Would you take a flyer on this kid..............

[Kingsbury]

An interesting topic came up this morning with JamesOn Curry pleaded guilty Monday to two felony counts of marijuana possession with intent to sell. Does this kid deserve a second chance? I remember there was a tall kid a few years back from a small town around La Crosse and he got in some trouble for selling weed. I believe he went on to Prep School and I am not sure if he is playing anywhere now. This gets me to my point, If UWM is in the same boat they were in last year when they were looking to sign someone after the late signing period and this guy is available and looking for a school to play ball at and put this incedent behind him, would you be for or against him playing for UWM. Right now, I am not sure which way I would lean towards.



scout.theinsiders.com/a.z?s=75&p=8&cfg=null&c=1&yr=2004&nid=445685

www.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/story/7233571

[Hack]

That was Michael Southall who you are thinking of. He had a ride to Kentucky ... then finally found his way to Louisiana-Lafayette after he straightened himself out.

He was decent there ... averaging about 13 pts./game.

[fan]

Southall attended West Salem by the way. I saw him get shut down by my alma mater. He can play though.

Without analyzing how stupid it was for him or the other athlete in question to be engaging in that kind of activity, my opinion is why not? To put it simply this is how the mid majors compete. Anyone remember Randy Moss? 2 colleges before going to Marshall which has enjoyed success and national credibility ever since. The major schools have to play more by the rules, where the mid-majors can and are forced to take on the apples with blemishes.
If theres a 7'0" former weed dealer who claims to have cleaned himself up, sign him up. I want to see him in black and gold.

[admin]

Players are here for an education...

If a kid claims to have cleaned up his act, and has proven so, then by all means lets give him the opportunity to learn and play ball. Just keeping a person down wont let them become better people, we can give them the opportunity to prove they changed.

Sign 'em up!

Later,
UWMfreak

[tupacrates03]

being from racine i remeber a kid who got caught with a gun selling cocaine and got his act together and went on to become a decent player. His name was Caron Butler.

[Kingsbury]

So much for Southall cleaning up his life.........................


Southall gets year in jail: Local basketball phenom violates probation for drug offense

A once-promising basketball career could be over for a former All-State player from West Salem who was ordered Friday to spend a year in La Crosse County jail for violating probation on a 2000 drug conviction "What a waste. What an absolute waste," La Crosse County Circuit Judge Ramona Gonzalez said Friday before sentencing 22-year-old Michael Southall.

www.lacrossetribune.com/articles/2004/05/29/news/z00southall.txt

[pnthr30]

What a waste. What an absolute waste! This isn't the first time, or the last time, that someone pisses away the opportunity of a lifetime, but it still bothers me each time someone with so much potential just lets it all slip away - I have seen it happen to many times (kaygee, pnthr97, and uwmfan can probably name a few guys that fall into this category as well).

[Kingsbury]

Pnthr30, like a few players on the UWM 1996-97 "New Kids on the Block" poster. I think I might be one of the few people left in the world that still has that poster hanging up.

[pnthr30]

Kingsbury said:

Pnthr30, like a few players on the UWM 1996-97 "New Kids on the Block" poster. I think I might be one of the few people left in the world that still has that poster hanging up.

HAHA

I wasn't going to call anyone out.........but ;D
Sorry Kingsbury, I forgot you are "Old Skool" too! LOL

[Kingsbury]

Thanks Pnthr30, granted I am not as "old skool" as you and a few of the other members on the board considering I was a senior in high school that year, but I was around for the 3-24 (or something like that) season...........................these kids today, they just don't know how great they have it

[uwmfan]

Not sure if y'all knew, but Southall was brought in for a visit at UWM right after Bruce got here. Coach asked if I could meet with him and his family to help recruit him...he apparently opted for Louisiana-L at that point because he felt a shroud of media coverage would be more likely to follow him here in Milwaukee v. L-L.

That guy had the largest hands I've ever seen....he shook my hand and almost snapped it off. He also had an NBA-prototype body built for serious hoops.

If I remember, he also blew an opportunity at another school after Kentucky, I want to say it was Georgia Tech or someplace south....I don't remember too many details.

Going back over the years, there have been some other guys that just didn't get it. First to come to my mind is Rod Johnson, a Ric Cobb get. He was named newcomer of the year (I think) his freshman year but then was a head case after that. He ended up leaving after his soph year and got into a lot of trouble that year.

There were others in earlier years, possibly as far back as the Ray Swatalla era (yes, I go back that far....damn I got old!!) who ended up leaving Ray with seven players by the end of one year. Had a virtual mutiny on his hands, he did!

Rod is the big one that stands out as someone with great talent (for the year he was there) that just blew it.

Personally, I guess I'm into second chances to a point. If you can do it w/out screwing with team chemistry, then yeah, maybe it's a good thing.

Unfortunately, Pnthr30, you had that felony back when you were 14 that really did you in. Good to see you've cleaned up your act. (and stay away from my kids....) JK! ;D