Tyler Smith and three other UT basketball players were arrested with drug and weapon charges yesterday.Oh joy.
Recall November's similar fiasco when three UT football player were arrested for attempted armed robbery, and it might make you think that it's really not all that great to be a Tennessee Vol.
I can't scold these guys for not acting their age because there are plenty of fellow twenty-something-year-olds who get caught in stupid situations like this. However, student-athletes have much more at stake than the rest of us commoners.
For starters, Smith and Cameron Tatum are valuable starters on the nationally-ranked squad (pun fully intended).
There's no doubt that the Vols rely on Smith more than any other player. Not only has he logged the most minutes on the team, he also leads the team in assists with 44 and adds 11.7 points per game, the second most. Smith's hard play and distribution of the ball are the only reason the Vols have been able to manage without a standout point guard.
Tatum has emerged as a valuable player who has started half of the season. He is shooting 40 percent from beyond the arc while averaging 8.7 points per game. Tatum tends to play well when others are having a bad game, which is a very important role.
Let's not forget about Melvin Goins or Brian Williams. Although they mostly come off the bench, both have played in every game. Goins complements Bobby Maze at guard. He plays stout defense, but can also weave his way inside for hard-fought points as we saw against Memphis on New Year's Eve. If the junior college transfer improves his assist-to-turnover ratio, he could be the answer to the Vols woes at his position. Williams has steadily improved over his career, and is invaluable as Wayne Chism's backup in the paint.
Either these young men are too humble to listen to all the praise they get and didn't realize how much Bruce Pearl needs them, or they really are just that stupid.
At a time when this university is struggling with immense budget cuts, the students of this school turn to athletics to ease their overwhelmed minds. Unfortunately all they get is embarrassment and disappointment, while at the same time watching valuable scholarship money essentially being burned in front of their faces.
It probably doesn't matter to them, but I'm very jealous of their scholarships. Including room and board, my bill will add up to about $28,000 just for this year, even though I have been on Dean's List two of my three semesters at UT.
Anybody remember the Family Guy scene where the police are trying to interrogate Kobe Bryant on his alleged raping and he spins the ball on his finger to distract them? It seems these four were thinking like Kobe. And why wouldn't they? If I were an athlete and watched Brandon Spikes eye gouge a kid and only get a 30-minute timeout, I wouldn't worry much about serious consequences to my actions either.
Not to keep making it about me, but I'm insulted by this situation. I didn't even like basketball until just a few years ago when I started watching the Vols, and considering Pearl and his boys were a big reason I came to UT, I feel like a fool. Why would I let kids who clearly don't care about those around them to influence such a big decision in my life?
They don't know me, so I guess I can't take it personally, but you'd think these guys might consider the 20,000 fans at their games who cheer them on against anyone, win or lose, before making stupid decisions.
Then again, they are just twenty-something-year-olds with blinders on.
(Read the original article at TNJN.com)
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