Advertisement

Two Indiana players cited for underage possession of alcohol

Two Indiana players cited for underage possession of alcohol

Either police in Bloomington are remarkably good at seeking out underage drinking, or Indiana basketball players are just incapable of being discreet.

Sophomore forward Emmitt Holt and promising incoming freshman Thomas Bryant became the latest Hoosiers to fail to avoid detection when the Indiana excise police cited them for underage possession of alcohol on Friday. The university released a statement that said it is still "gathering information" about the incident and has yet to determine whether either Holt or Bryant will be punished.

Underage drinking is too prevalent to be considered a serious offense elsewhere, but the pattern of drug and alcohol-related issues at Indiana cannot be ignored. Seven different players have run afoul in the past two years because of Marijuana or alcohol.

Indiana coach Tom Crean dismissed torward Devin Davis and center Hanner Mosquera-Perea in May after Davis was cited for illegal possession of marijuana in an on-campus dorm. Mosquera-Perea, who previously had been cited for OWI in Feb. 2014, was in the room at the time.

Holt was also behind the wheel on Halloween night last year when Davis unexpectedly entered the road and was struck by the vehicle, resulting in a serious head injury that prevented him from playing all of this past season. Holt had been drinking but was well under the legal limit had he been 21 or older. Crean suspended him for Indiana's exhibition games and its first two regular season games.

Before that, Indiana guards Yogi Ferrell and Stanford Robinson were arrested on charges of minor consumption and possession of false identification when they tried to enter a Bloomington nightclub underage. Troy Williams and Robinson also both missed four games apiece at the start of last season for failing drug tests over the previous summer.

Bryant probably won't receive a severe punishment for his citation since it's a first offense, but Holt could be in more jeopardy. Crean will have to determine whether he can afford to be lenient given Indiana's recent history or if he'll have to be take a harsher stance to send another message to his team.

- - - - - - -

Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!