“I was
hoping they could make it through the season without getting in trouble.” So
said my wife last Wednesday when I told her the name of Memphis Tiger basketball
player Robert Dozier had appeared in a police report alleging the junior
forward’s involvement in a downtown altercation on February 3rd. My favorite U
of M alum knows exactly two things about the John Calipari era of Tiger
basketball: (1) they are a supremely talented bunch of players, capable of
reaching “that Final Four thing” and (2) they are capable of showing up in
headlines we don’t read in the sports section.
“It just
goes to show that good kids do stupid things too,” said Calipari after Wednesday
night’s drubbing of the SMU Mustangs at FedExForum. Following a brief, though on
the surface sincere, apology by Dozier in front of the TV cameras, a subdued —
sad? angry? — Calipari addressed the same throng and stressed two points in the
aftermath of his program’s most recent brush with the law: (1) he’ll deal with
Dozier firmly (witness his benching for that night’s game) and (2) he will treat
Dozier like a son and not “throw anyone under the bus” (witness Dozier’s return
to the floor Saturday against UCF).
Whichever side you take in this particular case — and if the allegations prove
true that Dozier hit his ex-girlfriend in the face, your take should be vehement
— you have to believe this can only harm the chances of the 2007-08 Tigers
reaching their ultimate goal of a national championship. In the best-case
scenario, a program already labeled “rogue” by critics will have to answer
questions that have nothing to do with substitution patterns or shot selection.
And in the worst-case scenario, one of the team’s leaders and most valuable
two-way players will be sidelined for the most important stretch of games the
team has played in over 20 years. Another slip-up from Dozier, and you’ll next
see him in uniform as a senior, if then.
Had it
been Joey Dorsey’s name in the police blotter, there would have been a
collective rolling of eyes. “Not again.” But for the soft-spoken, team-first
Dozier to initiate the firestorm? It makes this a real head-scratcher.
Robert
Dozier has been part of the Tiger program — and part of the Memphis community –
for going on three years. He’s been an eyewitness to the troubles that caused
Jeremy Hunt to miss the entire 2005-06 season (among Hunt’s transgressions was
hitting a woman). He saw the public admonishment Calipari delivered the entire
team after Shawn Taggart and Jeff Robinson were arrested on Beale Street last
September. (The curfew established for that incident, alas, was lifted in
October.) Perhaps even more damning, Dozier is a 22-year-old young man with two
parents in his life. He has the kind of guidance and direction that, frankly,
too few Memphis Tiger stars of late have enjoyed. Why did he put himself in a
position to be seen publicly on a downtown street at 3:00 in the morning, let
alone raise his hand to a woman?
A bit of
paranoia surfaced in Calipari’s comments last week when he referred to his team
as “targets.” But it’s beyond question that the faces (and, importantly, height)
of the number-one team in the country — playing in the biggest “small town” in
America — are far more recognizable than any City Council member or professional
stage performer. It’s part of the mix that makes Tiger basketball the most
galvanizing public enterprise Memphis can claim. And it’s a heavy dose of
responsibility that every member of that team must swallow: Their game faces
must stay on long after the court lights at FedExForum have gone dark.
Among
this team’s virtues is its depth. If Dozier misses games, there are players
(ironically enough, Taggart and Robinson) who will fill his shoes capably.
Whether his replacements are capable of boosting a championship run remains to
be seen. Likewise, whether this team will be remembered for more than “getting
in trouble” is a new angle to be followed all the way to season’s end.
My wife,
among thousands of other alumni and fans, will be watching closely.
