MBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[kiko]

You would probably be better served to follow your instincts and stop commenting on this topic.  In other words, stop digging.

There is no reading comprehension issue.  There is you misrepresenting yourself:

Hate to bust your bubble. But I have no relationship with any of the "key" people involved.
Does anyone read entire posts, or just pick and choose what they want to dissect?

And there is you saying things like this:

I haven't "defended" anyone.  If it has not been made clear, or has been overlooked, I have simply stated that no one here can possibly know how the events played out, or for that matter who was actually a witness to the assault, calling players jackasses, immoral, or insinuating they have been raised poorly is a real stretch.
I'll say again......no one here can possibly know how the events played out, only that eugene punched a girl, and no one called police.

... after posting things like this.

Eugene, and eugene alone created this. Not the HC, not the players, and not the girl.
Eugene is the story.
Eugene is the one accused.
The others are casualties.

It may serve your interests to narrow the issue to the physical assault itself.  But that is misguided.  As horrific as that aspect of this mess is, take it out of the equation for a moment.

You have players who are purportedly representing their university while traveling out of state.  They are out well after their curfew. The coach does not have sufficient control over his players to prevent this situation.

If the incident ended there, with no physical confrontation, both the coach and the players on the team are clearly deserving of disciplinary action.  Can you not be intellectually honest with yourself enough to at least internalize this?

The actual situation, including what actions various individuals did and did not take, makes the entire incident much, much worse.  But even if this were the be-all and end-all, the coach and other players  bear some responsibility.  You may not like this, but they do.

So no, the others are not casualties.  And Eugene is not the whole story.  Try as you might to wish that away, there is no getting around that this is a broader issue than the moment in which the assault occurred.

[Pat Coleman]

In all my years of watching (and occasionally posting) on these boards, I have yet to see any parent or relative of a player or a player themselves come on these boards and make a bad situation better. 

+1
Good point.

[gustie12]

Having had four years of first-hand and second-hand experience with MIAC athletics - I feel bad for the conference as a whole, mostly all of the other teams. It brings negative attention to the conference and unneeded attention, all because of one bad egg. I also feel bad for Hamline University as a whole, because of this one incident, their reputation as an entire university will take a hit in recruiting quality students. I do have to say, sadly, I am not as surprised an incident like this occurred with the Hamline team. Had it been Bethel, St. Thomas, St. Olaf, St. John's, etc. - I would have been much more shocked. Just my personal opinion and I do not intend to attack any team, player, coach, or institution.

[Titan Q]

I do have to say, sadly, I am not as surprised an incident like this occurred with the Hamline team. Had it been Bethel, St. Thomas, St. Olaf, St. John's, etc. - I would have been much more shocked. Just my personal opinion and I do not intend to attack any team, player, coach, or institution.

Is Hamline known as a renegade/bandit outfit, or what does that mean?  I know absolutely zero about Hamline's basketball program - just curious.

[AO]

I do have to say, sadly, I am not as surprised an incident like this occurred with the Hamline team. Had it been Bethel, St. Thomas, St. Olaf, St. John's, etc. - I would have been much more shocked. Just my personal opinion and I do not intend to attack any team, player, coach, or institution.

Is Hamline known as a renegade/bandit outfit, or what does that mean?  I know absolutely zero about Hamline's basketball program - just curious.

Reusse explains this feeling about Hamline in his latest blog.

Nelson Whitmore came to Hamline in 2007 and went to work trying to bring some success back to the Pipers' once-mighty program. He has done that that to an extent, while his MIAC counterparts have grumbled among themselves grumbled that Whitmore was operating on the edge with his recruits.

Earlier this week, Eugene Lawrence, an 18-year-old freshman, was charged with punching a 20-year-old woman at the Hamline team hotel in Spokane, Wash. She was knocked out, suffered fractures in her face, and police were called shortly before 4 a.m.

Lawrence was arrested, charged and then sent home. He's been suspended and tossed out of school. Fourteen other players were suspended, along with Whitmore. Hamline forfeited Saturday's MIAC game to Gustavus.

All in all, this was the moment that Whitmore and the Pipers looked to have lost their footing on that edge the coach had been walking.

