Anyone who has ever played an organized game of basketball can spot them the instant they step on the court. Their moves are as acrobatic as a gorilla's, and their dribbling skills are as good as Rob Schneider's next movie. In a game filled with grace and athleticism, these players are like the goofy kid with two left feet at the high school dance. No, I'm not talking about Shawn Bradley. The players I'm describing are the "goons," or "enforcers."
The enforcer is a stock character in the world of sports archetypes. Generally found in hockey rinks, he (or she) is best described as an intimidator whose lack of athletic skill and grace is made up for with sheer nastiness and physicality. They beat and check, push and foul, leaving a trail of bruises and wounds in their wake.
Unfortunately for basketball, the enforcers are trading their skates for high tops and invading the hardwood. This dark secret came to light last week when John Chaney, the Hall of Fame coach of Temple University, inserted Nehemiah Ingram into a game against St. Joseph's University.
Ingram promptly picked up more fouls than minutes played and was disqualified after just four minutes. But Ingram managed to do more to change the game of basketball in his four minutes on the court than anyone since Kermit Washington punched Rudy Tomjanovich in an NBA game back in 1977.
For those not familiar with the story, Ingram knocked St. Joe's senior John Bryant to the ground. The collision resulted in a broken right arm for the forward, ending both his season and his career. After the game Chaney admitted that he put Ingram in the game with instructions to foul as a way of protesting what the Temple coach believed were illegal screens set by the Hawks. In that same press conference, he also formally labeled Ingram a "goon" and finally acknowledged what has been a disappointing trend in the college game.
Anyone who has watched men's collegiate basketball over the past few years has been well aware of the seemingly endless parade of unathletic squads whose sole talent is playing rough and physical. While announcers heap praise on these teams as being "blue-collar," it is time to recognize them for what they are: just plain dirty. A blue-collar play in basketball is leaping across the court for a loose ball, shadowing a guard up and down the court, or fighting to keep position with a good, clean box-out and then leaping up into the air to corral the offensive board. Just because you can hack and hold someone does not make you hardnosed.
While there are many offenders of this sort in the college game, there are a few in particular that come to mind. The best example of thugs is not just a team, it's an entire conference: the Big Ten. Made up of football powers such as Michigan, Wisconsin, and Ohio State, the conference fields many teams that play what is closer to football than the graceful game created by James Naismith. The 11-team conference has gotten better in recent years due to a changing of the guard at a few schools (most notably Wisconsin), but it still has some games that could make a hockey player cringe.
Duke University is little better. The school that featured Matt Christensen - who was in school for longer than Van Wilder - has also displayed "goon tactics" as of late. In a Feb. 20 win over Wake Forest, Coach Mike Krzyzewski started guard Patrick Davidson, who, as the Associated Press described it, "manhandled" Wake guard Chris Paul, drawing a foul nearly immediately. He was pulled just two minutes later to an ovation by the Duke fans.
While Davidson may have little in common physically with Ingram, there seems to be little difference between the two. In fact, just look at the stat line. For Davidson: five minutes played, no shots, no points, no rebounds, one foul. For Ingram: four minutes played, no shots, no points, one rebound, five fouls.
The change in fan behavior has been possibly the worst result of this new play style. The Temple natives continued a legacy of poor Philadelphia sportsmanship, spitting on and taunting Bryant as he lay on the court in pain, while Duke gave a standing ovation to a guy who is 996 career points away from 1,000.
It seems clear to me that while what Chaney did was wrong, and he deserves whatever suspension is handed down by the NCAA, he is far from the only offender. It's unfortunate that it took the premature end to a young man's basketball career for this problem to come to light. I can only hope that this incident sparks a motion to return to the pure athletic, fundamental game that was first envisioned when those peach baskets were hung in that Springfield, Mass., gym back in 1895.
At 6'6" and 250 pounds, sports editor Ben Miller '07 nonetheless maintains a reputation devoid of goon tactics in Brown intramural basketball.
