It seems improbable that we would have a Pat Forde supporter at SU, and downright unbelievable that the supporter is on the faculty at Newhouse. But sure enough, Denis Deninger, a Newhouse adjunct (thank god), has jumped on Yahoo's half-story from inside the SU community. He qualifies his tweet ('if true'), but predicts JB's ouster even though the investigation is incomplete and many significant facts are unknown.
Maybe Deninger teaches "production", or was 'mis-tweeted' as a child. Who knows. But what we do know is that, under SU's policy, playing after a positive drug test doesn't trigger automatic suspension. The player would had to have failed more than one valid test (the Yahoo article only cites 2 instances of this). Even then, under the guideline, the player can get clearance from a drug counselor after counseling, or from the dean on a waiver.
It appears that these pesky details escaped 'Professor' Deninger. Like Forde, he's ready to indict the basketball coach because 2 players in 11 years took the court after (according to Yahoo) multiple failures. Or maybe there wasn't enough room to tweet that SU's policy is voluntary, that SU reported any potential problem over a year ago, that MBB has 10-13 scholarship and 5-6 walkons every single year (all of whom, we hope, go to parties), and that either or both of the players with multiple test failures could have been cleared or granted a waiver.
Anything could happen, and at the end of the day, this case could reveal breakdowns in policy or compliance. Until more facts are out, however, it's speculative fodder unworthy of the considered opinion of someone on the SU faculty, even a part-timer. Perhaps Deninger should have spent more time acquainting himself with the facts instead of playing with his cell phone.
