Full Court Press

Like I've said before:the midwest is not what it used to be.Society by and large is getting worse. It's not just players it's the coaches,the fans and people in the entertainment industry who are crude and unbehaved. How many people we see in A.A. who is under the age of 21. They shouldn't be allowed to drink in the first place but they get a slap on the wrist when they are caught. Parents attacking their kids opponents because their kid is losing. Refs getting attacked by drunk fans and the perps not getting any real time for their transgressions. People need to make a statement by locking up the ones who supply the alcohol and giving real time for drunk drivers and not letting guys off so easy. Alcohol can be worse than drugs. Look at any college campus nowadays and you see the seediest behavior from these young people. Thye need to know that they are no invincible and they will be punished for real crimes. Left for dead. He needs to be in jail for a very long time. What if that guy had died waiting any longer? Small town kids can be just as bad as city kids in Illinois.

I really don't think this is a "midwest" issue. This could have happened anywhere and I'm sure it does. College campuses are always going to be full of kids that have finally been sprung from their parent's homes and suddenly they don't have that guidance anymore, assuming they did in the first place. College is not just about learning your trade, or sport, it's about growing up. Someone that lacks the judgment to get a friend the help he needs, no matter how drunk he is, is going to have problems in many other situations in life. This is not Mel Gibson's fault or Britney Spears' fault, either. Yes, Jamar Smith needs to be punished just like anyone else who committed a crime. Hopefully his parents will be there for him and help him learn something from this terrible experience.

When I speak about the midwest I speak about how many players in all sports get in more trouble here than almost anywhere in the country. People used to speak of the well mannered and well adjusted young person from the midwest and that is so far in the past you have to wonder where it went. Young people have television and music that influence them in a negative way more than anything. Role models who get in trouble more readily than any time in the past. They may have got in trouble before but now to show it in the paper and in print media sells more. Michael Jackson can dangle his kid over a balcony without going to jail and hang out with little boys without their parents questioning it. When you see the amount of stuff people you might admire get away with why not feel you can do it too. Hollywood used to hide everything that stars did and now it's all on front pages. When do we ever see punishment dished out that make you say"Not Me".Young kids getting drafted into the NBA and other sports before they are able to understand the consequences of their actions. Everyone turning away from the truth until the truth comes out. Like I didn't know that Smith left the guy for dead. That is inexcusable and really warrants jail time. That wasn't just a mistake that was a blatant attempt to walk away from responsibility. If that was my son who was left for dead I wouldn't shut up about it. I'm all for forgiveness but that was where someone was really harmed by someone's actions. If Smith was my son I would be beyond ashamed. Tough love wouldn't even cut it. When our judicial system take a good long look at what's hurting our society we'll be better off. Look at Chicago: you can get a ticket for driving and talking on the phone but a person can ride a motorcycle without a helmet. Foie Grau and smoking bans. Our society is to blame for a lot of what is wrong with these kids. When people stopped being ashamed is when we went down hill. We have a crook in the Mayor's office and he's more than welcome to stay there because we fail to see the truth. This is a sports blog but every once in a while it's about real life.

It's U of I's general fault for letting players live all the way out in Savoy and giving them cars for free. Players are going to drink and go a little nuts just like all college kids; it's the worst kind of naiveté because it's based on self-righteousness and moral relativism. The trick is to minimize the danger and let them have their fun safely. That's where the coach comes in; Weber is certainly not blameless.

Let me get this straight....Smith drove back to his apartment complex with his unconcious team mate in the passenger seat, went inside and returned to the car with another individual and then went back inside and still did not call 911 and coach Weber says this was just a case of extremely poor judgment on Smith's part and our program will continue to support him through this situation? First of all extremely poor judgment is an understatement, secondly I can't believe that with a blood alcohol level of more than twice the legal limit two hours after the accident Smith was simply treated and released from the hospital. I have known individuals that were stopped for minor traffic violations and failed a breathalyzer test with a reading of .09 just .01 over the limit and spent the night in jail and were arraigned on DUI the next morning and only released after posting bail. States Attorney Julia Rietz said she will treat Smith no harder nor any easier than anyone else because he's an athlete, but wasn't he already treated easier when he was simply allowed to leave the hospital? What next? A closing statement at trial that coach Weber's reaction when told what happened was "Oh Sh@t" so you must aquit?

