Binghamton Basketball

Binghamton basketball player Calistus Anyichie died Sunday after drowning in an accident at Buttermilk Falls State Park in New York, the university announced Monday. 

He was 19. 

"There are no words ... There is no blueprint for how to deal with such a painful loss," Binghamton head coach Tommy Dempsey said in a statement. "We all loved Calistus so much. He was such a special young man. We are devastated."

"A talented young person has been tragically taken from us," Binghamton University president Harvey Stenger said in the release. "This is a heartbreaking loss for our community. We will do all that we can to be there for his family, for the team and everyone who knew Calistus."

Details surrounding Anyichie's death are still unclear. According to Matt Steecker of the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin, Anyichie's body was found on a 15-foot bank, and emergency crews pulled him from the ravine using a rope system after being dispatched around 5 p.m. Sunday.

Anyichie averaged 9.1 minutes per game and finished with 21 blocks in 32 contests as a freshman last season at Binghamton.

By in large, the basketball teams that comprise the America East Conference aren’t the ones typically associated with the pageantry and lore that come with major college basketball programs.

I wouldn’t go as far as former Vermont head coach and current ESPN analyst Tom Brennan did when he referred to the conference as a sort of “mom-and-pop shop” operation, but I think we can all agree on the fact that no team in the America East will vie for blue chip recruits or make a run to the Final Four here anytime soon.

With this in mind, America East teams have certain expectations that, if met, can be barometers of success for a given program. Traditionally, these are things like graduation rates, well-rounded student-athletes, and maybe a conference championship here or there.

Since only a small percentage of America East players go on to play professionally, the emphasis on academics and character is valued very highly in the conference’s member schools.

Sure, every America East team wants that coveted spot in the NCAA Tournament, but for the longest time, it was understood among the conference’s athletic departments that the values of scholarship and integrity could not be compromised in order to achieve that kind of success. You want to win? Then do it the right way.

However, in a matter of a couple of years, many of these core values were abandoned by a single America East program: the Binghamton Bearcats.

Having just made the jump to Division-I athletics a few years ago, Binghamton was looking to build a flourishing athletic program at a school widely considered to be the “crown jewel of the SUNY system,” and the way they saw fit to accomplish this goal was through their basketball program.

In came a sparkling new arena and a renewed sense of optimism with the arrival of a new coach, Kevin Broadus. This was where the rise to prominence began, but also where any sense of reason or proper judgment got derailed. 

Broadus began to stockpile problematic players with dubious backgrounds: transfers with serious academic issues, recruits with police records, and virtually anything in between. Rather predictably, the environment that Broadus fostered with his basketball program began to clash with the long-established culture at a school that prided itself on academics above all else.

Embarrassing scandals ranging from bar fights to condom theft and assault involving Bearcat basketball players began to make front-page news. Yet, despite all of this, the team was winning and the vision of Binghamton becoming an athletic force was fully realized with an America East basketball championship last season.

This past week, though, all of the shortcuts that Binghamton took to achieve this success came back to haunt them in the form of one of their star players, Tiki Mayben, who was arrested for distributing crack cocaine.

Mayben’s arrest has set off a media firestorm that compelled Broadus to release six players from the team for conduct detrimental to the school and the program. Among them are Mayben, D.J. Rivera (Binghamton’s star player), Malik Alvin (the condom thief), Corey Chandler, Paul Crosby and David Fine.

The release of these players seems to be an indication by Binghamton that it understands what it has done wrong and that it has now cut loose the damaging elements that tainted the program.

While these bothersome players certainly played a hand in this current mess, Binghamton (at this point at least) has failed to hold all those who oversaw and orchestrated these pitfalls accountable.

It has to begin at the very top with the athletic director, Joel Thirer. He is the one responsible for hiring Broadus, for allowing all of those troublesome players to enter the program and become representatives of the school. Anyone who keeps up with America East hoops knows that the Mayben drug bust has been far from the only incident that has plagued this program.

Once scandals like that become a widespread and reoccurring phenomenon, you begin to realize that there is an institutional lack of control within the athletic department and the finger can be pointed squarely at Joel Thirer. Merely from his missteps as an AD, Thirer has taken a proud university and turned it into a national laughingstock—he has to go.

