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ESPNET SportsZone | Men's College Basketball
The phone calls weren't free after all.
Villanova guard Kerry Kittles' unauthorized use of a telephone credit card will cost him dearly.
It will likely cost him the Big East Player of the Year award and possibly All-America honors.
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| Kerry Kittles was forced to sit out Villanova's last three regular-season games, but he'll be back for the games that really matter. |
Iverson and Allen were his chief competition for Big East Player of the Year. Those games figured to go a long way in determining whether Kittles would become the first Big East player to win the honor in consecutive seasons in more than a decade. Kittles needed to play well.
Now, it would seem, he has disqualified himself.
It's a shame, too. Kittles has been a class act throughout his career.
The priests back at St. Augustine's private high school in New Orleans where Kittles graduated would surely have administered corporal punishment. A good spanking with a wooden paddle. That's how they discipline down there.
Kittles was an altar server as a boy, and is now a Eucharistic minister on campus (he helps during communion). He was contrite in acknowledging his sin this week. He used words like "selfish" and "humiliated" when he met the press. He knows he embarrassed more than himself.
"I made a mistake," he said. "I'm sorry for the mistake I made. I'm taking full responsibility for my actions. This will have an effect for a very long time. I hope that someday I can regain everybody's trust."
The powers that be at Villanova didn't hand out a slap on the wrist. They acted firmly. They sent a message. They did the right thing. Kittles was given a university credit card number in 1994 to use for one telephone interview. He kept the number, and he kept using it. He's paying a price now.
Ultimately, this should be good for Kittles. It's good for Villanova, too.
Too many stars are excused their indiscretions. Too often, it's explained away or ignored, and then one unpunished sin leads to others in a program. Kittles is a role model and a leader, and so this problem potentially infects others. But Villanova acted, and Kittles did what a leader does. He admitted his mistake, apologized and vowed to make up for this.
Still, the regular season isn't what this year's about for the Wildcats. The 'Cats would happily trade three regular-season losses for three or more postseason victories.
"Our thing is the tournament," Villanova coach Steve Lappas said.
And so Kittles has a chance to end his playing career on a high note.
A fine farewell?
UConn's Ray Allen wasn't saying if Wednesday's 78-66 victory against Rutgers would be his last home game with the Huskies, but you have to figure it was.
And if it was, he went out in style.
Allen, a junior who would likely be a lottery pick in the NBA Draft, scored a career-high 39 points on a night when UConn honored its seniors in their final home game. He made nine 3-pointers, breaking his own school record and tying a Big East record.
Allen was asked afterward if he had given his farewell home performance.
"I'm not thinking of it like that, but if it is, I'll think about the last time I did lace them up here and how the game went," Allen said.
UConn fans chanted "One more year" when Allen went to the free-throw line with 17 seconds left.
A Storm of ugliness
The heat's turning up on St. John's coach Brian Mahoney.
After Syracuse improved its lead to 40-19 over the Red Storm on Monday night, boos began raining down at Madison Square Garden. Shortly after, two fans paraded around with a banner imploring: "No More Mahoney!"
Another contingent of about 14 fans held up a sign reading, "Mahoney Must Go!" When St. John's cheerleaders threw Red Storm T-shirts into the crowd, some fans screamed to throw them back.
"It's not easy," Mahoney said of the ugly sentiments. "We're trying to find a way through it and work with these kids. We're doing the best we can."
St. John's is 4-13 in the Big East and 10-15 overall. The Red Storm has never won fewer than five games in league play. They were 5-13 in Mahoney's first season.
Mahoney's team will miss out on a postseason berth for the second time in four seasons. The Red Storm had earned 21 straight postseason appearances before his hiring.
Rising star
St. John's sophomore Zendon Hamilton, who's finishing the season ranked among the top five in the Big East in scoring and rebounding.
Falling star
Boston College, a seeming lock for an NCAA berth two weeks ago, but now standing 9-8 in the Big East and probably needing two more victories to lock up an NCAA berth.
Quote of the week
"Everybody is talking about April. Hopefully, we'll still be playing in April, but I don't know why you play 29 games if you're not going to count them as important." -- UConn coach Jim Calhoun about his team's third straight Big East title (The third is unofficial because of the split into divisions this season. UConn has the best overall record and No. 1 seed for the Big East Tournament).
Randall Mell, who covers college basketball for the Sun-Sentinel of South Florida, writes a weekly Big East notebook for the ESPNET SportsZone.
