MILES FROM FIRST NIGHT, UCONN NEEDS THREE MAN
By Zach Smart
The most controversial legal issue in Storrs since the 2005 computer thefts that made Marcus Williams and A.J. Price primary heckle targets at every arena in the country, appears to be far from over.
Jim Calhoun, the longtime, eccentric Husky coach who broke his back trying to get Miles—he of the subversive reputation and rough upbringing—accepted into the University, is nowhere to be found for comment.
Judging by the way Calhoun lashed out on the Constitution State media circus the last time a situation of this ilk emerged, that is probably a good thing.
“I'd like to have you working hard on the team and do your (blanking) job instead of trying to hurt younger people because you feel someone's pressuring you. It's really unfortunate, it really is,” said Calhoun, following the arrests of Jerome Dyson and Doug Wiggins in January. Dyson and Wiggins, who has since transferred to Umass, were caught with bottles of Cognac and a small amount of marijuana on campus. Such a shocker that a college student would be engaging in such activities.
Read More...Click Below!
Still, for the beat writers who jumped on the story like it was the 1994 O.J. Simpson trial, the lesson was learned.
“Messing” with Calhoun, perhaps one of the most powerful individuals in the state, is like hurling spitballs at a battleship.
"You've done your job, things were reported, and you'll know the information as soon as it comes out. I told you they would not be playing tonight or the next game and I told you this week that something would come out but that's not good enough for you, you've got to go into P.I. (private investigator) mode. If that's what you want, go ahead. Just make sure when you make that call and it doesn't get answered, that you're fooling with my kids. Fool with me now, say I'm a bad coach, I shouldn't discipline. OK? Just so we understand that, just so we all understand each other."
As for the situation with Miles, there seems to be something fishy about it. Price and Williams, both essential elements of the 2008 and 2006 UConn teams, respectively, stole labtops. Yet, they were reinstated.
Ben Gordon was arrested for allegedly slapping a woman in the face. Reinstated.
So, how does Miles go from savior to villain before the blink of an eye when what he did (violating a restraining order) wasn’t much worse than what’s happened in recent years?
Could his checkered past (five high schools in less than five years, a boot from the Patterson school, the lack of a parental figure other than Sean Patterson, his former guardian who also happened to be his AAU coach), have anything to do with the short chain he was put on during his brief stay at UConn?
Patterson, who is very serious about appealing the decision made by the UConn administrative board, feels that Miles was “railroaded.” He feels that he was guilty by reputation and is exasperated at the decision.
The clock is ticking. First Night, UConn’s midnight madness, is Friday Oct. 17, at the Gampel Pavilion.
http://www.uconnhuskies.com/AllStories/MBasketball/2008/10/03/20081003.htm
So, with the departure of Miles, a scholarship is ruined. Unless UConn can pull something out of its rear end quickly, they will be without a true three-man. Not that they’ll need one for the first ten games of their schedule. In order for the big Husky bus to drive deep into the NCAA tournament, however, it would be necessary.
UConn might have to employ a three-guard system. Miles had all the tools to emerge into the starting small forward. The staff and teammates were sold on his versatility and considerable NBA talent during the team’s scrimmages. Considering Craig Austrie’s experience (he was an emergency starter for the 2005-06 team that featured NBA players Williams and Rudy Gay) and the way he enhanced his image (during Dyson’s absence) last season, Price, Austrie, and Dyson could make up this three-guard attack.This creates a problem.Dyson and Price both love to dominate the ball and matchup difficulties could result. Dyson, who wasn’t the same player after coming back from his suspension, is the best defender out of the trio. Still, Stanley “Sticks” Robinson, whose been a question mark over the past few months, can’t get back to Storrs soon enough to rescue the Husky's falling college basketball odds.
Calhoun added recently that it's about "90 percent" that Robinson will be with the Huskies by their December 15th game with Stony Brook, according to the Bristol Press. Of course, the scholarship issue might be a little questionable, since Miles was kicked off the team, his scholarship must be vacated for the season, meaning Robinson is out of luck unless working full-time in the sheet-metal industry can pay for a semester at UConn.
The coach also said in the Bristol Press there's a "very, very good chance" that Ater Majok, a 6-foot-10 recruit from the Sudan via Australia, will be with the team at the same time. Majok has to pass muster with the NCAA Clearinghouse, which is complicated because he'll be a foreign student, however, if he does not, that could be a source of a scholarship for Robinson.
The most controversial legal issue in Storrs since the 2005 computer thefts that made Marcus Williams and A.J. Price primary heckle targets at every arena in the country, appears to be far from over.
Jim Calhoun, the longtime, eccentric Husky coach who broke his back trying to get Miles—he of the subversive reputation and rough upbringing—accepted into the University, is nowhere to be found for comment.
Judging by the way Calhoun lashed out on the Constitution State media circus the last time a situation of this ilk emerged, that is probably a good thing.