A note to the beat writer of this uninformed, poorly written article:

Dear Greg Couch:

Are you nuts? Weber gone? ….one of the top 10 coaches in America, third best win-loss record over the last five years in college

Who did your research? Do you know Ron Gunther’s loyalty to his coaches? ...try looking at Gunther’s approach to Turner and Grentz over their ability to handle their respective programs.

Do you remember a similar approach to Luther Head’s problems over theft and auto issues? Do you know how he turned out as a person today and what he’s doing in the NBA?

The next time you write an article of this nature, do a little bit of research and obtain some semblance of background facts

You should be embarrassed.

Alan Nudo

How in the world does Bruce Webber let this kid stay with the team? Not only did he drink and drive and leave the scence of an accident, but he left an injured teammate in the car WHO COULD HAVE DIED!!!
Oh yeah, he never bothered to call 911...

Not only is Webber a poor recruiter, he's also a poor judge of character.

Alan Nudo...

You seem awfully proud of your Illini. You should be...DUIs, a double felony count against one of the players. People like to rail on the Miami Hurricanes and every opportunity and rightfully so but we have our own right here!

Alan Nudo - you shoule be embarrassed. Webber has done a good job of coaching other coaches recruits. Now that those kids are gone, he will struggle to make the NCAA tournament. Next year they will be even worse.

He now has established himself as a total clown with this horrific incident.

First of all, Jamar is my little counsin and he's not a tyrant. What he did was wrong and stupid. His upbringing should not be questioned. His father is my pastor and his mother is a very loving person. U of I did not supply Jamar with that car, that was his father's car. It's just sad to see that when someone does one thing wrong, they're drug through the mud and left to dry. This is the only inccident that we've heard about Jamar Smith that has been negative. Don't get me wrong, it was serious. But come on. How about we thank GOD for allowing both people to walk away from this accident with minor injuries? How about that? Of course there are going to be people out there that won't have anything positive to say about my cousin, and to you folks, you're entitled to your opinion. But I just couldn't let you sit here and say these things about him. Put yourself in that situation. Give yourself that status, and that situation. What would you do? For all the supporters and nay sayers, please pray for my cousin and his family. Thank you

***brandon k, sorry larry, I know if I was in Jamar's position I first would have listened to coach weber's instruction to not go out and stay in with the weather the way it was that night. Second I wouldnt have left my TEAMMATE for dead in the car. I also wouldnt have driven drunk, these athletes need to stop thinking they are invinceble and nothing bad can happen to them. this is just another case of a athelete/student doing wrong.

People. Jamar has gone home to sit out the season. What makes you think he will come back to the team? Because I treat people w/concusions, which is head injury, I understand confused and disoriented. That he did not call 911 I find way more disturbing.
Lots of college kids drive drunk. Why are student athletes expected to act any different. I agree that student athletes should probably live in Campustown and not in Savoy. I am more concerned about who let them leave and drive in a blizzard drunk. I am concerned he disobeyed his coach. I feel sad that Jamar has gotten himself in this mess. Why is Bruce getting flack? What do you expect him to say? He can be supportive of the player and not approve of the actions.

I've seen what you guys have written. As far as his teammate goes, he has forgiven Jamar. His family has also forgiven him. As far as the Illini and recruiting, when they gave my cousin a scholarship, that was a very wise decision. Remember, just last year the whole Chambana Orange Crush was praising him. Everybody loved him. It's just funny to see that there's nobody in his corner now. It just seems as if he's being treated like he's a villian. It has been established that what he did was wrong. Everything after that (specific details) are all alleged. Until the facts are all straight, I think we should hold out on passing judgement. Question, say he does bounce back from this next year and the Illini do well, how will you view Jamar Smith?

Brandon K...if I was in that situation, I wouldn't leave my friend and teammate to die...even if it meant my own **s. And I wouldn't call the passenger's injuries as minor to any extent...Jamar is probably lucky his actions didn't make them worse then they were by leaving his buddy in a car in freezing temperatures.

Unless many of the facts from the media are wrong...Jamar should be punished big time for what happened. He didn't just make some small mistakes, he made 2 or 3 huge mistakes that night. Any good man should be honest enough with himself, and his actions, to pay for those mistakes.

Although, clearly his actions are magnified because he plays hoops for a major college program. Everyday people make huge mistakes, and it is easier for them to get off the hook because there is no magnifying glass hovering over them. Hopefully your cousin learns from these mistakes and becomes a better person for that. Good luck to you, Jamar, and your family.

