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CINCINNATI HAUNTED BY OUTLAW IMAGE : BEARCATS KNOWN FOR SUCCESS, CONTROVERSY.


Byline: Scott Wolf Scott Richard Wolf (born June 4, 1968) is an American actor.

Born in Boston, Massachusetts to Steven Wolf and Susan Enowitch, Wolf was raised in West Orange, New Jersey. He graduated in 1986 from West Orange High School.
 Daily News Staff Writer

They would like nothing better than a quiet little prelude to the Super Bowl, preferably without incident, when they play USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code.  today at the Sports Arena.

But for the University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati is a coeducational public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Ranked as one of America’s top 25 public research universities and in the top 50 of all American research universities,[2]  basketball team, controversy often seems as integral a part of the program as winning.

And winning is something the Bearcats A Bearcat is another name for a binturong, a sloth-like mammal from Southeast Asia.

A Bearcat is also the mascot for Willamette University, Binghamton University, CUNY Baruch, Northwest Missouri State University, Southwest Baptist University, and the University of Cincinnati.
 do quite well.

In coach Bob Huggins' seven-plus seasons, Cincinnati is 179-66, with one Final Four and three Elite Eight appearances.

For all his success, however, Huggins' teams have drawn nearly as much attention for their off-court episodes.

Consider this week, which was fairly mild by Cincinnati standards.

Huggins suspended starting point Noun 1. starting point - earliest limiting point
terminus a quo

commencement, get-go, offset, outset, showtime, starting time, beginning, start, kickoff, first - the time at which something is supposed to begin; "they got an early start"; "she knew from the
 guard Damon Flint for one game for being an hour late to a team practice.

The No. 7-ranked Bearcats (13-3) then played North Carolina-Charlotte on Tuesday night. During the game, Bearcats guard Charles Williams There have been a number of notable people named Charles Williams: United Kingdom
  • Sir Charles Hanbury Williams (1708–1759), a British Member of Parliament and satirist.
 was struck in the mouth with a quarter apparently thrown by the Charlotte fans.

After the game, students began throwing ice and heckling Cincinnati players. Three Bearcats players retaliated by throwing basketballs at the crowd.

``It's not fun to sit on the bench and hear them say things about your children and your mother,'' Huggins said.

At least Cincinnati was not responsible for this incident.

But in December, the program suffered another black eye, when forward Ruben Patterson Ruben Nathaniel Patterson (born July 31, 1975 in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American professional basketball player in the NBA. He has signed with the Los Angeles Clippers after playing the final year of a six-year contract with the Milwaukee Bucks.  was arrested for aggravated burglary after he knocked a door down to retrieve some possessions that an ex-girlfriend had taken from him.

A grand jury refused to indict in·dict  
tr.v. in·dict·ed, in·dict·ing, in·dicts
1. To accuse of wrongdoing; charge: a book that indicts modern values.

2.
 Patterson. Interestingly, the case was prosecuted by a member of the university's board of trustees board of trustees Politics The posse of thugs who oversee an institution's administration. See Board of directors. .

``I'm always concerned with this kind of thing,'' said Dr. Nancy Hamant, the athletic department's faculty representative. ``Do I think it's a pattern? No.''

Patterson also made headlines in early January, when he won $750 playing craps craps: see dice.
craps

Gambling game in which each player in turn throws two dice, attempting to roll a winning combination. The term derives from a Louisiana French word, crabs, which means “losing throw.
 at a casino, when the Bearcats played in a tournament in Puerto Rico. NCAA NCAA
abbr.
National Collegiate Athletic Association
 rules do not prohibit casino gambling.

``Bob (Huggins) is aware what these kids need academically and otherwise,'' said Oscar Robertson, perhaps the greatest player in Cincinnati history. ``He cares about the kids, and he brings in good kids. I feel bad for the young man. But these kids have to understand they're a target.

``Buried in the back of the newspaper . . . I saw where two guys got arrested for $1 million worth of cocaine. But (Patterson) is what everyone hears about.''

The Bearcats, who have been compared to the notorious UNLV UNLV University of Nevada, Las Vegas  teams of Jerry Tarkanian, have had enough of their outlaw image.

Huggins was already fed up before the season started, when Sports Illustrated devoted a cover story to the program's shortcomings A shortcoming is a character flaw.

Shortcomings may also be:
  • Shortcomings (SATC episode), an episode of the television series Sex and the City
.

Among the charges: Only one player who has used all four years of eligibility has graduated. Only three of 11 junior college players have earned their degrees. Overall, seven players have graduated under Huggins.

Then there is sixth-man Darnell Burton. He was suspended before the beginning of last season for reportedly failing a drug test. The school's drug policy called for a one-year ban after an athlete's first positive test.

But soon after Burton's suspension, the university's substance-abuse committee changed the policy, forcing an athlete to miss only 10 percent of the season after a first offense. Coincidentally, Huggins was a member of the committee.

His reaction to the article? ``People will wrap fish in it,'' he said.

``You know what bothers me? Guys who are around the program know we have good guys, that we couldn't cheat,'' Huggins said. ``Not the way our guys dress. They don't have cars. They don't have jewelry. They don't have anything. Not unless they're putting it in a Swiss bank account and none of them are smart enough to do that.

``I understand the national thing. People think we had to do something (improper) or we couldn't be as good as Kentucky or North Carolina North Carolina, state in the SE United States. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean (E), South Carolina and Georgia (S), Tennessee (W), and Virginia (N). Facts and Figures


Area, 52,586 sq mi (136,198 sq km). Pop.
 and Kansas. But to have people in your town constantly take shots at you and try to destroy you. It hurts.''

This season has been less negative than usual, aside from the fact the Bearcats were ranked No. 1 in the preseason and quickly lost to crosstown rival Xavier.

Before last season, former player Art Long received 18 months probation, after his girlfriend accused him of choking her. Long pleaded no contest and was also ordered to complete a 10-week violence intervention program.

Long had already become famous nationally for the ``Blazing Saddles'' incident. He and forward Danny Fortson, this season's leading scorer, were arrested after shouting obscenities at a mounted policeman outside a bar. Long punched the policeman's horse four times in the neck, according to police reports.

He and Fortson were eventually acquitted.

Before coming to Cincinnati, Long had been arrested in Dodge City, Kan., for selling $40 worth of marijuana to an undercover cop.

Huggins, who is genuinely admired for his coaching abilities, has tried to overlook the criticism, but admits ``it hasn't been much fun.

``All of us have adversity. It's how you deal with adversity that separates you from everybody else. We're going to get better in every facet that we deal with.''

WINNING TIMES

Bob Huggins has turned the University of Cincinnati back into a national power during his seven-plus seasons at the school:

Year Record Result

1989-90 20-14 NIT A measurement of luminance. One nit is equal to one candela per square meter (1cd/m2). Ten thousand nits are equal to one stilb. See candela.  2nd round

1990-91 18-12 NIT 2nd round

1991-92 29-5 NCAA Final Four

1992-93 27-5 NCAA Elite Eight

1993-94 22-10 NCAA 1st round

1994-95 22-12 NCAA 2nd round

1995-96 28-5 NCAA Elite Eight

1996-97 13-3

CAPTION(S):

Photo, Chart

Photo: Cincinnati's Danny Fortson, pictured, and ex-player Art Long once were arrested after shouting obscenities at a policeman outside a bar.

Associated Press

Chart: WINNING TIMES (see text)
COPYRIGHT 1997 Daily News
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 1997, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.

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Title Annotation:Sports
Publication:Daily News (Los Angeles, CA)
Date:Jan 26, 1997
Words:943
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