The other individual who has to be put under the microscope is Broadus. After all, he was the one who essentially brought in this “win at all costs” mentality when he took in players like Mayben, Alvin and Rivera, the types of people who were cut loose by programs that had the sense to realize that their talent could not compensate for their moral shortcomings.

For the longest time, Broadus rationalized his decisions to bring in these players as a benevolent act of giving them a second chance. He came from Georgetown, a program known for bringing in malcontents and giving them a chance at redemption, a strategy implemented under the close watch of John Thompson a few decades ago.

Giving underprivileged and misunderstood kids another shot sounds great in principle and for Thompson it worked because he not only helped his players develop on the court, but he also cared tremendously for his players and instilled in them a sense of discipline that helped many of them graduate from one of the top universities in the nation.

But Broadus hasn’t proven himself to be a fraction of the man that Thompson was as a coach, evidenced by such a startling number of arrested players in such a short period of time.

The fact that these wrongdoings have continued to persist shows that Broadus has had no genuine intention of helping his players reform themselves, but has rather exploited them to win games and chosen to ignore their criminal behavior—he, too, has to be let go.

Some may think that right now is not the right time to clean house, what with it being the middle of the fall sports slate, but at some point precedence has to be given to tearing down a house that was built on a faulty foundation in order for a respectable Binghamton athletic department to begin the rebuilding process.

What is now left is a program in shambles, one that is probably not as bad as Binghamton was when they made the jump to Division I, but at least then they had their dignity intact.

It’s a sad situation in so many ways, whether it’s for the conference as a whole, for the school and even for the Binghamton fans who placed their trust in the hands of individuals with jaded intentions.

The question has to be asked whether all of this legal trouble, bad publicity and outright embarrassment was worth a blowout loss to Duke in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, but it will probably remain as nothing more than one of many unanswered questions in a sorry saga for Binghamton University and the America East Conference that has come to an abrupt end.

Further adding fuel to an already raging inferno, Binghamton University, and it's head basketball coach Kevin Broadus announced today that they were dismissing five players, including reigning America East points scoring leader DJ Rivera.

This announcement comes only two days after it was announced that star guard Emanuel "Tiki" Mayben had been arrested and charged with selling cocaine. He was dismissed by the university yesterday.

On the heels of that, university officials announced today that Rivera, guards Malik Alvin and David Fine, and two transferring players, Paul Crosby and Corey Chandler were being dismissed from the team, because as Associate Director of Athletics for Communications John Hartrick put it, “they are not toeing the line."

In a statement released by the university, Broadus said:

"It’s important that everyone who is playing for Binghamton University and for me to be on the same page as to what kind of commitment we expect of our student-athletes, both on and off the court...There’s only one captain steering this ship, and that’s me. If any of the young men in our program don’t respect the decisions that have been made or the rules we have in place, then they need to move on with their lives...We’ll play with the student-athletes that want to be here, have respect for the institution, the game and the opportunities that we have provided for them..."

Rivera, who led the America East in scoring last season with around 20 points per game, and Alvin, who was among the conference leaders in steals, were both an integral part of the teams offense. Coupled with Mayben, they were one of the most feared threesomes in the conference.

Fine, whose father Bernie serves as an assistant coach at Syracuse University, played in 15 games last season, mainly as a backup for Mayben.

Chandler, an incoming recruit who played two seasons at Rutgers, transferred to Binghamton in August. While at Rutgers, he averaged 11.9 points per game as a freshman in 2007-08, good enough to earn him Big East All-Rookie team honors. However, several disciplinary problems led to his dismissal from the team, just a short time before he enrolled in Vestal.

Crosby, a 6'7" forward, averaged 10.2 points and 5.8 rebounds per game playing for Navarro Junior College last season.

The loss of Rivera, Mayben, and Alvin, the team's three leading scorers, accounts for just over 42 points per game of offense. The three were also tough defenders, who often stymied opposing players with an up-tempo, all-or-nothing style of play.

So what does this mean overall for the Bearcats?

Frankly, it means that they're in very deep trouble, both on the court and off it.

