Was it a dirty play on the part of Morris, or a heads-up move to avoid a five seconds penalty? I'd vote for dirty, but I appear to be out-voted by the participants themselves. The Seattle Times reports:
Morris immediately tried to apologize to Aboya, who noted the apology after the game. But some UCLA players began riding Morris about it, prompting Bruins coach Ben Howland to intercede.
"I threw it off his face and one of their guys said something like, 'Don't do that again,' and I said something back to them. And Howland said, 'Back up,' just trying to cool down the situation a little bit," Morris said.
Said Aboya: "They were doing everything they could to win. It's allowed."
Howland asked an official to penalize Morris but he said he was told that "there was nothing he could do."
If the referee says it's OK, and if Aboya says it's allowed, maybe I shouldn't have a problem with it. But it seems like a bush-league move to me.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-11-2008 @ 2:28PM
tien said...
Looks very bushleague to me, though I am a biased UCLA fan--he could've just as easily thrown it off his leg or something.
Aboya and UCLA are too classy to complain about it, but you can be sure they're not going to forget what happened, especially since they lost the game as well.
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2-11-2008 @ 2:33PM
nickstoli said...
Dirty or heads up?
Put it this way, Bill Romonowski thinks it was a brilliant play.
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2-11-2008 @ 2:36PM
Brian said...
Not that it excuses the action, but I understand why it could have happened. Aboya is UCLA's enforcer, their version of Bill Laimbeer.
He invites that kind of stuff to happen to him and to his credit, it looks like he knew something like that was coming at some point in his career in the way he handled the situation.
It's still not right to toss a ball into a guy's face, though.
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2-11-2008 @ 3:31PM
wicked pissa said...
that was awesome
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2-11-2008 @ 3:36PM
§ said...
He could've just as easily thrown the ball anywhere else on his body. If the face is his desired target (which is legal), he should've taken a lil off it and Aboya still wouldn't have been able to gather his bearings in time to react to the loose ball. Pounding the ball full-strength straight into his grill is dirty.
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2-11-2008 @ 4:11PM
John said...
Alongside "awesome," I'd add "brilliant."
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2-11-2008 @ 4:45PM
Feruw said...
I don't like it, but if you're going to guard the inbounds play from inches away, thats a situational hazard.
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2-11-2008 @ 5:31PM
Martin said...
Horrible non-call by the officials, who should stick to officiating dodge ball in elementary school. Cheap shot by a team that's still 9th in the Pac-10 (and tenth in class). I would say the Bruins should remember that for the next time they play Washington except that that won't be for a long time as Washington isn't even good enough to make the Pac-10 tournament. However, if it is legal, perhaps the Bruins should have Love inbound the ball and see if he can knock a couple of the opposing players out of the game.
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2-11-2008 @ 6:17PM
theseandundar24 said...
its not bushleague what was he supposed to do take a 5 second no it was a smart, perfectly legal maybe he could have hit it off his chest or something but if he had no other options then it was a good move and aboya said it was legal. perfectly legal take the loss ucla fans
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2-11-2008 @ 6:17PM
-=-B said...
Just out of curiousity what is the foul that would be called, "Giving him the business?"
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2-11-2008 @ 6:39PM
scott said...
Wow! Cage fighting mindset successfully incorporated into NCAA Div I basketball! Loser move and losers who defend the move.
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2-12-2008 @ 12:18AM
Alex said...
First off -=B, well done sir. Second, all you UCLA whiners need to get over it. It WAS fair, AND dirty. Such is the game of basketball, and life.
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2-12-2008 @ 4:07AM
dm said...
The Washington player who did this pathetic play will forever, until the day he dies, have to remember that John Wooden said he would have yanked the player for the unsportsmanlike play. What a shameful, pathetic play by a bushleague, third tier team. Romar has no class, Washington has no class. Good luck in the NIT. Hope it was worth it Morris, now you'll be known for this idiotic act and nothing more.
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2-13-2008 @ 2:01PM
polyduck said...
classless play by a classless team. it was dirty.
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