Calhoun should recruit men, not boys, for team

By: Aaron Igdalsky

Posted: 10/7/08

Nate Miles is in trouble. But he isn't the first one on the UConn men's basketball team who has been arrested, and sadly, he probably won't be the last.

Miles' expulsion from UConn last Thursday garnered national attention, and deservedly so. He is the latest in a string of men's basketball players from UConn who have allegedly broken the law and thrown a negative spotlight on our university. But this time, we aren't talking about a couple of numbskulls smoking pot in a parking lot; Miles is accused of becoming physically and sexually aggressive with a female student here on the Storrs campus. Additionally, he is facing felony criminal charges of violating a restraining order by telephoning the alleged victim despite a court order to the contrary.

However, the reason this story has attracted so much attention not simply because of the despicable behavior Miles is accused of, but rather because of the pattern of contemptible behavior the men's basketball team has exhibited in recent years, under the leadership of coach Jim Calhoun. From larceny to shoplifting to drug possession, the "men" under Calhoun's tutelage have acted more like a bunch of immature boys.

The Hartford Courant published a list on Oct. 3 of disciplinary incidents involving UConn men's basketball players. Miles' incident is now the 18th on a long, long list of disciplinary incidents to have occurred under Calhoun since 1990. Eleven of those have occurred since 2000. These disturbing statistics beg the question: is Jim Calhoun more concerned about winning championships than recruiting upstanding, positive male role models to his team?

Why did Calhoun recruit Miles and offer him a college scholarship in the first place? Miles had bounced around to at least five different high schools for disciplinary reasons. He may have a great three-point shot, but he is not what the university needs right now. Granted, Calhoun did not know Miles would become abusive with a woman here on campus. But Nate Miles shouldn't have been here in the first place.

In August 2005, Marcus Williams and A.J. Price were each charged with third-degree larceny for stealing four laptops from dorms. Calhoun allowed both Williams and Price to stay on the team after serving minor suspensions. This established the precedent that no matter what kind of hooligan you are, if you've got a sweet jump shot, you're welcome on Calhoun's team.

The fact that Williams (now in the NBA) and Price (who will probably be starting on the men's team this year) were allowed to stay at UConn, let alone on the basketball team, is appalling. If I stole four laptops from dorm rooms here on campus, I would have been expelled in a New York minute. The "men" recruited by Calhoun to represent our university on an international stage should be held to a higher standard than the rest of the student body, not a lower one.

No one would argue that Calhoun has put together some very successful teams, which his two national championships attest to. However, there are other ways to assemble successful athletic teams without recruiting delinquents. One need only look at the shining example of the UConn women's team to see what a university athletic team should act like. There has not been one single disciplinary embarrassment under women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma and they have actually had more overall success on the court than the men's team. In fact, Auriemma's players are nationally-known for their strong academics and well-mannered behavior. This is because Auriemma recruits women who have strong character and are respectable both on and off the court. It would be hard to imagine coach Auriemma offering a UConn scholarship to a young lady who attended five different high schools because of poor behavior. It's time that Calhoun and the UConn "men's" basketball team follow the women's lead and grow up.