Binghamton Basketball: No Slinging Crack Rock, Fewer Wicked Jump Shots

For some programs, having one player arraigned on felony cocaine possession charges would count as a tumultuous off-season. For Binghamton, it was just the beginning.↵↵On Friday, the reigning America East champions dismissed five players, just a day after permanently kicking Emanuel “Tiki” Mayben out of the program for his drug-related legal issues. Spokesman John Hatrick told a local paper that the players were released because “they are not toeing the line. Their attitude and behavior ... is not what we expect from our student-athletes.”↵

↵↵Coach Kevin Broadus has built the Bearcats from basically nothing: Their NCAA Tournament appearance last season was the first in program history. Broadus earned his extension through the 2013-2014 season, signed in June. ↵

↵↵But his foundation is built on transfers and character risks, a dangerous mix. With three legal problems in as many years (one player left a Binghamton student comatose after a bar fight; another, dismissed Friday, was arrested for stealing condoms from a Wal-Mart) and no players returning from that tournament team who averaged over 4.4 points per game last season, it appears that the program is headed from shouting distance of the penthouse to close proximity to peril. ↵

↵↵In the words of Christopher Wallace, things done changed. ↵

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