Derrick Caracter suspended

by Mike Rutherford on Dec 10, 2007 3:12 PM EST in News

Rick Pitino announced this afternoon that starting center Derrick Caracter has been suspended after breaking his personal curfew twice since September.

Pitino said that the decision to suspend Caracter was made by the team.

More on this latest piece of awesome news later.

UPDATE:

Caracter reportedly signed a contract on Saturday where he agreed to a 9 p.m. curfew. That same night he apparently missed his curfew by an hour and was confronted by the coaching staff. After talking with the coaches, he stayed in his room for about an hour before sneaking out again.

Pitino said that Caracter will not practice with the team, but will participate in the individual instruction drills, and might be able to "earn" back a spot on the team eventually. He will also move out of Minardi Hall and into regular student housing.

Pitino also said that the team needed the fans to help them get through this rough patch.

Contrary to popular belief, Derrick Caracter is not a "thug," he's not a "hood," he's just a little boy who refuses to grow up, and it's very disappointing to all those who have stuck their necks out for him.

UPDATE:

Brian Bennett (awesomely) has the full transcript of the press conference for those interested.

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Comments

Derrick???

What's it gonna take for this young man to get his head straight? Or maybe he's trying and just keeps slippin' up or something. With Palacios and Padgett available, this wouldn't be nearly as catastrophic as it is.

But it is.

by theoldman on Dec 10, 2007 3:18 PM EST 0 recs

Maybe

Pitino's just gonna give him a Christmas break every year

by sam34gtr on Dec 10, 2007 3:20 PM EST 0 recs

Hear that?

Far off in the distance, a toilet flushes.

Go Cards!

by Red Rage on Dec 10, 2007 3:36 PM EST 0 recs

His mom should send him some more applications

Maybe she should include McDonald's and Wendy's with the Dunkin Donuts application. Yes, he is a little boy. What the hell is he thinking? Obviously not about the NBA.

by louisville lisa on Dec 10, 2007 3:59 PM EST 0 recs

Forgot to add

I am a cynic by nature, so I'm getting pretty tired of trying to find the bright side all the time with football and men's basketball just to preserve my sanity. Nevertheless, here is my list of three silver linings:

DC isn't in trouble for something "thuggy" like assault or rape or whatever.
RP was not going to turn a blind eye to this situation just because we are short-handed.
The TEAM made this decision. This says a lot about them, and it makes me proud.

by louisville lisa on Dec 10, 2007 4:11 PM EST up 0 recs

DC

The sad thing is...the NBA would sign him next season. He would have the same impact that Telfair,Donta Smith,Jerome Harmon, Brandon Bender etc have had. Sad but true

by CardinalDave on Dec 10, 2007 4:05 PM EST 0 recs

But next year

We're gonna be awesome.

by Red C on Dec 10, 2007 4:22 PM EST 0 recs

Why?

I know he signed a contract, and the point of the suspension is he broke it deliberately therefore zero respect, but why a 9 pm curfew?

by Cary on Dec 10, 2007 4:40 PM EST 0 recs

Sheesh--it may have started out at 12, then 11

then...

9p was as low as is humanly possible for a teenager

by frankpos on Dec 10, 2007 4:54 PM EST up 0 recs

Apparently

He'd just broken the curfew he agreed to in September, and only played in the Dayton game because the team voted not to have him suspended.

by Mike Rutherford on Dec 10, 2007 5:00 PM EST up 0 recs

I would say

It has something to do with:
1.) His Dick
2.) Keeping it in his pants

Lets be real, college athletes (especially basketball players) pound more cakes than Sara Lee, and there are plenty of hot, young coeds waiting to keep these guys out way past 9 pm.

by Peter McSheisty on Dec 10, 2007 5:00 PM EST up 0 recs

I bet you're right

He should think about how much lovin' he's gonna get when he's working the first shift at Dunkin Donuts.

by louisville lisa on Dec 10, 2007 6:17 PM EST up 0 recs

What is mind-blowing is that DC

would be confronted by the coaching staff, agree and go to his room--and then sneak out again that same night!

either DC's an incredible ego-head, or

an incredible pair of winnebagos was waiting for him

(or--possibly both)

by frankpos on Dec 10, 2007 4:59 PM EST 0 recs

Id say both.

by TheMrMeade on Dec 10, 2007 5:15 PM EST 0 recs

Free DC!

by kovacs24 on Dec 10, 2007 5:23 PM EST 0 recs

im goin

on a hunger strike til DC is back

by GoCards5 on Dec 10, 2007 5:45 PM EST up 0 recs

bar fight

i also heard he got in a bar fight either friday or saturday night, not sure if thats true though

by GoCards5 on Dec 10, 2007 5:45 PM EST 0 recs

Ya know......