There is nothing going on in Champaign that isn't happening at almost every other campus (both college and high school)in America, and more specifically in the Chicagoland area. Underage college students drink. Even when the drinking age was 19, way back in the '70's, there were still underage college students drinking. There's nothing new here. Not only do they drink, sadly, some chose to drive. Recently, the Chicago papers have been filled with the sad results of underage drinking and driving. None of this is right, none of this is good, but I don't see society changing any time soon.

A terrible, terrible accident has happened, and horrible decisions were made by the parties involved before the accident, during the accident, and after the accident. There seems to be a rush to judgement, demanding that Bruce Weber has to do something, RIGHT NOW! If he threw Jamar off the team tomorrow, I believe the two faced Chicago sports media would instantly flip flop it's position and howl about due process, and innocence until proven guilty.

In all probability, yesterday was the last time you will ever see Jamar Smith on an Illinois basketball court. I believe Bruce Weber knows what he has to do and will, in due time, after considered judgement. The second chances extended to Illini players in the past cannot be extended endlessly. There is a need for more serious consequences. I do not believe this is program out of control. I do not see crimes of violence here, battery, rape, etc.

There are an awful lot of hate mongers out there who seem to revel in bad news. I have no excuses or explanations for what happened, and more importantly what failed to happen (not one teammate called 911) here. But I am willing to wait, and trust Bruce Weber and Ron Gunther to make the hard decisions that will need to be made, before any of this will be put to rest.

Jim Doyle
Champaign Il

These facts I believe are indisputable...

- He blew a .17
- He got into an accident with a teammate
- He did not call 911 to get medical attention for his injured teammate; 911 was called by witnesses to the accident after it happened

I have no doubt that as additional facts come out, things will get much worse.

I'm sure the kid is hurting and he will pay for these mistakes. The fact that the coach is keeping him on the bench is beyond belief.

Bruce and Jamar should get thrown off of campus. This is embarassing for the U of I. For his own sake, Jamar will be the target of every away student section in his next 2 years and rightfully so. Cousin or no cousin, he should be kicked out of the U of I. With huggins at K State I am sure he can get a scholarship.

Gee Bloggers, aren't we self righteous. I think the legal information has to be completely known and laid out before the University can make a decision. I don't believe Jamar will be allowed back on the team. It's easy for us to sit here and judge him, though I believe he was totally wrong and at fault. He essentially hit and run. I am grateful to the bystanders who saved Brian's life. If by some miracle, Jamar plays and is taunted on the road, our society has truly gone in the moral toilet. You can taunt about poor shooting and play. To taunt about a near fatal wreck is sick, and if you are a fan in any BIG 10 arena and you do that, you should be immediately be escorted out of the arena by security and never be allowed back!

I am taking the same approach that I did with Tank Johnson. Let the legal part play itself out. It makes no sense for Weber to do much to Smith until he has his day in court. He can suspend him from the team for insubordination, which he did do, but anything beyond that is an overreaction at this point. If Jamar is convicted, then Weber can take appropriate action.

How come the Duke Lacrosse players got thrown off the team before the "Legal" process was complete? Now it turns out it was false. Jamar should have his scholarship removed. There is indisputable evidence, it's not here say. We need to get the program respectible again. And as far as taunting an accident maybe we Illini should look at what we have done in the past to coaches and players. As hawk says "HE GONE!!"

Mr. Smith made several basd decisions starting with disobeying his coach, underage drinking, DUI, etc. Personally I feel we are too easy on all people who DUI. That said, as I read up on this story I read a lot of fabricated material that doesn't seem to have any basis in fact. In fact even some of Greg Couch's story the other day may be inaccurate. Another fact, Mr. Smith was apparently driving a 10 yr. old car that belonged to his grandparents. This is a tragic enough story that people do not need to make claims which the facts don't bare out. Obviously, Mr. Smith panicked.
His actions cannot be justified but lets just stick to the facts, not fables & suppositions.

THERE ARE INCIDENTS INVOLVING PAST ILLINI B'BALL PLAYERS THAT WILL NEVER HIT THE PAPERS. WIN AT ALL COSTS! BLAME BRUCE WEBER AND JULIA REITZ FOR SWEEPING UNDER THE CARPET. ALAN NUDO YOU DON'T KNOW THE 1/2 OF WHAT GOES ON AND WILL NOT THANKS TO A GREAT BLANKET OF SECRECY.

