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Message: [QUOTE="Upstate, post: 81373, member: 48"] [URL]http://ht.ly/7ypeE[/URL] Former Syracuse University players said they were surprised by allegations that Orange associate head coach Bernie Fine subjected a Syracuse man to years of sexual abuse that began when when that man was a young teenager. Howard Triche, who played for SU from 1984-87 and whose nephew Brandon is a guard on the current Orange team, described the allegations as "a terrible situation." "I kind of stand behind Bernie, after knowing him for a long time," Triche said. Triche said he did not believe that molestation accusations made by Bobby Davis and Mike Lang against Fine were true. "Not at this time, no," Triche said. "It’s just one of those things that will have to play itself out. But I can’t imagine it being the truth." Triche, who was a member of SU’s 1987 Final Four team, said he "vaguely" remembered Davis "from years ago." "But I don’t recall any situation that I would have questioned," Triche said. Allen Griffin, an Orange guard from 1998-2001, described Fine as a father figure. Fine, said Griffin, often helped with problems and offered other advice. Griffin credits Fine with making sure he attended classes and kept up with his school work, a vigilance Griffin said he remains grateful for. Griffin said he learned about the allegations against Fine from media reports. He was surprised, he said. And then, "I was hurt." "I was hurt for Coach Fine. He’s been the utmost gentleman," Griffin said. "I didn’t believe it. I’ll be honest with you. I don’t believe it." Griffin, now an assistant coach at the University of Dayton, said he’d never witnessed any behavior from Fine that would suggest that Fine was capable of the sexual misconduct that Davis and Lang allege. "No. No way," Griffin said. "I’m not sitting here saying I know the truth. I don’t know the truth. But I just know how Bernie was to me and how he treated me. I just hope that it’s not true. It’s just really, really, really hard for me. Because at the end of the day, this could be the end of Coach Fine’s career in college basketball. And he has a lot more years to teach. Because that’s what he does and that’s who he is." Neither Triche, nor Griffin was contacted by SU when it conducted its own investigation into the allegations, they said. Other former SU players, when reached by telephone, declined to comment. "I’m a firm believer in these are people I know, that I’ve known for a long time," said former SU center Roosevelt Bouie, an Orange man from 1977-80. "So I talked to them directly. I don’t want to do it through the media." [/QUOTE]

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