I woulda swore this was a Kragthorpe thread,,, I am sure there are lots of things that we don't know about that were trying everyone's patience. The curfew violation was a small thing (Pitino's words).

All in all I don't think it's so bad considering how little our guards pass the ball anyway! Not to mention his defense! Now T-will and Edgar have more reasons to keep taking it on their shoulders and miss more shots and for that I am excited!

Just imagine T-Will on the wing taking that three ball.

bfinn

by fitzi67 on Dec 10, 2007 6:49 PM EST 0 recs

You know

That UK vs. UL matchup in January is going to be a HECK of a game.

I mean that in a "I'm being sarcastic because UK is awful right now and Louisville is finding a way to nearly match that" way. I wonder if CBS is looking for a way out of broadcasting this nationally.

But I'd put $5 on DC being back on the team before the UK game.

Hey, if we played the game this Saturday or next Saturday, as we've done traditionally, you guys would probably beat us by 15. So you've got that going for you.

I hope you guys take this as a "misery loves company" post; I'm not looking to pick a fight, and Lord knows we Blue/Red basketball fans have seen enough misery for one season already.

The Fake Gimel Martinez
Fire Billy? Nahhh
http://firebilly.com

by TheFakeGimelMartinez on Dec 10, 2007 7:47 PM EST 0 recs

Maybe one beautiful day

All the shit UofL and UK have been going through will end, both teams will be badasses, and other teams will tremble with awe at the power of the two dominant teams from the Bluegrass. Our worst problems will then be fighting each other for hotel rooms each year in the Final Four, and we will all enjoy talking about what a bunch of rubes those f'n Dukies are.

May we be live so long and be so lucky! Salut!!

by louisville lisa on Dec 10, 2007 9:41 PM EST up 0 recs

By the way

You have a beautiful little girl. Although I bet the color of her eyes would be better complemented by a nice blue cheerleader outfit... ;)

The Fake Gimel Martinez
Fire Billy? Nahhh
http://firebilly.com

by TheFakeGimelMartinez on Dec 11, 2007 2:43 PM EST up 0 recs

Thanks

by louisville lisa on Dec 11, 2007 4:30 PM EST up 0 recs

Watch it LL

this seems insidious on some vague level

by frankpos on Dec 12, 2007 9:29 PM EST up 0 recs

A few more thoughts on the suspension

Paging Ellis Myles! I wonder if the Ellis "situation" and his ensuing absence exacerbated the return of the DC attitude problem. I know RP said DC messed up back in September, but I bet DC backslid pretty noticeably after Ellis' absence. Hopefully, Ellis does what he needs to do to rejoin the staff, and he and RP bury the hatchet. (Well, I want this to happen regardless of the DC situation.)
I wonder if there is a schism on the team on the DC matter. While the team voted to suspend him, was everyone on board? Geez, I would hope so, but could there be a divison where, say, the other sophomores back DC, and everyone else doesn't? If this is the case, our team could be too divided to be worth a whole lot this season.
CSK needs to take note of how CRP told the media and fans about this matter. While I imagine that there are tidbits that he left out about the latest DC saga, CRP kept us informed with enough DETAIL so that we aren't all speculating about DC's sudden absence from games. CRP may dabble in hyperbole like Picasso dabbled in paint, but the dude knows how to handle the most important shit the right way. I can truly appreciate this after this football season.

by louisville lisa on Dec 10, 2007 9:58 PM EST 0 recs

I just read the transcript

So scratch #2.

by louisville lisa on Dec 10, 2007 10:09 PM EST up 0 recs

Attrition

Paging Chad Millard, Lorenzo Wade, Bryan Harvey, George Goode, Brian Johnson and Jonathon Huffman. Add those guys to Earl, Twill, J Smith, Wee Man McGee and Sosa and its still a decent team even without Palacios, Caracter and Padgett.

You can throw stones at the former players but Millard, Wade, Harvey and Johnson could all play for this team. Jury is out on Goode. Huffman was probably a career bust but he'd be playing against Purdue if he were still here.

Who will Pitino run off this coming off season? A current player or one of the recruits?

He Hate UK

by orlandocard on Dec 10, 2007 10:15 PM EST 0 recs