Binghamton Basketball Program Imploding
Posted by nvr1983 on September 25th, 2009After the news broke about the arrest of Binghamton guard Emanuel Mayben, we assumed that the program might make a few changes in its recruiting. We had no idea that they would decide to blow up the entire program by releasing 5 more players from the team today including the “should have been” conference POY D.J. Rivera. The university has not released information on why these players (Rivera, Malik Alvin, Corey Chandler, Paul Crosby, and David Fine) were released and we probably won’t be getting an answer in the near future at least from those remaining at Binghamton as Associate Director of Athletics for Communications John Hartrick stated that coach Kevin Broadus, other members of the staff, and players would not be available for further comment on the situation.
In a statement to the Binghamton’s Press & Sun-Bulletin, Hartrick stated that the 5 players were released because “they are not toeing the line. Their attitude and behavior … is not what we expect from our student-athletes.” I’m not exactly sure what that means, but it sure seems like a program run amok and Hartrick had 2 choices: fire the players or fire the coach. And unlike professional sports where it is much more expensive (and hence unfeasible) to get rid of the players, in college it is more difficult to get rid of the coach. I’m not saying that these 7 players (the 5 today, Mayben, and Miladin Kovacevic) are completely blame-free (particularly Mayben, Kovacevic, and Alvin who all have charges against them), but when half of your players get thrown off the team it usually isn’t a problem just with those players. Instead, it speaks to a larger issue with the program. However, Binghamton just inked a Broadus to a contract extension through the 2013-14 season, which likely would have cost at least $500,000 to buy out given the fact that Broadus was making $205,000 annually on his previous contract as a brand-new head coach. Because of what likely would have been a large buyout, it was easier just to get rid of the “bad apples”.
The question now is two-fold:
- What’s next for the Binghamton basketball program? Hint: It’s not a return trip to the NCAA tournament. More likely with just 10 scholarship players (only 1 guard, no point guards, and nobody under 6’5″ according to Pete Thamel–and they don’t have a Magic Johnson-style PG at Binghamton) this team will struggle to stay above .500 even in the very mediocre America East. However, for those of you who think this may be a death knell for the Bearcat basketball program, remember how quickly Baylor recovered from a much worse situation in a much more competitive league.
- What happens to the 5 players who were released today? I’m not sure about how the NCAA will handle a situation like this, but all of the players should have some eligibility left so let’s handle each player going in descending order of ability:
- D.J. Rivera: The man who should have been the America East POY last year if the league’s coaches hadn’t decided to make a statement against how Broadus was running the program, which looks quite prescient now even if it was an idiotic way to make that statement. Rivera, who was our Mid-Major Impact Player for the Northeast, averaged 20 PPG and 6.5 RPG last year as junior making him one of the top mid-major players in the country. As much as programs would normally try to avoid players from situation like this, programs are probably already trying to contact Rivera for his services. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him end up at a BCS conference school.
- Malik Alvin: 11.5 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 3.7 APG, and an attempt to practice safe sex that will be attached to his name forever. While Alvin won’t draw the BCS schools like Rivera will, some mid-major will snatch him up quickly and direct him to the nearest student health service center to help him stock up as soon as he arrives on campus.
- Corey Chandler: A transfer from Rutgers, Chandler was an all-state player in New Jersey and put up decent numbers at Rutgers, but never really developed into the star that Rutgers fans expected before he was dismissed from the team in August (notice a pattern here). The guess here is that with those kind of numbers in the Big East and two more years of eligibility left someone will take him. Does anybody know who Binghamton West is?
- Paul Crosby: A former all-state player in Michigan, Crosby was academically ineligible at Toledo, but was expected to contribute this year for the Bearcats. Honestly, I’m not sure what his next move is as programs will be intrigued by his size (6’8″, 235 lbs), but character issues (first grades and now behavior) and his mediocre overall rating will limit his options.
- David Fine: Averaging 0.9 PPG as a junior in limited time will likely mean that Fine will have to try to walk-on somewhere or call it a career because I can’t see a program offering him a scholarship for 1 year with his/Binghamton’s baggage.
