Chane Behanan apparently has been adhering closely to whatever the regimen was that allowed him to return to the good graces of the University of Louisville administration. He’ll be back on the bench for the opening game against College of Charleston.
Still no indication of what he did that got him temporarily suspended and booted out of Minardi Hall, the team’s official residence. All kinds of stories floating around but his name wasn’t on any police blotters as far as we know. So his transgression(s) could not have reached a criminal level.
We are told Behanan will not play in the game. So he’s still paying a price, still needing to prove that he has learned some lessons, needing to continue to show progress, proving that it can be sustained.
The assumption by some cynics all along has been that he will be back in time for the game against Kentucky on Dec. 28, as if that were the primary consideration for the University of Louisville.
Cardinal fans would and should be seriously disappointed if that were the motivating factor. While the rivalry is intense, that one game pales in importance to the program’s overall goals, the University’s reputation, and the overall impact on Chane Behanan.
Yes, fans would hate to lose to Kentucky this year in basketball, especially to a team laden with freshman wonders just out of high school, especially since UofL is the defending national champion. Louisville could possibly be a better team without him, given his lack of focus in the past. A single loss to UK would be disappointing but not be a disaster. Plenty of time to recover and make another run.
All the steps Behanan, the University and the basketball program have taken to help him straighten out his life would be for naught if that was the overriding goal.
We, as fans, should do our part in giving him the support he needs and discourage those who may have been enabling him to fail to measure up. We fans seem to forget that these young men are often really just teenagers thrust into a national spotlight and their maturity level has not caught up to their perhaps over-inflated sense of self-worth. For all the players, not just Chane.
Good to hear Chane is making progress, as much for him as for the team. If he listens, really listens, to Pitino, he has unlimited potential as a basketball player and as an individual. Let’s hope the lesson stays with him.