Well, that seemed to escalate quickly. We’ve seem teams supposedly “choke” during tight games in the NCAA Tournament, but I can’t see that we’ve ever seen teammates actually try to choke one another during tourney play.
Last Night, two New Orleans teammates got into a verbal altercation that turned physical in the second half of their First Four game against fellow No. 16 seed Mount St. Mary’s. The Privateers lost 67-66.
Heading into a huddle in the second half with 6:36 remaining, New Orleans players Travin Thibodeaux and Christavious Gill exchanged words in a heated argument after Thibodeaux was called for a 3-second violation. Gill pushed the forward away upon confrontation, but he should have followed that up by immediately following the Wu Tang’s advice. Thibodeaux lost his mind for a minute and appeared to try to choke his teammate out before the two were separated.
In the post-game news conference, coach Mark Slessinger dismissed the altercation as being horseplay between two frustrated teammates who he called “best friends.”
“Unfortunately, it will take away a little bit from the experience of the game and how great of an experience this was for us,” coach Mark Slessinger said.
Yeah, okay my man. Horseplay? Nah, son. That’s the type of thing that makes the little man run out to the parking lot to pop his trunk.
In order to win on this stage, teams have to be cohesive and on the same page. They shouldn’t have to yell, “Protect Ya Neck!” at one another when things go bad.