On the court, the team has lost any shred of firepower that it once had. The team is left with only three players on the squad that saw any playing time at all last season, none of whom could be termed a "star."

Off the court, the media backlash began last season, aimed not only at the basketball program, but the university as a whole.

Alvin himself started the rumblings of the storm when he was arrested last October for stealing condoms from a local Walmart, and while fleeing the scene, knocking over an elderly woman, who sustained a concussion.

Later in the season, two other players, Theo Davis and Dwyane Jackson both left the team for unclear reasons.

Then in February, New York Times writer Pete Thamel published an article alleging that university officials had attempted to coerce professors into changing grades and to essentially cut the student athletes more slack.

And with the events of the last few days, there will be no end to the attacks on the university, the basketball program, and Kevin Broadus.

And frankly, those attacks are completely warranted, because something is incredibly wrong at Binghamton University, and it's not a secret anymore.

It is a well-documented fact that I am a former assistant sports editor of Binghamton University's student-run newspaper, Pipe Dream. And in my tenure at that position, I saw and heard many things, much of which dealing with the men's basketball team.

I saw a formerly sub-par team turn things around, and achieve victory on the grandest of stages (winning the America East Tournament and getting a berth in the NCAA tourney). I saw players' personal lives being called into question, their every move scrutinized.

And at the time, I defended it all.

But the time for defending is now over. My gloves are off, and it's time to face facts.

The Bearcats are in serious trouble.

The main problem does not lie with on-court issues. The team has held its own against some top teams, and will look to do the same this coming season when they play the likes of Pitt and St. Bonaventure.

The main thorn in the side of the program has been the off-court antics that the players have engaged in.

Many remember the fiasco in Binghamton that eventually turned into an international incident over a year ago. Former Binghamton University basketball player Miladin Kovacevic was arrested and charged with the savage beating of a fellow student at a club in downtown Binghamton.

Kovacevic was released on bail, and then fled the county back to his native Serbia on a fake passport. The Serbian government refused to extradite him, and he remains there, a relative celebrity for outsmarting the American justice system.

This led New York State senators Charles Schumer and now-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to demand his extradition, to no avail. The student, Bryan Steinhauer, who remained in a coma for months, still bears the effects of the attack, including slurred speech and diminished motor skills.

Then, last October, Binghamton point guard Malik Alvin was arrested and charged with stealing condoms from a local Walmart, and in the process of fleeing, knocking over an elderly woman, who sustained a concussion.

Additionally, senior guard Dwayne Jackson and sophomore forward Theo Davis left the team under questionable circumstances for undisclosed reasons last season.

After all of this transpired, New York Times writer Pete Thamel published an article about the questionable recruiting practices of Binghamton men's basketball coach Kevin Broadus and quoted several sources close to the university and the team as saying that professors felt bullied by the athletics department to go easy on the players, and even change grades.

At the time, I wrote an article in response to this, defending the university and the athletics department. And I still stick by some of my points.

Kevin Broadus cannot police roughly 20 students 24 hours a day—it's impossible. However, he should have some accountability for their actions.

But now, standout point guard Emanuel "Tiki" Mayben has been arrested on charges that he allegedly was selling cocaine.

When Mayben was arrested, he was also allegedly found to be in possession of 3.4 grams of an off-white powder that field-tested positive for cocaine. As a result, he was charged with third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, which are both felonies.

Mayben plead not guilty to the charges this morning, and is expected to be released on $30,000 bail.

I interviewed both Alvin and Mayben several times over the course of my tenure at Pipe Dream, whether for pieces on upcoming games, comments in postgame press conferences, or for feature pieces on their individual merits. Both are soft spoken and humble. Both are talented athletes.

However, both were also big risks for the school in being recruited.

Alvin was a former standout at University of Texas-El Paso, before transferring to a junior college in Florida for academic reasons. Mayben was a top-flight recruit out of high school, and committed to Syracuse, but bad grades and other circumstances led him to UMass, and then community college, before landing on the Bearcats roster.

People make mistakes, that's a fact of life. But at what point do we finally say "enough is enough?"

The biggest mistake of all might actually have been made my Broadus and his staff. Recruiting players like these seems gallant on the surface, and second chances are nice.

