Let me be the first to apologize to Vince Carter. He was right.
In the wake of Kobe Bryant’s brilliant 81-point game, a New York City girl’s basketball player delivered a not-so-scintillating performance just ten days later. I should correct myself. Her 113 points was actually quite impressive.
It was also a tasteless, rotten move that begs the question: What was her coach thinking?
Epiphanny Prince, a Rutgers-bound guard, ran up 58 points in the first half as her team jumped out to a 74-11 lead. Then on the off chance that Brandeis High School might storm back from the 63 point deficit, Prince’s coach Ed Grezinsky left her in, encouraging the girl to chase her idol, Kobe Bryant.
Once she hit 81 in the third quarter, Grezinsky let her go after Cheryl Miller's single game record of 105 points.
Before the game, Prince mentioned that she was bored of the weak teams on her team’s schedule. Grezinksy must have been too. I mean, his team has outscored its opponents 1,032-366 and this was the third time they had beaten a team by at least 90 points this season.
Other than being a prolific scorer, Prince has a little more in common with her idol. They both have a criminal history. Last year Prince was tried for beating the hell out of a 13-year-old girl, but was found not guilty and sentenced to just 15 days of community service for harassment.
I guess running a classy program and helping make women out of young girls runs second to a nice ass kicking in Coach Grezinsky’s mind.
Good work, coach. The world sure needs more people like you.
Be sure to visit my blog: danstake.blogspot.com.
Article comments
1 - Victor Lana
Good point, Dan. What this actually teaches a young player is this: hog the ball, the spotlight, the whole game, and forget teamwork. To me the coach should be reprimanded at the very least.
2 - sal m
This incident just illustrates everything that is wrong with sports today.
Here's what Martin Oestreicher, head of the Public School Athletic League had to say.
"It's nice to see one of our players get national recognition, but we certainly are concerned with the perception (that they ran up the score).
Perception? There's no perception here, there is the REALITY that they ran up the score.
This record should have a dual listing in the bad sportsmanship record books as well.
And as a result this game - and the record - means nothing, just like Cheryl Miller's old record means nothing being that it came in a game her team won 179-15. And just like all of these ridiculous high school records that occur in blowots just like this. If you go and check other "records" like this you will see that none of them occur in close games or meaningful games. Never during a state championship game, but always against substandard teams.
And this head coach is an embarassment to all coaches.
The player Epiphanny Price has had what will no doubt be just one of many instances where others will use her ability to further their own agenda.
3 - Matthew T. Sussman
My old Little League coach used to say something:
"It's not my job to make the other team look good."
Then again, we were a .500 team. We had no ringers. Hence a roster spot for me.
4 - larry
i do believe that any coach that allows the humiliation of any opposing team should be punished. there are a lot of pour it on in college football (Bear Bryant) was one! this type of coaches leave their starting line up on the field or court,even when there is no chance of closing the score.thats when the players who practice everyday and dont get any game time. players like i was!!
5 - Phillip Winn
Many (most?) kids leagues have a rule that stops play when a point spread gets too wide.
6 - larry
i think the mercy rule should apply in several sports. MLB , ofcourse. when a team is down 10 runs. when it is the seventh inning and no hope of scoring that many runs, call the game and let everybody go home. NFL same thing, why use all your time outs . when there is no chance chance the team can even tie it up
7 - The Theory
the problem with that idea for the MLB is that while it doesn't happen often, there is usually one or two games a year where a team scores 9 or 10 points in the 9th inning to roar back for a stunning victory.
You could make it 15 or 20 points... but it's so rare that a team leads by that much it would be pointless.
8 - The Theory
not to mention the fact that in professional sports you're getting PAID... that should be enough "mercy" if you're getting beat by some outrageous score. Suck it up and play, you twits.
9 - larry
ok. i will give you that about the MLB. they should be humiliated and ashamed!given their outrageous salary. i think the women of the rutgers team will show her how the game iplayed! also she aint no cheryl miller!!
10 - RJ Elliott
Look: It's a girls high school basketball game. If she hadn't scored 113 points, no one would have paid any attention.
But by doing this, she and her coach have given 15 minutes of fame to everyone, including the players on the pathetic opposing team.
She has done a good deed, in my mind...