“I'd like to have you working hard on the team and do your (blanking) job instead of trying to hurt younger people because you feel someone's pressuring you. It's really unfortunate, it really is,” said Calhoun, following the arrests of Jerome Dyson and Doug Wiggins in January. Dyson and Wiggins, who has since transferred to Umass, were caught with bottles of Cognac and a small amount of marijuana on campus. Such a shocker that a college student would be engaging in such activities.
Read More...Click Below!
Still, for the beat writers who jumped on the story like it was the 1994 O.J. Simpson trial, the lesson was learned.
“Messing” with Calhoun, perhaps one of the most powerful individuals in the state, is like hurling spitballs at a battleship.
"You've done your job, things were reported, and you'll know the information as soon as it comes out. I told you they would not be playing tonight or the next game and I told you this week that something would come out but that's not good enough for you, you've got to go into P.I. (private investigator) mode. If that's what you want, go ahead. Just make sure when you make that call and it doesn't get answered, that you're fooling with my kids. Fool with me now, say I'm a bad coach, I shouldn't discipline. OK? Just so we understand that, just so we all understand each other."
As for the situation with Miles, there seems to be something fishy about it. Price and Williams, both essential elements of the 2008 and 2006 UConn teams, respectively, stole labtops. Yet, they were reinstated.
Ben Gordon was arrested for allegedly slapping a woman in the face. Reinstated.
So, how does Miles go from savior to villain before the blink of an eye when what he did (violating a restraining order) wasn’t much worse than what’s happened in recent years?
Could his checkered past (five high schools in less than five years, a boot from the Patterson school, the lack of a parental figure other than Sean Patterson, his former guardian who also happened to be his AAU coach), have anything to do with the short chain he was put on during his brief stay at UConn?
Patterson, who is very serious about appealing the decision made by the UConn administrative board, feels that Miles was “railroaded.” He feels that he was guilty by reputation and is exasperated at the decision.
The clock is ticking. First Night, UConn’s midnight madness, is Friday Oct. 17, at the Gampel Pavilion.
http://www.uconnhuskies.com/AllStories/MBasketball/2008/10/03/20081003.htm
So, with the departure of Miles, a scholarship is ruined. Unless UConn can pull something out of its rear end quickly, they will be without a true three-man. Not that they’ll need one for the first ten games of their schedule. In order for the big Husky bus to drive deep into the NCAA tournament, however, it would be necessary.
UConn might have to employ a three-guard system. Miles had all the tools to emerge into the starting small forward. The staff and teammates were sold on his versatility and considerable NBA talent during the team’s scrimmages. Considering Craig Austrie’s experience (he was an emergency starter for the 2005-06 team that featured NBA players Williams and Rudy Gay) and the way he enhanced his image (during Dyson’s absence) last season, Price, Austrie, and Dyson could make up this three-guard attack.This creates a problem.Dyson and Price both love to dominate the ball and matchup difficulties could result. Dyson, who wasn’t the same player after coming back from his suspension, is the best defender out of the trio. Still, Stanley “Sticks” Robinson, whose been a question mark over the past few months, can’t get back to Storrs soon enough to rescue the Husky's falling college basketball odds.
Calhoun added recently that it's about "90 percent" that Robinson will be with the Huskies by their December 15th game with Stony Brook, according to the Bristol Press. Of course, the scholarship issue might be a little questionable, since Miles was kicked off the team, his scholarship must be vacated for the season, meaning Robinson is out of luck unless working full-time in the sheet-metal industry can pay for a semester at UConn.
The coach also said in the Bristol Press there's a "very, very good chance" that Ater Majok, a 6-foot-10 recruit from the Sudan via Australia, will be with the team at the same time. Majok has to pass muster with the NCAA Clearinghouse, which is complicated because he'll be a foreign student, however, if he does not, that could be a source of a scholarship for Robinson.
Labels: Connecticut news
posted by NBE Blogger @ 1:43 PM
1 comments
1 Comments:
I agree that there does seem to be something strange about the Miles' case. At first glance, the transgressions don't seem as bad as some previous UConn players'. The complaint the girl filed said that he physically abused her ("he dug his nails into her forearm" while grabbing her arm), "pressured" her to have sex, and knocked her off the bed (after she hit him). Then again, he did violate a protective order 16 minutes after it was served. Supposedly, the girl's mother is heavily involved in these charges, and the girl is reported to have at least partially recanted, saying that she didn't want anything to happen to him, just to have him leave her alone.
I think that this young man is a victim of circumstances beyond his control. First, there is the recent history of UConn players. Second, there have been highly publicized sexual assaults on campus this semester, and there is zero tolerance for any kind of abuse, sexual or otherwise.
Finally, in parts of the administration and in much of the faculty there is resentment of the prominence of basketball, and the exceptions that have been made to get some of Calhoun's recruits into school.
We know nothing about the hearing officer(s), their background and outlook; nor do we know anything about the disciplinary history for similar offenses.
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