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Tuesday, November 28, 2000
Round table talk: Suspensions
ESPN.com
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Loren Woods' suspension finally caught up to Arizona on Saturday. And while Woods' missing the fourth of six games to start the season wasn't he only reason the Wildcats' lost to Purdue in the John Wooden Tradition, the 7-foot-1 center's presence certainly could have made a difference for the well-traveled and weary Wildcats.
Other top teams have played without starters this season -- to mixed reviews -- due to NCAA-levied suspensions. So we asked our experts:
How do coaches/teams cope with, or overcome, NCAA suspensions to key players early in the season?
 Andy Katz
There's no question that coaches would rather deal with a suspension early in the season then late. Last season, teams like St. John's, Cincinnati, Oklahoma State, UCLA and Missouri had to deal with suspensions during the season. They were disruptive and troubling for all parties involved. When the suspensions occur early in the season, it does allow other players to step up and prove they can play. Fresno State got inspired point guard play from Dennis Nathan against N.C. State in the absence of suspended point Tito Maddox. Arizona certainly responded (until Saturday) without Loren Woods in the middle, winning the Maui Classic. But Connecticut struggled without Caron Butler and Souleymane Wane the first two games of the season. It's hard on teams to go through practice knowing that a player will be with the team, only to see him snatched away before tipoff. Coaches have to adjust on the fly, sometimes right before tipoff. Wisconsin has an interesting scenario with the suspensions of Maurice Linton and Travon Davis. Both players are out for the first nine games because of accepting extra benefits. They'll return right before the Big Ten season and give the Badgers an immediate lift. Wisconsin doesn't have to worry about working them into the system or rotation because they've already been major factors. But it makes it hard on the Badgers in practice. Wisconsin can't use them on the first team yet, forcing them to play a subordinate role in practice. That might be the toughest adjustment for coaches and the players. While coaches in Maui complained about the timing of suspensions for that tournament, they would all agree that it's better than having to go through the NCAA Tournament without a player. Just ask Auburn, which didn't have Chris Porter last year.
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 Jay Bilas
The best way to approach an NCAA suspension is to handle it like you would an injury. Off the court, there's nothing you can do about a suspension, but you can work behind the scenes to get it reduced and, or resolved. Just like you can't do anything about an injury once it has happened, but you would rehab the injured player and try to get him or her back as quickly as possible On the court, the team needs to move forward in every facet: practice, preparation and especially at game time. Proceed as if the suspended player is not going to be back; you can't be looking over your shoulder waiting for a suspended or injured player to rescue your program. You can't dwell on an injury nor can you dwell on a suspension. A lot of good teams try to turn a suspension into an opportunity. There are players who don't get playing time because a prominent player is ahead of them. They often wish they had an opportunity, then when a key player is suspended, there's the opportunity for someone else to step up and make an impact. You can turn the suspension into another opportunity by using the suspended player's time away from the team as a chance to build depth. More players get opportunities to play than they otherwise would. Making the most out of the opportunity turns a decidedly negative experience into a positive one.
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 Digger Phelps
You try to make suspensions a positive for the rest of the team. The most important thing is it gives playing time to your bench. Players who would normally come in with a 15-point lead are forced to play from the start. Those players have to be more focused and you spend more time with players in practice who need more attention. Aside from the loss of the player's production on the court, suspensions take away from the rhythm of the team. I don't think that's fair to the other players who never did anything wrong. The NCAA can really resolve this in two steps. If the problem has anything to do with a law enforcement violation, the player must do community service before the season starts. If he fails to complete that, then take away games. If the violation involves money, or accepting something of value, then the player would have to work in the summer to pay the amount back. My kids used to go to summer school in the morning and work in the afternoon. There's no reason that these kids can't work during the summer. It's now legal to work while you're not in season, so why not have them work to pay off debts like that during the summer. In those two instances at least the kids have a chance to get back to playing without penalizing the rest of the team. I don't like what the NCAA has been doing the past couple of years disrupting seasons, whether it's the beginning of the season, like we're seeing now, or in the middle of the season, as happened to Kevin Lyde and Temple when he was suspended for a game last season for accepting money for academic reasons. It threw Temple out of it's rhythm. Stop penalizing the rest of the team but ensure that the player makes restitution when he violates the rules.
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 Len Elmore
While the reason for the loss of a key player to NCAA suspension may come as a surprise, any coach worth his pay has a Plan B in mind and practices for such occurrences. Most likely it is in anticipation of an injury. A coach should adjust his rotation and practice for such an event. This
includes more practice time for replacement starters and early-season minutes for these guys either in easy games or first-half minutes in more competitive games. This way they get sharp and accustomed to laying with the first unit. Psychologically, a team has to rally around the loss and reach a new level of determination and preparedness. Guys who experienced little time now have to
mentally prepare for more minutes and more intense play. Coaches must raise their level of expectation for those guys as well giving them no alternative but to succeed. By way of example, Arizona is fortunate having experienced loss last year, to
Richard Jefferson and Loren Woods for periods during last season. They were
able to get good minutes from Justin Wessel and Luke Walton. This year those
same guys are ready to play, particularly Wessel. They have also rallied around the loss of Woods, as evidenced by the little
sign on the back of Wessel's goggles that says "L-Dubb" in Woods' honor. Wisconsin, on the other hand, has to get others to step up in the face of their loss of Maurice Linton. The loss of Linton's athleticism and offensive skills puts the Badgers in a bind against scheduled opponents like Tennessee and upcoming Maryland in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge (Wednesday, 9 p.m. ET; ESPN) who thrives on athletic play. The experience of exploring team depth after losing a key player to NCAA suspension or injury, especially if successful, can only help a team down the stretch in conference tournaments and in March.
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