Published: September 29, 2007 11:55 pm            

HUTSELL: Waiting out Mackey not the way to go

The news broke on Friday, something nobody ever wants to hear about a kid, any kid.

Bud Mackey, the prodigal guard out of Scott County, Ky. was arrested Friday on charges of cocaine trafficking and another count of trafficking within 1,000 yards of a school.

That’s news with any kid — but it becomes even more profound when it’s a kid like Mackey. This just happened to be the best basketball player at his high school, one of the best players in his state and a player on his way to becoming one of the centerpieces of a potential top-10 recruiting class in college.

It’s hardly news that Mackey was a few short weeks from signing to become a member of coach Kelvin Sampson’s second recruiting class at Indiana University.

Some say Friday’s news put a cloud of doubt around Mackey’s future as a Hoosier. Let me jump in and clear this up.

There’s no doubt now, Mackey won’t be a Hoosier — nor should it even be considered.

Spew all you want about innocence until guilt is proven. He was found in possession of an illegal substance — at his school. Say something about a kid making a mistake — a bad decision is a bad decision, regardless of how old you are.

This is about a kid having the opportunity of a lifetime and blowing it. Just putting himself in a position where his name was brought into questioning was an error that only be classified as crazy.

What this is about for Indiana is staying away from a situation that a sometimes-embattled coach cannot afford to get involved in.

If Mackey’s scholarship offer wasn’t revoked by midnight then the decision process already has taken too long to complete.

If Sampson wants to set an example about who truly runs his program, then he has no choice but to wash his hands of this situation right now. If he wants to shut up the sometimes-griping fan section that looks with disdain at his previous run-ins with the bosses at the NCAA, then he needs to get out quick.

Indiana has prided itself as a program with a history of keeping its nose clean.

Standing within 15 feet of a player that’s potentially playing two guard in the Kentucky penal system for the next 50-to-100 years is just the sort of image the program needs to avoid.

Louisville football just took a chance on a high-profile, high-risk recruit this past offseason in Willie Williams.

Everyone had read the warning signs about a guy with a rap sheet befitting a member Tank Johnson’s entourage, but the Cards put talent ahead of character and saw the marriage end after less than a month — with Williams allegedly eating a bag of marijuana a stop sign in a desperate attempt to avoid the police.

It’s not even worth waiting to see what happens. Get out now, Indiana. Get out with the simple black eye.

Drop Mackey before it turns into a knockout blow.

Contact Mike Hutsell at mike.hutsell@newsantribune.com

        

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