Jack Ikegwuonu got in some serious trouble this winter when he broke into an apartment in DeKalb, Illinois, with his brother and got
caught red-handed trying to make off with some dude's XBox. He's been charged with residential burglary and criminal trespass; a hearing is scheduled for the 24th. But when Ikegwuonu was reintroduced to the media for the first time since the arrest, that topic was
off limits:
Reporters were warned by Bielema not to ask questions about Ikegwuonu's off-field problems. He has a hearing set for Aug. 24 in Sycamore, Ill., to deal with a motion filed by his attorney to suppress statements made by Ikegwuonu to police, on the grounds he was not read his Miranda rights.
Bielema told Ikegwuonu to answer "no comment," to a first question about his case, then walk away if there was a second question.
Mmmmm. Aggression and antagonism.
Wisconsin Badger Sports is
none too pleased with the direction the Badgers appear to be going in off the field:
Hey Coach, the case is something we want to know about. We want to make sure that our team and our school's reputation aren't being sold out because a kid is both a criminal and a shutdown corner. We want to be reassured that the ability to run down Darren McFadden from behind doesn't become a Get Out of Jail Free card.
And secrecy isn't helping that.
The five major disciplinary problems that have arisen in the Bielema era have combined for a combined loss of five downs of football for those involved. All those missed downs came against Bowling Green. Are we truly becoming, as my brother-in-law put it, Miami North?
No offense to Fanhouse colleague Bruce Ciskie, a Badger fan, but I concur. Last year I watched some punt scrub
attempt to injure Steve Breaston after the conclusion of a play;
Bielema's response was to ignore the problem, stonewall to the media, and refuse to punish the guy whatsoever. His many years at Kansas State proved he was a terrific defensive coordinator, but he's rapidly descending into one of the most unlikable coaches in the Big Ten.
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Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 1)
1. "...but he's rapidly descending into one of the most unlikable coaches in the Big Ten."
That assessment doesn't carry much weight coming from a biased Michigan fan.
Posted at 2:21AM on Aug 10th 2007 by Jason S.
2. I'm disappointed.
A coach wants his players to talk only about football, and this is somehow seen as a bad thing? It renders Bielema "unlikeable"???
Keep in mind, this is the same Bielema that kicked Booker Stanley off the football team on his second day as head coach.
So I guess that "five downs of football" thing is just a myth. I'm guessing that "his entire senior season" constitutes more than five downs.
Oh, and two more words: "Adrian Arrington"
Posted at 7:44AM on Aug 10th 2007 by Bruce Ciskie
3. Bielema's response to the situation with Breaston last year really pissed me off. Bielema basically shrugged it off and acted as if it was no big deal, despite the fact that one of his players blatantly tried to injure an opposing player on the field. He's a first-rate jerk, if you ask me.
Posted at 11:12AM on Aug 10th 2007 by ChicaGoBlue
4. Bruce, are you really comparing residential burglary and criminal trespass with DUI and pot possession? Apples and oranges, my friend.
Posted at 12:28PM on Aug 10th 2007 by cpzann
5. Bruce, are you really comparing residential burglary and criminal trespass with DUI and pot possession? Apples and oranges, my friend.
Posted at 12:29PM on Aug 10th 2007 by cpzann
6. Bruce, I remember the booting of Booker Stanley. I don't give Bielema much credit, if any, for doing that. It was a really obvious move to make, and in retrospect it certainly looks like Alvarez kept Stanley around just so that Bielema could do the booting himself!
Admittedly, I bought it hook, line, and sinker ... I thought to myself, "Alright, we've got a guy who's even tougher with discipline than Barry was! Excellent!"
And then the past year and a half happened.
Posted at 12:41PM on Aug 10th 2007 by Badger Tracker
7. BT--
Bah. Bielema will learn. If he's still pulling this stuff in ten years, we'll have a problem.
I think he has to learn pretty quickly that there is more scrutiny on discipline now than even when he was an assistant at KState. It used to be that you could wait until "the legal process played itself out", but now you have to strike a fine line between judging someone's guilt or innocence without due process and not taking action when a player is facing serious charges.
And I still think "he's rapidly descending into one of the most unlikable coaches in the Big Ten" is a bit harsh.
Posted at 6:35PM on Aug 10th 2007 by Bruce Ciskie
8. Bruce,
Who is more unlikeable than Bielema? Zook? That's the only possibility I can think of, and Bielema has him beat by a country mile.
Posted at 8:19PM on Aug 10th 2007 by Tim