Bob Huggins arrested

Friday, June 11, 2004

Coach arrested for DUI after visiting recruit

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ESPN.com news services

CINCINNATI -- Cincinnati basketball coach Bob Huggins apologized Friday night for his arrest on a drunken driving charge earlier this week following a visit to recruits in an eastside suburb.


During the news conference, Huggins took full responsibility for his action but has no plans to resign. Huggins -- who did not take questions -- and the university will continue negotiations throughout the evening on his punishment, ESPN.com's Andy Katz reports. The hope is that they come to an agreement before the university holds a Saturday news conference at 10 a.m. ET.


Huggins is not expected to attend the news conference.


The police report on Huggins' arrest last Tuesday said the coach had slurred speech, with vomit on the driver's door when he was stopped in the village of Fairfax.


He was arrested after he failed a sobriety test, police said. His wife came to pick him up from the police station.


Huggins was scheduled to appear Friday evening in court in Fairfax. Police Chief Rick Patterson said it was Huggins' first offense. He could be fined and sentenced to three days in jail.


Huggins' arrest is the latest black mark on a program that has been trying to get beyond a series of player arrests and NCAA rules violations in the 1990s that led to probation and a loss of basketball scholarships.


Huggins, 50, had a massive heart attack less than two years ago but didn't miss any time coaching the team. The Bearcats went 26-7 last season, won a share of Conference USA's regular season title and lost to Illinois in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.


He was put on a diet and lost weight after the heart attack, which occurred while he was recruiting in Pennsylvania on Sept. 28, 2002. Huggins gained back some weight last season, when he said the most enduring change in his routine was that he got more sleep.


When officers pulled Huggins' car over at 11:35 p.m. Tuesday night, he said, "Don't do this to me," but was cooperative, according to the report by Sgt. Jeff Bronson and two other officers.


Officers said Huggins told them he was on his way home after talking to recruits and had a "couple" of beers. He denied that he was under the influence of alcohol.


The report said Huggins was stopped because his car was straying out of its lane, and he sat at a light for 10 seconds after it turned green. Officers noticed vomit on the inside of the driver's side door and reported a strong smell of alcohol, prompting them to administer the field sobriety test.


Huggins had slurred speech and red, watery eyes, the report said. Officers said he "staggered" out of the car and couldn't keep his balance during the sobriety test.


Asked to recite the alphabet from the letter "E" through "P," Huggins said, "E, F, G, H, I, K, L, N, Z," according to the police report. Asked to count backward from 67 to 54, he counted from 62 to 52, the report said.


Officers tried to give a breath analyzer test, but Huggins couldn't complete it, the report said. Information from The Associated Press and ESPN.com senior writer Andy Katz was used in this report.

 

It's not safe to be a college basketball coach in the state of Ohio this week. If this report is true, there will be more fallout at UC. AD Bob Goin can't handle many more incidents.

From WXIX, Fox 19 in Cincinnati...
Fox19 Sports Anchor Dan Hoard has learned that UC Head Men's Basketball Coach Bob Huggins met with University President Dr. Nancy Zimpher Friday afternoon to discuss his future at the University.

Dr. Zimpher offered Coach Huggins two options. The first option is early retirement. The other option is to take a six-month leave of absence to seek professional help.

That six-month absence would last until mid-December, during the men's basketball season. Therefore, Huggins' lawyers asked the University to give Coach Huggins an indefinite leave to seek help and return after he's sought professional help. Either way, it appears Coach Huggins would miss a portion of the regular season if he decides against early retirement.

You can hear the University's full statement live on Fox19 Saturday morning at 10a.m.

 

Not much doubt that he was tipsy. If you listen carefully near the beginning, you can hear the officer say, "Sir, sir, you know we had you once before, remember that... and we took you home, remember?"



Police cruiser video

Newton, OH Alcohol Influence (Arrest) Report

 

As of today he has been suspended indefinately.He will be gone shortly imo.

Maybe Ok. St. will pick him up

 

I don't see Cincinatti firing Huggins. He'll play that "heart attack" to the hilt. I think this will all have a way of blowing over. Much like the fact that no bball player has ever graduated.

 

I don't mind so much people bashing Huggins as long as there is substance to one's argument. Here is a list of graduates under Huggins for you and all other ignorant posters:

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Steve Sanders, BA Communications Art, ‘90
Benjamin Ward, BS Criminal Justice ‘92
Michael Reicheneker, BS Criminal Justice, ‘92
Andre Tate, BS Criminal Justice, ‘92
Keith Starks, BS Criminal Justice, ‘92
Anthony Buford, BA Economics, ‘92
Jeff Scott, BS Sociology, ‘93
Erik Martin, BS Criminal Justice, ‘93
Keith Gregor, BA Health Promotions, ‘96
Terry Nelson, BA Liberal Arts/Social Sciences, ‘98
Terrance Davis, BS Criminal Justice, ‘98
Jackson Julson, BA Communications, ‘99
Keith Legree, BS Criminal Justice, ‘99
Levertis Robinson, BS Criminology, ‘97
Rodrick Monroe, BS Criminal Justice, ‘97
Ryan Fletcher, BS Criminal Justice, ‘00
Donald Little, BS Liberal Arts.Social Sciences, ‘02
Rodney Crawford, BS Criminal Justice, ‘02
Leonard Stokes, BS Liberal Arts/Social Sciences, ‘02
Jimmy Hubbard, BS Criminal Justice, MA Labor and
Employee Relations, ‘03
Taron Barker, BS Criminal Justice, '03
Derek Hollman, BS Criminal Justice, ‘03
Rod Flowers, BS Liberal Arts/Social Sciences, ‘03
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

What did your bullshit post have to do about the DUI anyway?

As for the DUI, I have NO DEFENSE for that. The incident is an embarrassment to the school. My prior defenses of Huggins have stemmed from the bashers blaming him for the legal problems of his players. This time it's strictly his OWN action.

Sad. For me, the issue goes beyond basketball. He needs to curtail his drinking problem, or he may not live much longer. Coaching should be the least of his worries.

 

My "bullshit" post was in reference that Huggins will NOT get fired. As far as your "list", it's not my fault that the NCAA doesn't recognize transfer graduates.

I didn't just "make up" the statistic. Don't jump on my back, tell CBS and ESPN.

 

OK. I won't. My bad.

The DUI: I agree that Huggs will be back in short order, but if he's not physically or mentally healthy enough, Goin won't be doing him any favors by restoring him as coach