Our pals at statefans.com have some comments up on the Thornton
situation,
and it's interesting. They say that the prior two arrests were for
"hitting a wall" and trying to get into a bar without "proper
identification." But in the media this has been widely reported as his
third alcohol-related arrest. If that's correct, then one would assume that
alcohol fueled the wall punching and perhaps a fake ID was involved in the
second one. The third had multiple charges though some were
dismissed.
The writer goes on to compare it to Phil Ford's situation at UNC, where two
DWIs were at issue, and Bobby Hurley's DWI in May of 1992 and suggest a double
standard.
UNC fans can defend Ford. But as for Duke, well, let's look at what
they said about Herb Sendek:
"Herb Sendek knows what is best. Herb Sendek knows more about this
situation, and Damon Thornton, than anybody else in this
country. Herb Sendek has run an amazingly tight ship at NC State. He will
continue to run a disciplined ship. All Statefans need to
simply defer, and defend, Coach Sendek and our last ten years of academic
and moral excellence."
Using the same logic, Duke has had a superb record certainly during
Coach K's
years but under Foster, McGeachy, Waters, and Bubas, and that extends to other
sports as well. If Sendek's judgment should be trusted after four years,
and we've generally been supportive of Herb, then what do you do with 20 years
of Krzyzewski?
What is worth looking at here is what goes unsaid: in 20 years, the only
player Coach K has had this sort of a problem with is Bobby Hurley . The only
other problems he has had were two guys who looked at someone else's work.
Damon Thornton has been arrested three times. Anyone care to venture a
guess as to what would happen to a Duke player who got arrested a second time? A
third arrest is pretty much inconceivable. Much like Herb Sendek and Dean
Smith (and Bill Guthridge), Coach K prefers to use what coaches call
"internal" discipline. In Duke's case, it seems to work. At
State, with a three time offender, the perception is not good. The
comments about King Rice and Phil Ford are hard to refute, but to compare
State's record to Duke's, well, it's not fuzzy math but it is sort
of...amphibious. That's an old ACC joke for those of you who were
wondering. You'll notice it is referenced in the linked article also.