We doubt that we will hear anything from Binghamton’s athletic department any time soon, but it will be interesting to hear what these 5 released players will say about the situation so keep your eyes open for crazy Twitter feeds or Facebook status updates from these 5 players.
I’m guessing Chandler resurfaces at a MAAC school. It’s the most logical league for him to head to as he’s not going to end up back in the Big East or the America East.
How does the AD keep his job? Does anyone in Binghamton bother to read the New York Times? The Old Gray Lady spilled the beans on Kevin Broadus and his band of merry recruits last year.
The AD who gave Kevin Broadus the extension should be fired for lack of managerial competence. If the president of SUNY Binghamton knew of the AD’s extension plans, and/or encouraged it, then he should get the boot too for lack of leadership.
You are wrong on where these players end up. Unless the NCAA gives them a special dispensation – very unlikely given their baggage – none of them will be eligible to play D1 ball until 2011. Not only can’t they play this year but they also can’t play for at least the first semester next year, possibly the entire year. So the more likely scenarios are:
1. Rivera goes to Europe soon.
2. Alvin goes to an NAIA school or D2/3, or possibly a low-level European team.
3. Chandler likely goes the same route as Alvin, but he could possibly emerge at a D1 school (maybe 50% chance).
4. Crosby at best will end up at and NAIA school or D2/D3.
Bevo–
Does anyone in Binghamton bother to read RTC? I agree that the AD and Broadus should both be canned, but like I said it’s cheaper just to get rid of the players than to have to buyout both of their contracts. Also I’m not sure if the problems are just with the basketball program or extend into other programs (sort of like USC has with football and basketball).
JMCT–
I agree that all of these guys have some level of baggage, but given the circumstances of their dismissal (seems more like a program-wide cleansing rather than all 5 guys getting in trouble at once) I can see them having a legit claim to petition the NCAA for leniency. That said you may be right about Rivera and Alvin ending up in Europe. Chandler could go the Europe route, but he has 2 more years of eligibility left and if he could turn it around he could try to convince himself that he is a NBA prospect (not that I think he would be, but these guys can believe what they want) since he did average 11 PPG in the Big East as a freshman, which is pretty solid. I agree that Crosby’s options are limited, but it only takes 1 program desperate for a 6’8″ guy to keep him in D1.
Kevin Broadus coming to binghamton is one of the best things that has happened in this town in a long long time. Who brought our team to the NCAA? The comments that have been said on other sites and in newspapers are absolutly rediculous. How could you possibly blame this on Mr. Broadus. Yes, Emanual Mayben did wrong but you cant help but think whats next in his life. He has a son, and he needs to be able to support him. ‘Tiki’ is only a young man. He has a hole life ahead of him. Everyone knows that he is not the only one in Binghamton University selling illegal drugs. i know that that is deffinitly not a good thing but its true. I agree with the punishment partly. but at the same time i have to stop and think… his life is hard enough right now. we do not need to keep bashing him with mean comments.
my prayers are with the Brodaus family And the Binghamton Universtiy basketball team. This was an unfortunate happening. STAY STRONG(:
Binghamton123-
(1) If creating a program like this is one of the best things to happen to Binghamton in a long time, the town as some serious issues. He got them to the NCAA tournament, but they basically sold their soul for a 1st round exit. If it is 1 or 2 kids, you can argue that it is a few bad apples. When it is half your team it is systemic.
(2) What’s next in Mayben’s life is jail. He was selling cocaine. It’s not like he was arrested for jaywalking. He’s 22 years old. At some point you stop being a boy and need to be accountable for your mistakes. I agree that he most likely isn’t the only one selling drugs at Binghamton, but he should be punished the same as any other student.
Binghanton123, send your prayers elsewhere than to Broadus. He has tainted the reputation of a strong acedemic institution and SUNY in general. There is a pattern here and it starts with Broadus. The NCAA was not worth it. I am ashamed of Binghamton. Reggie Witherspoon at Buffalo has built up a moribund program in a stronger conference than the America East without this kind of behavior. Dealing hard drugs, assaulting seniors, BEATING OTHER STUDENTS INTO COMAS! This is the textbook definition of lack of institutional control.
