Spring Break
Miles away from Storrs
Kevin Meacham
Issue date: 10/7/08 Section: Sports
On a campus which experienced a pair of sexual assaults last month - and a university given an embarrassing black eye by a first-hand account of sexual assault in this very newspaper last spring - this is unacceptable.
The university cannot allow any student to feel explicitly threatened by another student. Even ignoring Miles' history, his expulsion was clearly the right call.
But is Nate Miles a trend? That, I'm not so sure about.
Since my freshman year in 2005, there have been three major incidents with the men's basketball team: A.J. Price and Marcus Williams' infamous laptop thievery, Doug Wiggins and Jerome Dyson's alcohol-related bust and now the Miles flap.
In each case, the individuals involved made poor choices and were punished for it. Besides Miles, every player was suspended for a significant chunk of time.
But do these five individuals represent a "win-at-all-costs" mentality?
I think you could make a case that basketball factories embraced this mentality the moment they relaxed admissions standards to allow in supremely-talented-but-lax students. For every Emeka Okafor (3.8 GPA, finance major), there's a half-dozen guys (like Miles) with shaky transcripts who can shoot the "J".
However, it is not a crime to be a below-average student. I won't argue that the university (and others like it) is selling its soul for the glory that comes with national championship trophies. But this is beside the point.
We're talking about the players who supposedly put the "con" in UConn.
Williams is in the NBA and appears to be doing well for himself, both on the court and off.
Price enters his senior season recovering from a torn ACL. I would find it hard for anyone not to root for him as he perseveres through his second career-threatening injury in four years. Price appears to have matured and responded positively to his past mistakes.
As for Wiggins and Dyson, well, it was stupid for two under-21 kids to get caught in a car with alcohol. As unpaid spokesmen of the university, they should have known better.
The university cannot allow any student to feel explicitly threatened by another student. Even ignoring Miles' history, his expulsion was clearly the right call.
But is Nate Miles a trend? That, I'm not so sure about.
Since my freshman year in 2005, there have been three major incidents with the men's basketball team: A.J. Price and Marcus Williams' infamous laptop thievery, Doug Wiggins and Jerome Dyson's alcohol-related bust and now the Miles flap.
In each case, the individuals involved made poor choices and were punished for it. Besides Miles, every player was suspended for a significant chunk of time.
But do these five individuals represent a "win-at-all-costs" mentality?
I think you could make a case that basketball factories embraced this mentality the moment they relaxed admissions standards to allow in supremely-talented-but-lax students. For every Emeka Okafor (3.8 GPA, finance major), there's a half-dozen guys (like Miles) with shaky transcripts who can shoot the "J".
However, it is not a crime to be a below-average student. I won't argue that the university (and others like it) is selling its soul for the glory that comes with national championship trophies. But this is beside the point.
We're talking about the players who supposedly put the "con" in UConn.
Williams is in the NBA and appears to be doing well for himself, both on the court and off.
Price enters his senior season recovering from a torn ACL. I would find it hard for anyone not to root for him as he perseveres through his second career-threatening injury in four years. Price appears to have matured and responded positively to his past mistakes.
As for Wiggins and Dyson, well, it was stupid for two under-21 kids to get caught in a car with alcohol. As unpaid spokesmen of the university, they should have known better.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Spence Roman
posted 10/07/08 @ 10:48 AM EST
Greetings from the Windy City
Thanks for a very well written and balanced article. From my experience
UConn Basketball has run the gamut from the John Crisp scandals in the
late 60's to the unfortunate Nate Miles episode. (Continued…)
Chris Jackson
posted 10/08/08 @ 5:00 AM EST
I do agree with you Kevin that college students drink, always have an always will. However I reject the idea of comparing the UConn Basketball players to regular students in a dorm. (Continued…)
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