Unsurprisingly, Jack Ikegwuonu joins his brother Bill in being acquitted on the ridiculous "burglary" charges the Dekalb County State's Attorney's Office charged them with. Again, they were found in a townhouse that Bill's friend was renting, allegedly holding an XBox, by Bill's friend's roommate, who was drunk and freaked out, and they ran off. That's the worst case scenario of what occurred. The Ikegwuonus said that they had plans to meet up with Bill's friend and saw a light on inside, so they went in. In any event, this seems like typical college male stupidity. Did you ever borrow anything from a friend's apartment or dorm room without asking? Probably. Did you get charged with burglary? Uhh, no.
I hate to say it, but throwing the book at two African-American scholarship football players in this sort of questionable circumstance reeks of overreaction. But why? Did Dekalb State's Attorney John Farrell think it'd be good press to persecute (not prosecute) two out of state black college students by charging them with a felony? (To be fair, Ron Matekaitis, now--horrifyingly-- a judge, was State's Attorney at the time of the brothers were charged.) Did he not want to look soft on athletes in a college town like Dekalb? Did he have something against guys with African last names? Who knows. What I do know is they should have offered some deferred prosecution agreement, like Madison has, where the charges should have been dropped in exchange for community service. And they certainly never should have charged the Ikegwuonus with a felony. Jesus. A conviction would have ruined these guys' lives. Ridiculous.
Showing posts with label Jack Ikeguonu. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jack Ikeguonu. Show all posts
Friday, July 17, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
If this is true...
then the DeKalb County State's Attorney is a colossal jackass. Yeah, I'm talking about the almost never-ending saga that is criminal case against former Wisconsin cornerback Jack Ikegwuonu and his brother Bill. Bill was tried separately this week, and acquitted. See here. Ha.
Given the facts laid out by the article, which I'm assuming tracks the evidence presented by both sides at trial, this whole thing should never have gotten to the point of felony charges. Bill's roommate was friends with the victim's roommate, and the two Ikegwuonu's went over there thinking there was a party. They let themselves in, and when the victim came home he saw the two of them in there and freaked out, and they ran off. After talking to his roommate and Bill's roommate, the "victim" tried to get the charges dropped, going to see the police, writing a letter, and calling the prosecutors. All to no avail. The "victim" actually testified in Bill's defense. This is a ridiculous overreaction by the State's attorneys, who were probably trying to show "how tough" they were by throwing the book at an NIU football player. They should be embarrassed. They nearly ruined Jack's career with this crap, and have ruined Bill's college career. He was playing for Northern Illinois at the time, but was suspended from school, and I doubt he managed to graduate after getting mired in this garbage.
And Jack is still set to go to trial the first week of May. What a load. Drop the charges already, you total nitwits. Here's another article about the trial from the Dekalb daily paper. See the comments below the article.
Given the facts laid out by the article, which I'm assuming tracks the evidence presented by both sides at trial, this whole thing should never have gotten to the point of felony charges. Bill's roommate was friends with the victim's roommate, and the two Ikegwuonu's went over there thinking there was a party. They let themselves in, and when the victim came home he saw the two of them in there and freaked out, and they ran off. After talking to his roommate and Bill's roommate, the "victim" tried to get the charges dropped, going to see the police, writing a letter, and calling the prosecutors. All to no avail. The "victim" actually testified in Bill's defense. This is a ridiculous overreaction by the State's attorneys, who were probably trying to show "how tough" they were by throwing the book at an NIU football player. They should be embarrassed. They nearly ruined Jack's career with this crap, and have ruined Bill's college career. He was playing for Northern Illinois at the time, but was suspended from school, and I doubt he managed to graduate after getting mired in this garbage.
And Jack is still set to go to trial the first week of May. What a load. Drop the charges already, you total nitwits. Here's another article about the trial from the Dekalb daily paper. See the comments below the article.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Jack Ikegwuonu, Free at Last?
The Journal-Sentinel has relayed a report that former Badger starting cornerback Jack Ikegwuonu has finally, at long last, reached a plea deal with the DeKalb County State's Attorney's office to dispose of his residential burglary charges. If you're a Badger football fan, you remember the situation-- he and his wacky twin, Bill, apparently got busted for breaking into someone's apartment in DeKalb, Illinois, allegedly in effort to snatch an Xbox. (Little did they know that system would be obsolete in less than a year!) Here's the pertinent quote:"According to profootballtalk.com, which cited a source close to the situation, Ikegwuonu will be on probation for 24 months and must perform 50 hours of community service after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge of criminal trespass. A felony charge of residential burglary was dismissed."
This makes you wonder-- is the plea part of the reason Jack left UW early? What would have happened if he had pled guilty to a misdemeanor while still being a scholarship athlete at UW? Would he have been kicked off the team? Suspended? Maybe the plea deal wasn't reached until after the college season was over because Jack knew he'd get suspended from the team had he pled guilty during the season? Weird stuff.