Nuso:
Bruce Weber one of the top-10 coaches in the nation? Jesus, Illini fans have blinders on. He's barely in the top half of the conference: (1. Izzo 2. Bo Ryan 3. Sampson 4. Weber (soon to be passed by T. Matta)). And as already stated, he did it w/ Self's players.
I guess that's besides the point. You say he shouldn't get fired b/c he has such a good winning %. That's the problem w/ college athletics - the only behavior that creates a justification for dismissal is losing (minus an extreme case like Larry Eustachy). And that's wrong. Weber needs to exercise more control over his program. To allow Smith - and Chester Frazier in my opinion - back on the team would be a travesty. He can join Steve Alford for lunch to discuss how accepting felons on their teams(and not mere theft cases)can lead to Ws.
If a team is supposed to be a family, how is Carwell supposed to look these guys in the eye after they left him for dead. All you Illini and Bruce Weber apologists should be ashamed of yourself.
Go Badgers.

It's unfortunate that Jamar Smith and Brian Carlwell went partying when they
should have been inside studying. Both of them have paid a price for this
instance of poor judgment, and I suspect that Smith's full price has not yet
been exacted. He is likely to be charged with one or more felony crimes, will probably be convicted of one or more of them, and will, without doubt be very lucky if his punishment is limited to probation and some community service, such as helping to care for C-U's homeless alcoholics. Weber may well suspend Smith for part or all of next season, all the while not releasing him from his commitment to the U of I's basketball program.

The important things about this case are that Smith and Carlwell will be healed of their physical and mental wounds and that both, but especially Smith, learn life lessons from this tragic incident and go forward thereafter and become both great human beings and also good basketball players for the U of I.

What's going on at the U of I? Nothing. They have 2 DUIs in a year and an overly bored media staff.
Smith's incident has gotten way overblown. The kid saying he thought Carlwell was dead is not the same as "leaving him for dead" as has been reported. "Leaving someone for dead" implies that Smith drove him into the country and dropped him there hoping he would die rather than seeking medical care. Smith thought Carlwell was dead and panicked (though it is beyond me how a person can mistake a breathing person for a non-breathing person).
Pruitt's bar fight? To characterize he and a bouncer exchanging spit outside a bar as the bouncer denied him entrance as a "fight" is just silly.
Seriously- neither one of these "events" is a story if it takes place in a media market like Chicago. In downstate Illinois where nothing happens (and I reside), these events are stories, but they aren't anywhere else.

After reading all these comments I am shocked about people's opionions. YES, Jamar made some bad choices but so did BC for even getting in the car with him; so did the other people who found out about the accident and did not call for help. None of us were there and know the whole story and sorry, more than are admitting it have drank & drove when they shouldn't but just got lucky. It was a horrific accident in which THANK GOD neither one of them or anyone else on the road were killed. Let the courts deal with the accident and let Weber deal with the players. BTW-Jamar was at the game because the TEAM wanted him there and that included Brian C. I wish Jamar, Brian, Weber and everyone closely involved with the situation luck in your recovery from this.

The BL's and Diddy's of the world can try and convict all involved through the media. Can the rest of the reasonable world wait for the facts, legal actions, and disciplinary consequences to play out before condemning all directly and indirectly involved? All we have right now is media "reports" to go on. Jamar Smith was seperated from the basketball program after the incident, except for attending the game on Senior Night to support and pay respect to his friends and team leaders who will be graduating. He has not attended any other Illini games since the incident. As a distant but interested observer, it seems Bruce Weber has run the basketball program with class and character, as was also the case when he was the coach at Southern Illinois. I have faith that both the legal system and the basketball program will take appropriate action in response to the facts of the incident in due time. And until all the facts come out and the whole situation plays out, I feel it inappropriate to pass judgement on those involved.

Everyone is ready to slam Smith for his poor judgement, but he is 19 yrs old, was drinking and driving under bad conditions, knew what Bruce told him to do and just got scared. At least no one died, all parties are fine. I believe Smith should loose his scholarship, not be on the team for next year. I went down to Champaign not too long after the accident and the town just didn't talk about what happened. I'm sure he is getting enough heat from his parents, grandparents and Bruce along with his teammates. If Brian and his family have forgiven him, let's all be adults and do the same!

"How come the Duke Lacrosse players got thrown off the team before the "Legal" process was complete?"