But how noble are third chances? Or even fourth chances in some cases?

A lot of eyes will be on the Bearcats this season, that is certain. But instead of people looking at a burgeoning athletics program, they'll instead be wondering what the next scandal might be.

It was a beautiful Saturday in the Midwest with sunshine and high temps well into the mid-60s. As I drank my morning coffee around 9:30 a.m., I could sense the buzz brewing, one that would culminate with the Sunday evening Selection Show on CBS. 

It was the beginning of college basketball's NCAA Championship weekend, where improbable teams would find themselves in the "Big Dance."

In my hazy state, I could even make out the the sounds of fans gathering and geared up for the excitement that is March Madness. I wondered if my coffee was a bit too strong because it seemed they were right outside my downtown hotel!

I heard the hustle and bustle of thousands of people, seemingly coming out of hibernation to gather for an annual event in their fair city. It seemed all of St. Louis had been pining for a day like this for months.

But wait! The people weren't gathering in their team's apparel and quibbling about who should be seeded where as I suspected. Instead, they were unified in their team colors and their team was of Irish descent. No, they weren't Notre Dame fans. This was a St. Patrick's Day weekend celebration, and it was quite a festive and carnival-like atmosphere.

As for me, I was on a different mission. I was ready to take in the final battles for the last spots in the NCAA Tournament at a sports bar with enough big screens to follow all of the action at once. 

Little did I know, I was about to cross paths with a lesser-known Binghamton team in the process.

I knifed my way through a sea of green-clad revelers in the lobby, some of whom had already gotten quite a start on "celebrating." After searching for sports bars around the new Busch Stadium and asking several bystanders for assistance in locating one, I came up dry.

I later learned why. Even though the merchants association is trying to have some entertainment and restaurant establishments built, they haven't received permission from the city as of yet.

I'm sure the food vendors at the ballpark are pleased with that...

Frustrated, I hailed a cab and asked to be taken to the nearest sports bar. It was nearly game time!

Unfortunately, due to the parade route, the taxi could only get me within three blocks of the nearest bar...and on the opposite side of the parade barriers.

But I had come this far; I wasn't about to give up now!

When I had cleared all obstacles and entered a bar with plenty of TVs, I asked the host to tune one of the TVs to the Tigers game. Seeing a look of exasperation on my face, he said with a smirk: "Which one?"

How was I to know? Auburn, Missouri, Jackson State, LSU and Pacific were all playing the same day as my Memphis Tigers.

I knew I was home when I overheard a table of people next to me cheering as Binghamton secured their first-ever NCAA Tournament bid. Yes, tiny Binghamton University, located in New York, had fans glued to their TVs miles away in St. Louis. In fact, two of the guys there were former players when Binghamton was a Division III team (one of them is the school's all-time leading rebounder).

So there we all were: united in cheering on our teams and breaking down the seedings and sleeper picks. I even shared my ordeal in just making it to the sports bar. One of the guys laughed and said my experience was "just like Binghamton making the 'Big Dance':  worth the struggle!"

By the way, Binghamton University's team colors are GREEN and white.

As you may know, the Duke Blue Devils will start their road through the 2009 NCAA Tournament in Greensboro, NC against the Binghamton Bearcats on Thursday night.  A position-by-position breakdown of that game is below.

Point Guard: Jon Scheyer (Duke) vs. Malik Alvin (Binghamton)

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski switched Scheyer to point guard awhile back for two reasons.  The first is that he doesn't turn the ball over—Scheyer has averaged only 1.6 turnovers this season. 

The second is that he can use his 2-guard height to shoot over the top of smaller defenders, which he does exceedingly well.

In addition, Scheyer is an excellent free throw shooter, at 83.4 percent, and is Duke's best three-point shooter.  He also ranks second on the team in steals per game (1.5), and he plays with discipline, only occasionally getting whistled for a foul.

Malik Alvin scores 11.7 points per game, which is tied for lead on the team.  He also distributes the ball well, as he averages 3.6 assists. But he also turns the ball over more than coach Kevin Broadus would prefer—about three times per contest. 

