NCAA Gang Initiation

Before reading this blog.. check out the video below to put it into proper context. If you've already seen the brawl, jump ahead to 2:25 in the clip to view the comments in question:



What a sad day for college sports. What a shame too, that this happens in college basketball, which is most likely the most competitively balanced of all the NCAA's major sports.

It's tough not to be a Monday morning quarterback here, but how do these teams let this happen?

How do their respective coaching staffs allow the negative back-and-forth to ensue this week without squelching it out? Maybe they tried.

How do they not, at halftime, refocus their teams on the basketball game instead of the impending "gangsta" brawl? Maybe they tried.

Most importantly....
How do you recruit players that view themselves as "gangstas"? How do you entrust your program in the hands of people who represent "where they from" by physical means?

I guess we'll never know the exact sequence of events that led up to the final 9 seconds of the game. It's tough not to draw negative conclusions based on what we saw.

To be fair, the climax of the brawl appeared to be escalated by Cincinnati. Absolutely goaded by some jawing by Xavier (Holloway taunting the Cincinnati bench), but certainly escalated by Cincinnati. Their players left the bench to jump in when their player had a Musketeer in his face.

Yancy Gates (Bearcats #34) then lost control. He whipped the basketball at Holloway (self-proclaimed "gangsta"). He rushed into the melee and cold-cocked Xavier's Kenny Freese. Another term would be sucker punch. Another term would be cowardly.

Kenny Freese of Xavier got jacked up in the melee.

 In true "gangsta" fashion, Cincinnati's #13 Cheikh Mbodj went Ndamukong Suh on Freese as he was laying on the ground. Mbodj, from Senegal, has apparently adjusted seamlessly to the American gangsta culture.

Xavier could've come out of this not looking as ridiculous. They would've been guilty of inappropriate trash talking, and Cincinnati would've been viewed as the team that lost its composure. If not for the post game comments of Tu Holloway, this would have been the case. The comments (again, around 2:25 of the video clip above) show that the mindset of both teams was skewed.

How does Xavier head coach Chris Mack NOT sit down with his guys after the game (especially with those going before the media) and talk to them about what they should say?

Why would he even let them face the media if they were going to say things like they said?

At least Cincinnati's head coach Mick Cronin spoke like a human being after the game. He gave us the emotions that most of us were thinking as the brawl ensued, and essentially said what needed to be said. He would've been highly scrutinized had he said anything else, and he probably saved his job by speaking as candidly as he did. 

The Vibe's Take

Both programs need to have a serious refocusing session with their entire basketball programs, starting at the top. I'm not necessarily advocating for firings or anything like that, but both teams need to suspend some guys.

Holloway and Lyons from Xavier should be suspended for the combination of their on-court taunting and their ridiculous post game comments. To recap:

"If somebody put they hand in yo' face or try to do somethin' to you....where we from you gonna do somethin' back" - Lyons

"We grown men over here....we got a whole buncha gangstas in the locker room" -Holloway

So, the impression given is that Xavier taps into the talented gang-ridden streets to target players to recruit....and Senegal. Not saying this is the case, but this is the perception.  That can't sit well with Xavier.

Yancy Gates of Cincinnati should be dismissed from the team. You should not be able to do something like that and continue to play big time college basketball. I mean, he took a step back and did some juking and air jabs (like a boxer) after connecting with Freese. I still don't understand how, in incidents like this, he can escape criminal charges. If he did the exact same thing in a bar, he'd be arrested and charged.

But ironically probably still allowed to play (LSU football anyone?)

This should be Yancy Gates final dunk in organized basketball.

 Cincinnati's Cheikh Mbodj should be suspended for a few games. Although not a sucker-punch, trying to stomp on someone who is laying on the ground bleeding would also garner you criminal charges in a different forum.

It's such a shame, because many people view college basketball as the most pure form of the game. More defense, higher energy games, crisp teamwork and passing. They devalue the NBA because (among other things) thuggish behavior like this is more commonplace. It would truly be a shame if stuff like this started to creep into the college game.