted bond of $200 and has 10 days to be arraigned in East Lansing’s 54-B District Court."

And then there is Joe Mazzulla and Dalton Pepper from West Virginia. Both Mazzulla and Pepper were issued citations for urinating in public in downtown Morgantown on Saturday.

For Pepper, this doesn't seem like that big of a deal. He will likely face a fine, a (stern) warning from Bob Huggins not to mess up again, and will almost assuredly get himself into shape with the sprints he is going to be forced to complete.

It will be a little different for Mazzulla. This is the third time the feisty point guard has had a run in with the law since he has been a Mountaineer, and all three times have seemingly involved drinking. Two years ago, Mazzulla was arrested when he and Cam Thoroughman got into a scuffle with some off duty cops at a Pittsburgh Pirates game. Last April, Mazzulla was arrested for allegedly assaulting a woman in a Morgantown bar. He was suspended for much of the summer before finally being reinstated to the team in early September.

Joe Mazzulla had 17 points against in Kentucky in the Elite 8 to send WVU to the Final Four.
(photo credit: AP)

Public urination is one of the pettier offenses someone can commit. Every single male that has ever set foot in a bar has peed between cars, or down an alley, or on a tree, or in a bush, or somewhere else that is wildly inappropriate during a night out. It happens. And if you happen to get caught, you have to suck it up, pay the fine, and pay more attention to where the cops are when you decide to whip it out.

But for someone with Mazzulla's prior arrests, the punishment will likely be more severe. Huggy Bear certainly can't be pleased that the kid that is supposed to be his team's senior leader now has as many alcohol-related offenses as he does years of eligibility used.

Huggins released a statement saying that he is aware of the incident and that it will be handled internally.

Mazzulla, Pepper, and Lucious are college kids. They made the same mistakes that so many college kids around the country do every single weekend of the school year. Do they deserve to be punished? Absolutely.

But let's keep it all in perspective.

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