[Pat Coleman]

They've given second chances to a couple guys in the past six years or so. No idea if Eugene Lawrence was a kid in need of such consideration.

I can only assume that's what Reusse is referencing.

[Drake Palmer]

First of all -Terrible, terrible incident that unfolded in the past week at Hamline.  I don't know any more of the details than what everyone else has read.

Secondly, while I've never been a big fan of the Hamline coach, it did appear that he was willing to take a chance on some transfer players that other schools might have not accepted.  In exchange for a chance to play basketball, individuals were given second and third chances, and were provided the opportunity to obtain a college degree. It is my understanding that several of these individuals did in fact obtain their degrees.

It is also my understanding that most other MIAC coaches ran or run pretty tight ships when taking team trips.  Room checks and curfews were strictly enforced by coaches and captains, with no visitors allowed in player rooms after a designated hour, or in some cases, no visitors in player rooms - period.
***
In other news, it was a very disappointing showing by Augsburg at UST last Saturday.  Former Auggie great & NBA player Devean George was in the house, along with a number of former Augsburg & UST players for what many thought (myself included),would be a great showdown between 1 & 2.  For the Dawgs sake, and everyone else in the league, I'd hope there will be someone who can step up and challenge St. Thomas this winter.  Dan Kornbaum had a miserable afternoon getting decent touches and since the Augsburg guards couldn't hit the broadside of the barn (4-23 FGA, 17%), it made it a lot easier for the Tommies to double up on Kornbaum in the post. 

It will be interesting to see how Augsburg responds tonight against St. John's at C-ville.

The Tommies will have a trap week as they close out the first half of the league schedule with a game tonight at Bethel, home games against Gustavus & St. Johns Wednesday & Saturday, & then close out the first half of the season at St. Olaf next Monday.

[onearmedscot]

So I just read about the last four pages and it was a good walk down memory lane.  Thanks to a handful of you old regulars for taking me back...now with Macalester's starting shooting for 2030, I have minimal time on my hands.

This Hamline situation is just plain sad.  A man should never, ever, ever, ever, hit a woman no matter the level of anger, the time of day or the place.  NEVER.

I have had the misfortune of seeing a girl sucker punched by a guy about 5 feet in front of me at the Taste of Minnesota one year.  The first thing I yelled was "call 911!"  To me, calling 911 is instinct, doing nothing is unheard of...but maybe that's all about how you're raised.

A coach, regardless of level of play, inherits responsibility for his players.  Implementing a system, utilizing captains, to assure a team of 12-16 players are in their rooms is not rocket science.  Coaches also have intuition and hunches...I know my high school coach did when he found a tub full of beer and threw players off the team when he went around at 3am one night to check on his players.  No a coach can not hook up baby monitors (I have a sweet one) in all of his players rooms but if he is a respected coach (Hansen, Tauer, etc) running a ship shape program, he shouldn't have too.

It will be interesting to see how this unfolds but I assume Hamline is in for about a decade worth of "Hamline?  Isn't that where that hoops player punched that girl in the face?" statements.

oAs

PS - I do miss "internet research" trying to determine who certain posters are...oh the memories.

PPSS - I like this guys take on it.

[Gregory Sager]

Holy Stiftungsfest! OAS lives!

(Thanks for that link to the Sporting News piece, by the way. I like that guy's take on the Hamline incident, too.)

[piperinsider]

Per Patrick Reusse, Hamline's new AD Jason Verdugo, former baseball coach, will coach the men's team tonight against St. Olaf. 

[Retired Old Rat]

OAS and Piper Insider posting the same week.  The end must be near.

[Gregory Sager]

And if columbian maffia posts here this week, the trump will sound and the skies will roll back as a scroll.

[onearmedscot]

11 Pipers running around in warmups.  They look like a punchless bunch.

oAs

[miacsuperfan]

is hambone finally officially "the vipers?" 

[gustie12]

You would think St. Thomas would have a better SI department considering their athletic presence in the MIAC and the Nation. Why are they always last posting scores and stats to the MIAC and on their website? And you would think they could at least provide live stats as well. I'm not sure why they cannot when every other school in the MIAC can provide live stats.