The Only Reason We Should Look Up To Them Is Because They Are Taller Than Us.

By Kirk Holland

Now that the dust seems to have settled over "Mary Jane pulled the fire alarm 2008", I have had time to reflect on the situation from a fan's perspective. First off, Darrell Arthur is a young man coming off a rollercoaster of highs spanning from the national championship win over our beloved Memphis Tigers to becoming a first round draft pick (although picked later than he thought). His life has changed tremendously over the past months, and will continue to do so. He has money now, and what do young men with money do? They spend it, have fun, make questionable choices. It's a fact of life.

I know we will most likely never truly know what "really" happened that fateful night in the hotel room, but worst case scenario is that he indulged in some of the Devil's lettuce, and had a lady friend over. I in no way, shape, or form condone using drugs, but in the grand scheme of things, it was not the worst thing. He didn't pull an Eddie Griffin, God rest his soul. He didn't hurt anyone else period. Granted he severely pissed off the commissioner and I'm sure he embarrassed the Grizzlies organization, but this in time shall pass.

Arthur can squash all murmurs and remnants of this situation by simply producing on the court. A productive player makes happy fans who tend to forgive and forget easier. If he can be the type of talent he is projected by experts to become, then will we not only forget about his lapse of judgement, but he will also become the toast (or biscuit), of our beloved city.

Moral of the story folks: don't look down on a kid for making a simple mistake; look up to him, he's taller than you.

Arthur Comes Clean...But the Stain Remains

Darrell Arthur was in Memphis immediately after being expelled from the Rookie Transition Camp to face the music and air his side of the story.

Darrell was quoted as saying he didn't use marijuana that night nor has he ever used marijuana in his life. He admitted to making a big mistake by allowing the women into his room but he wants everyone to know he did not partake in any drug use nor does he condone it. In fact he wants to speak to local youth groups about the evils of drug use and how even being associated with them can damage your reputation for life.

The story, written by Ron Tillery in the Commercial Appeal, is not getting near the amount of national exposure the rumor did when it was first released however. This shouldn't be a surprise to anyone who understands how the national media feasts on negative news but is less than interested in the truth behind the story. Almost everyone was quick to jump on the idea that Arthur and his college teammate were using drugs at the camp. Hardly a word was wasted in defense of the players suggesting they may not have been using the drugs themselves. I for one appreciate Ron going the extra mile to get the story from Arthur and not simply relying on rumors and hearsay.

The question becomes will anyone believe him? I assume people will use this as a way to distract him when he is on the road but how will the locals respond to Arthur? Will they give him the benefit of the doubt and trust him or will they assume he is another young man living high with the sudden riches he received for his talent at playing basketball? Many people, including someone on this blog, believe the league is full of marijuana smokers. An interesting attitude considering basketball is one of the most physically demanding sports requiring both stamina and quick bursts of speed.

Here's hoping that Memphians give Arthur a second chance to prove he is dedicated to being the best player he can on this team. Arthur is a big part of the youth movement of this team. He is talented and should be able to work his way into the rotation this season barring any roster moves being made by the team. His development will go a long way in determining how well the Grizzlies fared in the Pau Gasol trade. He has made a mistake but if what he says is true then it was only a mistake in judgement not character. A mistake many 20 yr old men could make given similar circumstances. The punishment was swift, public and severe.

Now Arthur needs to show that it was a singular error in judgement and not the first step down a road of poor decisions.

Darrell Arthur Tossed From Rookie Transition Camp

Darrell Arthur was tossed out of the NBA Rookie Transition Camp today. Rumor is that it involved an illegal substance in their hotel room but the official comment was that Arthur and former Kansas Jayhawk teammate Mario Chalmers were excused for braking league rules.

The NBA Rookie Transition Camp according to the NBA Players Union contract is a mandatory meeting for rookies only. The 4 day camp is designed to help ease the rookies transition from colleg to the NBA. "The program is designed to teach players techniques to cope with unique stresses inherent in their lives and how to utilize the various resources available to them throughout their careers" according to NBA.com. There is also a mandatory Team Awareness Meeting which covers such issues as substance abuse, HIV awareness and gambling issues.

More on this story as it becomes available.

UPDATE: It now appears that the players were discovered with a lady in their room and this was the official reason for the players being expelled according to the Orlando paper. No comment yet on the veracity of the marijuana charge or if true whether it belonged to the players or not.

Airport Arrest Still Unresolved for Memphis PG

This caught me by surprise today.

Today on AOL Fanhouse, there is a post by Matt Watson (who links to Dime Mag) that mentions Damon Stoudamire's 2003 misdemeanor arrest while trying to sneak a little herb onto a plane is still unresolved. The most startling point Watson makes is that Stoudamire could spend up to 180 days in jail in Washington for a violating a previous plea bargain in another case. Uh, oh. One would hope it is common sense not to wrap any illegal narcotics in aluminum foil before passing through an airport metal detector. That should be especially true if one is still on probation for an earlier incident.

I must mention that all of this happened before Damon's tenure in Memphis, which makes it all the more troubling that if the situation isn't resolved and any subsequent legal action is taken against Damon, the Grizzlies could be hurt in the process.

I think the likely outcome of this will be for the judge to either throw the case out (it's good to be rich and famous), or the prosecution striking another plea deal with Staudamire that would result in no jail time. Still, the situation needs to be monitored for future developments.