Alvin is by far Binghamton's best free throw shooter (82.6 percent), and its second-best perimeter defender—he averages 1.3 steals—and doesn't get into foul trouble. Additionally, Alvin's tiny physique (6'0", 175 pounds) allows him to be very quick.

Both Scheyer and Alvin are obviously great players. But Scheyer has a major size advantage (he's five inches taller and ten pounds heavier), and his game is mostly shooting. Alvin won't have a chance to stop Scheyer from draining shots all over the court throughout the game.

Alvin should be able to make up most of the points he'll give up on the offensive end with drives ignited by explosive first steps, but not quite all of it.

Edge: Scheyer/Duke

*Coach K might start and/or play Nolan Smith at the point for much of the game because Smith is a better defender than Scheyer and has his shot.  The only thing Smith doesn't have that Scheyer does is an extra three inches.

Shooting Guard: Elliot Williams (Duke) vs. Chretien Lukusa (Binghamton)

Williams is Duke's second-most athletic player. He's also long and lean. These things combined make Williams an excellent on-ball defender. His athleticism also allows him to slash to the basket for layups as well as go up for tough rebounds.  

But Williams also has substantial downside. His inexperience leads him to commit bad fouls or make bad decisions that often result in a missed three-pointer or a turnover.  This is likely why his experimental stint at point guard was short, and he hasn't played the position since.

Lukusa has considerable bulk for a two-guard (6'2", 210 pounds). He's the guy who provides the intangibles that don't show up on the stat sheet—he hustles, defends, and helps keep the offense moving by giving pressured teammates a place to go with the ball. Lukusa averages .8 steals per game.

Lukusa is the Binghamton equivalent to Duke forward David McClure.

Lukusa has 30 pounds on Williams, but he also surrenders two inches to Williams, so chances are he won't post Williams up looking to score. Frankly, there's not much of a way for Lukusa to use his extra bulk on the offensive end. But look for Williams to use his superior quickness and athleticism to drive by Lukusa.

Edge: Williams/Duke

Small Forward: Gerald Henderson (Duke) vs. Emanuel Mayben (Binghamton)

Henderson had his breakout season for the Blue Devils this year, averaging 16.6 points 4.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.3 steals per game. In addition, he shot 47 percent from the field and 36 percent from behind the three-point arc. Plus, he upped his game in conference play later in the season. 

Not to mention that he's Duke best clutch shooter—he always the guy the Blue Devils go to when they need a key basket at the end of a game.  And he's incredibly quick and fast. He goes from one baseline to the other just like that. 

However, Henderson sometimes tries to force things on offense, and that's why he isn't the most reliable ball handler—he averages 2.2 turnovers. 

Henderson is simply a well-rounded, clutch, electrifying player—even if he does try to do everything himself at times.

Mayben is small for a three-forward, at 6'3" and 180 pounds, but he still the Bearcats' offensive catalyst. He scores (11.5 points), passes well (4.6 assists) and crashes the boards better than any other guard on the team (four rebounds). 

Mayben is also the team's best long-range marksman (he shoots 37.2 percent from three-point range), and the second-best field goal shooter (42.6 percent).  In addition, he doesn't turn the ball over, nor does he commit many fouls.

This matchup between Henderson and Mayben should be great fun to watch.  Both players are excellent offensively, but Henderson is definitely better defensively.

Edge: Henderson/Duke

Power Forward: Kyle Singler (Duke) vs. DJ Rivera

Singler does it all. He scores (16.7 points), rebounds (7.7 boards), distributes the ball (2.5 assists), and defends with decent discipline (1.6 steals and 1.1 blocks to 2.6 fouls). Singler is also Duke's second-best field goal shooter who has played in at least 31 games (he shoots 44.3 percent) and three-point shooter (38 percent). 

But he also turns the ball over more than any other Blue Devil (2.4 turnovers), and his free-throw shooting is suspect at times.

Despite the publicity Henderson has received for his breakout season, Singler is the heart and soul of the Blue Devils.

DJ Rivera seems undersized at first—he's only 6'4" and 190 pounds but listed as a four-forward. But in truth, his role in Binghamton's system is much more like that of a guard or three-forward.