The reason was that local black politicians and media moths threatened the DA and Duke University to charge these kids despite ignoring pretty much every investigative protocol known to police...that's why

The difference between Smith and Tank was Tank didn't actually cause harm to another person. His actions were front and center and you didn't find out anything else,new,after that. That young man sat on the Illini bench and it was later found out that they concealed information. I'm sure the University was aware of a lot of that info. The Lacrosse guys were further prosecuted by a prosecuter who actually knew they were innocent and withheld that information. He wanted to convict innocent people. He would've railroaded anyone. Whoever released all that information is the reason they were charged. The media went over board with everything in regard to that.

I think smith will get off with a plea. It will be tough to prove the DUI since his blood was drawn 2 hours after the accident. The drinking could be argued it occured after the accident. As for leaving the seen of an accident. He was given the diagnosis of a concussion, so he wasn't in the right state of mind because of that. I think it will not go to court for those reasons. I'm not a lawyer but i can see those arguements working.

Roman responds: Then what does Weber do?

Jamar Smith left his teammate for dead, he did not take him to the hospital, he did not call 911, he didn't even call a coach. I too was a college student and today I wonder how I was able to drink as much as I did, so I don't hold the drinking against him. I do however question his judgment for getting on the road and putting everyone on the road near him in jeopardy.

As for his leaving his teammate for dead, I cannot let that pass, his career with the Illini should be over. Hopefully he can transfer to another school, play ball and get his degree, but I will lose all respect for the program if he is allowed to return. Where will the Illini draw the line?

Anonymous makes a comment about Chester Frazier. The fact is here is another person basing his thoughts on possible inaccurracies. As I have heard it Jamar did go back & tell Frazier what happened, Frazier went to the parking lot(about 100 yards long) but because the car was not near where Jamar normally parked he couldn't find it. He then went in & learned where it was parked immediately came back out & the police were already there. It doesn't seem that there is a problem there. if this is what truly happened. Shame on anonymous for possibly believing false reports. Let's wait until all the FACTS are in.
Jamar obviously made some very bad decisions & I'm sure the situation will be dealt with.

I'm gonna bet that at least 66% of "US" responding to Mr. Smiths bad judgement and unfortunate mishap have been in the same situation with better results at least once in our lifetime, so put the stone back down. My problem is the fact The Fighting Illini are playing with the same poor judgement on the court for pretty much this whole season. After the Maryland and Arizona near loses I saw a very talented team who I thought may well be a TOP 25 team in the near future. Sure injuries have come into play, but I also see no improvement in the decision making by the guards (with the exception of McBride for the most part). I've not heard of any head injuries to the guards so I'll assume they are just not improving as the year progresses; a recipe for disaster for a team with talented big men. Come to think about it Jamar has regressed probably the furthest? Can you say TEQUILYAH Bruce? I think you may be losin' it.

What happened is most definitely a tragedy and I'm sure Smith will not soon forget what happened or what could have happened. But what I question is coach Weber's and UIC's ability or willingness to hold players to a higher standard then that of other students. Obviously his warning about going out in the bad weather fell on deaf ears. Does Weber or UIC have any policy concerning athletes underage drinking or do they simply ignore it because athletics bring in money? It's fortunate for both young men that they are still alive. But they boh ignored Weber's warning (which should have been sressed a little more than it was) and that should have consequences. One of a coaches responsibilties is to instill discipline in his team, it would seem that Weber has failed in this regard. A very good example of a head coach enforcing the rules of an organization and maintaining discipline is the one game suspension of Ben Wallace earlier this year for the simple act of wearing a head band during a game. Ben claimed to be unaware of this team rule but accepted his suspension. At the time many thought the entire incident was ridiculous and in comparison to an accident that could have cost 2 young players thier life it is insignificant except to show that even a big name like Ben Wallace is not beyond consequences for his actions and that those responsible for enforcing organizational rules (starting with the head coach) enforce those rules regarless of an individuals stature in the organization. Would coach Weber been within his authority had he said weather conditions are poor at best tonight I want you all to go home and stay there, if I find out anyone went out without a very good reason to do so you will sit out the next game. Yes he would have been. would it have made a difference in Smith's decision to go out? very possibly.

Roman Modrowski/Greg Couch (i.e Mariotti - mini me)

The problem is in this RAG and the Jay Mariotti School of Journalism!

You undermine a great and fair couch, blast him for sticking up for his players, then call him a lousy recruiter and point out that underage kids at a Campus KNOWN for Underage Drinking (and I am an alum) do stupid stuff and blame the Coach. You and the other pompous jerks whose only "expertise" is tha