he should not be playing basketball and instead should be working on getting his life back together.

Notre Dame guard Kyle McAlarney was suspended for the entire season and kicked out of school and was forced to re-enroll just for having weed in his car. This just shows the hypocrisy of some college programs. Cincinnati is certainly the bottom rung of the college basketball muck. (side note: This is also why it's so important that Sampson stays clean the rest of the way and keep his players disciplined. I don't want to end up ashamed of my basketball program.)

What do you expect the kid to do, sit at home and worry about what's going to happen in court, or try to learn from it and move on. Maybe "getting his life back together," entails what he's going to be doing on the court. Maybe basketball is the vehicle he uses to pull his head out of his ass.

In today's day and age, playing by our current society's rules and values, Mackey suiting up is okay by me.

Sadly, this is what all the late-childhood specialization and AAU hoopla has led to.

Quite simply, for Bud Mackey and the thousands of "Bud Mackeys" out there, attending high school means being on the basketball team as priority number one.

As long as we force our 12 year old 6th graders into choosing one sport and playing it year round, it will be the primary focus of our 16-18 year old "athletes'" lives.

Not really pining for yesteryear here, and it wouldn't be appropriate as I'm in my mid-20s. I'm just saying, those are the rules and norms our society lives by now.

Now, that's one issue: "with all the problems, why play basketball?"

The other issue: should he even be allowed? I would say yes, and it has a lot to do with my previous comment. Bud has probably built his young life around basketball. Taking that away, while forcing him to focus on his "drug problem," would probably not leave him very happy, and happy people probably make better choices than unhappy people.

Getting this kid in a college program, to me, is very important to him as a person. I'm assuming here, but I don't think he was ever on a career path other than pro basketball player. At least by attending college and playing ball he either gets exposed to another career path and now has the skills to pursue said new career path or at the very least can play overseas or possibly in the NBA.

Let's be honest. He made one mistake (that we know of). While it was a felony mistake, he probably deserves a second chance in life. However, as it commonly is with second chances (Cincinnati), they won't be as lucrative as the first chance (Indiana).

I'm not sure what to think of all this. Did the court system fail in KY by allowing him to leave and enroll in another school? Gets kicked out of school in one state and the new school has no problem with it? Allowing him to play ball provides him a distraction from the courts, however, it appears he is being treated differently because of basketball. On the other hand, basketball is his life and may be his only ticket out. Which leads us to another point. Does the basketball world need another player with skills, but a checkered past, while many who play life by the rules go unnoticed, and relegated to the Butlers and Valpos of the college world, therefore very little shot of earning a living in the NBA? Here's a kid that could possibly earn a ton of money in the NBA and is of questionable character. He is rewarded in an indirect way for his poor choices and it appears the judge in Cincy is rewarding him for the poor choice he made. I didn't want to waste time talking about Mackey as I had forgotten about him. I'm somewhat amused at the attention IU fans and web sites devote to players no longer associated with IU in any way, such as Mackey. Yes he was offered a scholarship by IU, but he screwed it up and lost it. I would just as soon not hear about him anymore on IU sites. Let's talk about who we do have and how they are doing. Let's talk about Ebanks, Elston and other recruits we have a shot at. Mackey's 15 minutes are up.

Ask guys like Rodney Stuckey about having a slightly checkered past/issues (academics), getting stuck at the Valpo/Butler of the Northwest, and landing the lottery. If the kid has game, he will be seen by NBA scouts and will get drafted if he's playing any sort of Division I basketball and maybe even if he isn't.

I think the kid should play basketball, he loves it, and it is his way of releasing himself... He made a mistake, playing basketball is all the kid knows. What would sitting at home do for him probably get him into more trouble... OH AND I ALSO SAY IU should give him the Scholly back... YEA I SAID IT!!!!!!!!!

Oh, I don't know about that. I'm all for second chances in life, but he screwed up and pissed away his opportunity at IU. It's a painful lesson to learn, and he needs to learn it. I have no problem with him getting a scholarship somewhere, just not to IU.