He averages 20 points, 6.5 rebounds (second on the team), and 1.8 steals (tops among the Bearcats). He also only turns the ball over about 1.7 times per game. 

But Rivera fouls a little too much for a guy who plays more like a perimeter player than a post player.

Singler has the clear size advantage on Rivera (6'8", 235 pounds to 6'4", 190 pounds), and that should allow him to shoot over Rivera.  But Rivera should blow by Singler on his way to the basket throughout the game.

Both players' respective games cancel each other out.

Edge: Draw

Center: Lance Thomas (Duke) vs. Reggie Fuller (Binghamton)

Thomas doesn't do much offensively.  He scores 5.1 points per game, but most of his points come from close in—he can't shoot to save his life, particularly from the charity stripe, where he has shot 54.3 percent on the year. 

It's a relief that Thomas takes care of the ball—he almost never turns the ball over—because otherwise his offensive worth would be even more limited than it already is.

Defensively Thomas isn't especially quick, and this forces him to take a lot of fouls in an effort to keep bigger, more skilled players from getting easy baskets down low.  But Thomas is a good on-ball defender, and that's what really makes him a starter.

Fuller is almost a double-double type of player despite the fact that he is smaller, at 6'6" and 195 pounds, than most big guys who normally earn double-doubles.  He averages 10.2 points and 7.1 rebounds.

But only is he a dominant offensive player, he's an excellent shot blocker—he rejects 1.7 shots per game. In addition, he's a good ballhander (1.4 turnovers) and provides a physical presence inside (3.4 fouls). 

Fuller is a top-notch player who can take over a game on both ends.  Even though Thomas has adequate defensive skills, he just doesn't even come close to measuring up offensively. 

Edge: Fuller (Binghamton)       Off the Bench

Duke

Greg Paulus brings tremendous energy and a very long-range shooting touch (although not a particularly efficient one). 

Nolan Smith can come into a game and be a defensive force right away. It helps that he shoots well.

David McClure does everything that goes unnoticed—boxing out, rebounding, hustling, defending, providing an outlet for the ball in case a teammates gets double-teamed.

Brian Zoubek uses his tremendous size to rebound effectively and score second-chance points. He's also a surprisingly good free-throw shooter for a seven-footer.

Binghamton

Dwayne Jackson scores in double digits nightly and rebounds decently well for a guard.  However, he is currently suspended and will be unable to play against Duke.

Duke has the edge in three positions, as well as the bench, but Binghamton only has the edge in one. Duke also had a much tougher schedule, and won their conference championship. There's a reason why Duke got the No. 2 and the Bearcats got the No. 15. Duke is far superior.

At the beginning of the millennium they weren't a Division I team and were known as the Colonials. Their football team is undefeated year in and year out simply because they don't have one.

The New York Times recently ran an article questioning their recruiting practices since they made the move from Division III, citing professors and university personnel.  Perhaps in response, their star player was left off the all-conference team while their coach was named coach of the year.

I attended basketball camp there one year at the urging of two of my friends and was quickly labeled the worst player at the camp (and this isn't self-pity. I wasn't good.  My passion far outweighed my talent.) One of us would play for our high school team, the Chenago Valley Warriors. The other two would play CYO ball for St. Catherine's, where we finished 2-14 and once committed 32 turnovers in 28 minutes. 

We would eat Pudgie's Pizza after camp each day while waiting for our ride to take us back to the suburb we called the "Bridge". The elementary school was a five-minute walk from my house. The high school wasn't much farther than that and we would have keg parties under the bridge next to the Chenango River.

We rooted hard for Syracuse and had to be consoled in 1987 thanks to Keith Smart and Indiana. We imitated Rony Seikaly, Pearl Washington, Sherman Douglas and countless others when we played pick-up games behind the church on River Road.

In 2003, I was finally happy to see Jim Boeheim shed the title of "best coach not to win a championship."

And today, my wife shook her head while I contorted, cajoled and finally raised my arms in triumph as the Binghamton Bearcats clinched an NCAA berth for the first time ever. 

I hope they're dancing on Front Street, grilling some spiedies and drinking lots of Genny Cream.