For the record, it appears as though the call on this came from far on high–with the new Chancellor of SUNY. She got rid of Huggins at UC and cleaned things up there prior. Apparently they were waiting for one more thing, then dropping the hammer on Binghamton. Word was the Broadus was virtually speechless at the presser, which tells you he likely had his head handed to him and is lucky to still be employed.
Maybe I’m turning into one of those grumpy old guys I used to make fun of, but I was ashamed of Binghamton when the team went to the Big Dance, because of how they got there. They say that you dance with the one that brung you, and I thought the dance partners did not represent any of the great things about the school. I attended Binghamton in the 70’s, back when it was still known as SUNY-B, or even Harpur. The basketball team was little more than a glorified intramural team. Even then, some of the guys were just there to play ball; but most of them were pretty serious students who also loved the game. They got into the school because they deserved to, and they enriched the quality of the place. I used to go to the games, to root for my friends on the team, and occasionally, to laugh when they threw up a brick or banged an easy layup off the back iron. I may have laughed at their playing occasionally, but I always respected their dedication to the game and how they carried the same course load I did, got good grades and went to practice.
After college, I lived in California for a time. There, I was exposed to Al Davis’ “just win, baby” philosophy. I didn’t like it then, and I don’t like it now. Let’s win the right way, or not at all.
I feel bad for Bing and the rest of the community. It’s a shame that the desire for a quick result at any cost and Broadus’s previous sketchy recruiting ways were ignored. It does a disservice to a program that was ready to step it up to the next level the right way.
If you choose a lot of second chance players, it is up to you as a coach and a program to do what it takes to encourage them to stay on the right track. I don’t excuse the players who transgressed, but they are young and were obviously in need of guidance.
Broadus has since been busted for talking to recruits after the recruiting period was over and denied it until it was clear there was no way to get out of it. This is not what the community at SUNY Binghamton needs.
I’m an alumnus of Binghamton University, and Binghamton123 is absolutely wrong.
At first it looked like a blessing that we had a coach with Big East credentials, however in his first year coaching Al Walker’sleft over players, the team lacked any on the court discipline and was essentially a .500 team. Last year, they played great after bringing together a lot of transfers and giving athletes a second or third chance at college ball. It blew up in their face. Broadus brought thugs to the campus and tarnished a school that been known for its quality academics and successful alumni. Since the 80s has been considered one of the dozen “Public Ivies” (in company such as UVA, PSU, UMichigan, etc). Every since he first brought his thugs onto campus there have been reports coming out of misconduct, and it was a slow boiling process that blew up this summer. Absolutely embarrassing for the university.
They didn’t have to go this route either of bringing in risky transfer talent with questionable character backgrounds. Let us not forget that in the 2005-2006 season they were an American East semi-final away (on their home court) from making the NCAA Tournament, were it not for some very controversial second half referee decisions, with a roster of student-athletes and international students.
Broadus has lacked any discipline from the beginning. He himself didn’t demonstrate it on the sideline, and his players sure didn’t. In 2008, Milosevic (yes he was an Al Walker recruit) beat a senior, three weeks away from graduating, into a 6 month long coma in a bar.
Binghamton can turn it around over the next three years if they bring in a disciplinarian and recruit state talent, something they haven’t done enough of. NYC’s public and catholic school league are some of the best high school basketball leagues in the country, and its only three hours away. Forget the Serbians (Al Walker’s problem) and forget major school castaways with character issues (Broadus’ downfall). Its a matter of Binghamton returning to its core values and following the example of their soccer team. The soccer team, with the exception of this year, has been a powerhouse since stepping up to division I less than a decade ago, reaching five American East finals in that time span, by recruiting student-athletes with great character who are involved leaders on campus and were local talent. Not many programs can claim that they broke into the top 25 rankings in their seventh year of division I existence, the soccer team did such last year. Will the basketball team achieve that? No, that’s a pipe dream and Binghamton knows Pipe Dreams.. but it is an example to follow: recruit student-athletes with character and who are in-state talent or at least neighboring state talent (northern PA, Vermont) and who commit to the team concept.