There is a hellua lot more context to this story than Bud was the best player in kentucky and recruited by IU before you even get into the drug situation. In my opinion, Coach Sampson screwed the pooch on this before drugs even came into play. As many of you recall, Sampson offered Bud a scholarship after seeing him at his team camp in B'town. What many don't know is at the time Bud was a special ed student who didn't fit the mold of an incoming college student. There's taking a chance on kids you do your homework on and there is jumping off a cliff without doing your homework and Coach Sampson jumped. Bud's family story and background was one big red flag and if i'm not mistaken many of the call violations were made trying to contact Bud and his family.

Bud Mackey should never have been an IU target for many reasons and the thought that Coach Sampson suggested he go JUCO before coming to IU after the drug stuff tells me he needs to get his head out of his ass. What Mackey does now or in the future that doesn't involve IU and isn't illegal doesn't concern me a bit.

The offer easily could have been pulled. At that stage in the recruitment, it was perfectly acceptable for Sampson to shoot first and ask questions later since he really wasn't committing to anything.

Bud Mackey should come to IU. My crack connection got busted and I could use a new one.

Timmy you are an idiot. From a special ed student student who is now pursuing his graduate degree from UNC.

How do you offer someone a scholarship and not know anything about their academic situation? Congrats on your grad degree, let me guess you have a LD.

Jeez, Timmy, you're a dick.

What the hell? Coach Sampson isn't untouchable.

Knowing the whole situation before the drugs, it was a bad call to offer Mackey.

Quit giving me negative points!

Quit being a jackass and people will quit giving you negative points. It's not you're comments on Sampson that are stupid, it's those on special ed people. They're just not cool.

How abt the fact that UCLA only dropped 3 spots after a loss at home to a 6 loss USC team... I bet they drop more in the AP. They love keeping those teams up there (UCLA, Duke, UNC)

it is just frustrating bc if we were to lose a game we would drop 5 spots easily...

Indiana hasn't proven itself worthy of a being a Top 10 team since we have no signature win (I'm not saying we don't deserve to be up there...it's just a fact), so a loss is going to give voters justification for dropping the Hoosiers a greater distance, no matter who it is we lose to.

UCLA has solid victories over top teams this season...i.e. Michigan State and Wazzu, so there's reason to believe that UCLA's slip up, although unsettling, isn't indicative of their ability, thus raters will leave them relatively high up.

That's a baller mohawk.

All the rage right now among black English Premier League players...

we all know that if he wouldve committed to kentucky and not indiana, none of this would have ever happened. the cops wouldve just given him a warning and looked the other way.

no! he should serve time like any other moron who gets caught trafficking near (or even inside) a school...he doesnt deserve any second chance anymore than the next criminal...point blank!

part of the problem with this system is that we allow criminals to live life as if theyve done nothing wrong...punishment is just that, punishment. if he loves basketball, then that is the last thing our system should allow him to do...otherwise, there is no punishment...in most cases, criminals get wrapped up in the same behaviors (especially when we simply slap them on the wrist)...and sometimes it escalates into something even more severe. those of you who think he should be able to play should consider that perhaps he will sell crack cocaine to your sons or daughters...then tell me you think a criminal should be slapped on the wrist and continue doing what he loves...playing basketball and trafficking illegal substances within our schools!

He's not a criminal yet. He's a suspected criminal. He's not even a criminal defendant. In our criminal justice system, those are all important designations, so to say he should be locked up now is a strong statement. And we can't punish him yet because we haven't gotten to the stage where he is eligible to be punished.

No. Mackey should not be playing ball this year. He should have been expelled for a least the semester, so if he wants to play high school, he neeeds to repeat the semester. He needs to get his life in order before basketball. He should not be rewarded to play this year.

I know I am old and all, but do none of you remember when a young Michigan State prospect and Mr. Basketball candidate got caught with a trunk full of cocaine in Michigan City back in the 80's? That horrible, bad, bad man is Scott Skiles and he happens to the former head coach the Chicago Bulls. Give this kid a break.