There has been a ton of talk both regionally and nationally about the happenings in a recent Connell-Highland boys hoops game, with video evidence to boot.
I’m sure a ton of you out there have an opinion on this and it’s really a multi-faceted issue.
Everyone has been in a game where one or more guys or girls seem to be out to instigate a fight or spur on a violent reaction and it’s never pretty.
But who does the responsibility ultimately fall on to make it stop?
Obviously, the kid who is committing the fouls needs to take a hard look in the mirror before he takes the court again. He was the one treating a basketball game like a cage match and needs to be held accountable regardless of the fact he’s a prep athlete and “just a kid”.
Coaches also bear a heavy burden here. Why was he allowed to stay in the game for so long when it was painfully obvious to everyone (mostly those absorbing his fouls) that he had no intention of doing anything other than mucking it up with reckless fouls?
And what about the refs? None of these were basketball plays and they become increasingly ridiculous as the sequence and game go on. At one point, number 34 in white can be seen laughing from the block as the kid he just clotheslined shoots his free throws. That alone should have been enough of a tip off to the refs that there was intent and reasonable cause to take action in the form of either a technical or flagrant foul and most likely, also a justified ejection.
So now that we’ve posed a few questions, I want to solicit some thoughts.
What do you think about what took place in the Connell-Highland game?
Who bears the brunt of the responsibility here and what could have been done differently?
Lastly, and this is an issue many people have brought up in internet conversations and on message boards, what should become of the player who commits the five most egregious fouls and perhaps more interestingly, what would happen if he tried that against you or a teammate of yours in a game?
Which foul was most obviously more than a personal foul?
How did the refs handle the situation?
How did his teammates handle the situation?
How did the opposition handle the situation?
How would you react if someone fouled you or a teammate like that in a game?
