I have to admit... when I was first hired to cover college hoops for About.com, I never expected to be writing about the Binghamton Bearcats all that often. My original estimate on Bearcat coverage was somewhere in the neighborhood of "never." But then, how often do you get to watch as a program completely disintegrates?
For those just joining us... a quick recap:
- Last week, the Bearcats' point guard was arrested and charged with dealing cocaine
- The next day, five other Bearcat players were kicked off the team for various unspecified issue.
Now that we're all up to speed... here's the latest:
- Earlier this week, Binghamton athletic director Joel Thirer referred to the men's basketball program as "a zoo." The business manager of the Binghamton Zoo took exception to the comparison. I'm inclined to agree with her -- when's the last time you heard about one of the animals at Ross Park getting arrested?
- On Tuesday an adjunct professor was let go by the university. The administration claimed the economy made 'em do it... but it's probably no coincidence that the prof in question was a vocal critic of the basketball team, claiming players had received preferential treatment.
- On Wednesday, Thirer resigned.
So, in less than a week, the Bearcats lost six scholarship ballplayers and their AD. It seems reasonable to assume that coach Kevin Broadus will be the next rat off this sinking ship, but he's got a contract that runs through the 2013-14 season.
Kovacevic Crony Pleads Guilty
Amidst all this chaos, one positive note: one of the miscreants involved in the beat-down of Binghamton student Bryan Steinhauer is going to jail. Sanel Softic pleaded guilty to assault, and is facing two years in prison for his role in the incident. He'll be sentenced in January. Charges against a third attacker are pending.
Miladin Kovacevic -- the primary combatant -- is still free in Serbia. He fled to his native country after being released on bail, days after the initial attack, and as of yet, the Serbian government has refused to extradite him to face trial in the United States.
I have an idea... maybe someone could invite Kovacevic to a film festival in Switzerland! It worked with Roman Polanski...
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