Sometimes in sports an opponent does something to you that is so cheap, so dirty, so obviously intended to hurt you, that an action like Obekpa's could be justified on a certain level. Back in the day, if I got cheap shotted, I'd make sure I'd find the guy, and deliver a well placed elbow to the lowest rib, which if delivered with enough force, and in the fray of the rebound tangle, was a punishing blow that was also almost undetectable by refs.
I rewinded multiple times, and other than some banging and a shove here and there, Etherington didn't appear to do any one thing that warranted the elbow to the head. We all have short memories, but I can't remember a dirtier hit delivered by a St. John's player. It would have been classy for Lavin to approach Ehterington to see if he was okay and to apologize for the action.
We then proceeded to play our worst game of the year. Incredibly it was still an 8 point game midway through the second half, with plenty of opportunities for a good team to reverse course and pull it out. Instead, we went from bad to worse.
Pointer's technical after a 3 shot foul putting Dunham on the line was about as poorly timed as possible. 5 free throws - game over. Harrison's 5th foul was pure frustration - a shove to the back.
As our guys showed none of the poise or class of a senior laden team, Butler to their credit, maintained their poise and didn't sink to our level.
I don't know what Lavin said to CO privately, but over the years at lower levels, I've seen some coaches rightfully throw one of his own kids out of the gym for delivering a blow like that. When you saw the smirk on Obekpa's face afterwards, he seemed pleased with the outcome of the elbow and self-satisfied. Crazy.
How a team described by many here as one of their all time favorites could for an evening behave and play in a manner that would make them one of the least favorite of the past couple of decades is mind-boggling.
Butler for their part, appeared to take every lapse, every SJU mistake, and turn it into easy baskets. If everything about our effort wasn't so disgusting, you'd almost appreciate them.
The ONLY thing you can do is forget a game like this and move forward, but on some teams, players could expect a few hellacious practices and reaming by the coaching staff for playing so poorly and disjointed. It was if a bunch of street kids put on college uniforms and proceeded to stink up the joint, embarrassing themselves on all accounts.
