Scorecard

Black Eyes for the Buckeyes

Ohio State's once-proud basketball program has fallen on hard times. Last season the Buckeyes had a 13-16 record and failed, for the first time since Randy Ayers took over as coach in 1989, to qualify for postseason play. But far worse is Ohio State's record off the court.

The trouble began in May 1993 when Damon Flint, a 6'5" swing-man and incoming freshman, was ruled ineligible after at least 17 NCAA violations were tied to his recruitment. Flint has since enrolled at Cincinnati.

Charles Macon, a 6'7" forward and a former Indiana Mr. Basketball, has pleaded guilty to theft, drunken driving and marijuana possession after a March incident in which he pumped $16.30 worth of gasoline into his car and drove off without paying. He received a suspended sentence and is serving a year's probation. Ayers suspended him for the 1994-95 season, and he has since flunked out of school.

In April the scholarship of Gerald Faker, the projected starting center this season, was lifted after he shot out the tire of a car owned by teammate Antonio Watson. Eaker has since left Ohio State.

Also in April, Rickey Dudley, a forward-center as well as a tight end on the Buckeye football team, was charged with drunken driving. When he failed to pay $300 in fines and $69 in court costs, a warrant was issued last week for his arrest. Only then did he pay, and, as of Monday he was still on the team.

Since March junior guard Greg Simpson has been involved in a series of incidents (an arrest for drunken driving, which he plea-bargained, an assault charge that was dropped, driving Eaker away from the scene after Eaker fired the shots into Watson's tire and, most recently, a fight with a former girlfriend that resulted in calls being made to police) that have put his career in limbo. Simpson was already under indefinite suspension from the team before his latest indiscretion.

Ayers's troubles don't end there. Derek Anderson, a 6'6" swingman who was probably the Buckeyes' best player, transferred to Kentucky. Nate Wilbourne, a 6'11" center, transferred to the University of South Carolina in April. And Dudley is probably headed for a postseason bowl with the football team and won't rejoin the basketball program until January.

Sadly, the Buckeye basketball team is not the only misbehaving bunch on campus—three football players (not including Dudley) have been in trouble with the law. Noseguard Timiko Payton and offensive tackle Eric Moss were arrested in June and later indicted on felony charges after they were accused of stealing an ATM card. Moss plea-bargained and is still on the team. And kicker Mike Malfatt, who is also still on the roster, spent one night in jail and is awaiting trial for allegedly stealing $445 worth of goods from a Columbus discount store on July 26.

Shell-shocked athletic director Andy Geiger has stuck behind both Ayers and football coach John Cooper. And his inclination has been to show leniency to the players, particularly in the case of Simpson. "We're in the kid business," said Geiger last week. "If we can save Greg from himself, we will have done a good job."