To err is human, to forgive is divine.
That’s the philosophy of Memphis State basketball coach Larry Finch, who’s taken the compassionate route following suspensions of starters Sylvester Gray and Marvin Alexander – both found guilty of accepting money from sports agent Jim Abernethy.
The suspensions, announced two weeks ago, will last the remainder of this season. Finch and other school officials have, however, asked the NCAA to restore eligibility for next year.
“Even though we’ve got trouble with the two kids right now, lots of people are hurt and upset,” said Finch whose Tigers will face Kansas in a first-round ECAC Holiday Festival game on Monday.
Tipoff is 6 p.m., Lawrence time, at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Channels 41 and 49 will carry the live telecast.
St. John’s and Marist will meet in the other first-round game of the four-team tourney at 8:30 p.m.
“But what have they done?” Finch asked. “If they’d raped or robbed or stabbed or mugged or done something to somebody, you’d have a different perspective on it. They made a mistake. Everybody makes ’em. I hope they won’t be punished for the rest of their lives for one mistake.
“That concerns me. That could very easily be the situation – they could be punished the rest of their lives for one little mistake. Little, yes. That’s peanuts.”
Finch has been less than understanding regarding agent Abernethy, who claimed a religious experience forced him to reveal the names of 6-6 sophomore Gray and 6-7 junior Alexander, plus several other college athletes.
“Don’t put religion in this,” said Finch. “How can you say you’re a Christian when you just destroyed nine or 10 kids’ lives? Take that obnoxious fabrication for what it is. A tale.”
To their credit, the Tigers are not brooding about the losses. Winners of four of five games with Gray and Alexander (including a 76-68 victory over Missouri), the Tigers are 2-0 without them. Memphis State has defeated Bradley, 113-108 and Alcorn State, 87-64, since the two players were booted.
“It’s something we don’t think about,” said 6-3 senior Dwight Boyd, making a quick recover from a broken hand suffered on Dec. 1.
“We’re looking at it the same as if they both came down with injuries. Hopefully something good will come out of it,” added Boyd, who scored 19 against Bradley.
Actually, the suspensions have given some other Tigers – this team is deep in talent – an opportunity to shine.
Center Dewayne Bailey, a 6-9 senior center, has taken over Alexander’s starting spot. He scored 22 and grabbed nine rebounds against Bradley. Redshirt freshman Ronald McClain (6-8) and true frosh John McLaughlin (6-5) of Monticello, Ind., have also earned additional playing time.
Perhaps the Tigers two best players are 6-0 freshman Elliot Perry and 6-3 sophomore Cheyenne Gibson, a Proposition 48 casualty.
Perry, a lefty, scored 19 points, while Gibson had 17 against Missouri. Perry averaged 34 points per game as a Tennessee prep standout last season.
“We spent a lot of time recruiting Elliot Perry. We couldn’t get him to visit,” said KU coach Larry Brown. “We recruited several of their players. We better play well, because they’ve got some athletes.”
Brown figures Memphis State possesses more than enough talent to make up for the loss of their two standouts.
“They beat Bradley without Alexander and Gray and Bradley is one of the better teams in the country,” Brown said. “I think playing without ’em early…it’s not as much of a loss as it would be losing them later.
“They’re great, but basically it’s the same story. I worry about the way we play, not the way other teams are playing. Basically what we have to do is things we’ve been talking about all year. We’ve gotta rebound effectively, not foul and not turn the ball over. That’s what you have to do when you play a Memphis State, a St. John’s.”
Memphis State last played on Wednesday, beating Alcorn. The Jayhawks, meanwhile, last played a week ago Saturday, tripping North Carolina State, 74-67 in Raleigh.
Brown gave the Jayhawks Sunday through Wednesday off. The team resumed practice Christmas Eve and departed for New York on Saturday.
Earlier Brown had hinted he might keep the players on campus the entire holiday season. That was before the Jayhawks upped their record to 7-2 with Saturday’s resounding road win.
“I wanted to give them time off the whole time,” said Brown. “My hope was we’d show progress and we’d give ’em that opportunity. That game is over, but I was thrilled the way we played. We made progress.”