The rest of the article covers how Jackie I's devastating knee injury (suffered while going through private pre-draft training) has hurt his draft status. While it contains some odd tidbits (one scout describes him as a "con man"), it also relays the excellent news that Jack kicked ass on the Wonderlic, scoring a 29. In comparison, the top rated cornerbacks in the draft (McKelvin from Troy, Rodgers-Cromartie from Tennessee State, Jenkins from South Florida, and Camp Lambeau favorite Aqib Talib) scored 13, 19, 16, and 17, respectively. Your cornerbacks may be more ethical and, umm, better, but our cornerbacks are evil geniuses! Take that, world.
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Turmoil in Buckyland
It's only been a week since the Outback Bowl, but the UW football program is already undergoing some serious changes. Those are--
(A) Jackie I's apparent declaration to go pro, if he's not found guilty of residential burglary;
(B) Purdue courting Badger offensive coordinator Paul Chryst to be its successor to head coach Joe Tiller, though Tiller hasn't even retired yet and may not this season;
(C) Badger offensive line coach Bob Palcic leaving the program to go back to UCLA and coach with Rick New-weasel, ahem, Neuheisel;
(D) Badger defensive coordinator and sexagenarian Mike Hankiwitz getting laid off, allegedly for "performance reasons;" and
(E) one of the Badgers' top recruits, a St. Louis wideout, changing his mind and going to Mizzou.
Here are the takes--
- If Jack runs a 4.4, he'll likely be a pick somewhere in the top two rounds, so sure, he should probably go. He also redshirted his first season, so he's been at UW for four years. What's worrying is that his residential burglary case is going to trial on January 14, in less than a week. If he's convicted, and if he signs with an agent before then, he's in serious trouble, and may be totally screwed career-wise. If I was him, I might wait on signing with an agent until after the trial. That would leave him at least one year of eligibility, in case he, I don't know, goes to prison for two years. Then, after prison, he could go to a JC for a year or something to try to make a case for getting back to the NFL. Grim, I know.
- Chryst's leaving would be unfortunate, although I wasn't impressed with his play-calling against Tennessee, or the offense's preparation for that game (four timeouts wasted, several illegal procedure penalties). He's usually been a good playcaller, someone who does a solid job of playing to his team's strengths, and he looks like a good developer of quarterbacks. He was definitely a huge step up over Brian White. What makes his pursuit of a college head coaching job a little odd is that he doesn't seem like a guy who's a particularly enthusiastic or effective recruiter. In this day and age, unless you're at some huge traditional power, I really feel that you need to have that trait to be a successful head coach. With his head for strategy and development, Chryst is probably better suited to be a pro assistant.
- Palcic was a solid coach, but with UW's traditional plethora of excellent linemen, Bielema should be able to find a capable replacement. Remember, only two years ago Palcic replaced Coach Hueber, who left to be the Vikings O-line coach.
- As a fan, it's hard to judge Hankwitz's performance. Last year's defense was excellent, and, as everyone knows, this year's was far worse. How much of that is due to player turnover, and how much can be pinned on coaching, we can't really know. That said, last season the defense nearly always made good halftime adjustments. This year, the bleeding often got worse in the second half. (The bowl game being a notable exception.) Also, Hankwitz doesn't appear to have been a particularly effective recruiter. (He was responsible for Colorado and the surrounding area, and UW didn't pull in anyone of note from that region during his tenure.) This also may be viewed as a move to keep linebackers coach and co-defensive coordinator Dave Doeren around. He seems to have done a good job with his players, and is noted as a top-notch recruiter. He should get the promotion to full d-coordinator now.
- Finally, the defection of the St. Louis wideout, Wes Kemp, is unfortunate. Scout.com had him rated as one of UW's top recruits of the 20 or so "verbal commitments" the school has lined up for national signing day. If anything, this "defection" highlights the absence of Henry Mason, who coaches and recruits wide receivers. Coach Mason's been on leave since late summer, recuperating from a terrifying spinal injury. He's a fine coach, an outstanding recruiter, and, by every account I've read, a great person. UW needs him back pronto.
(A) Jackie I's apparent declaration to go pro, if he's not found guilty of residential burglary;
(B) Purdue courting Badger offensive coordinator Paul Chryst to be its successor to head coach Joe Tiller, though Tiller hasn't even retired yet and may not this season;
(C) Badger offensive line coach Bob Palcic leaving the program to go back to UCLA and coach with Rick New-weasel, ahem, Neuheisel;
(D) Badger defensive coordinator and sexagenarian Mike Hankiwitz getting laid off, allegedly for "performance reasons;" and
(E) one of the Badgers' top recruits, a St. Louis wideout, changing his mind and going to Mizzou.
Here are the takes--
- If Jack runs a 4.4, he'll likely be a pick somewhere in the top two rounds, so sure, he should probably go. He also redshirted his first season, so he's been at UW for four years. What's worrying is that his residential burglary case is going to trial on January 14, in less than a week. If he's convicted, and if he signs with an agent before then, he's in serious trouble, and may be totally screwed career-wise. If I was him, I might wait on signing with an agent until after the trial. That would leave him at least one year of eligibility, in case he, I don't know, goes to prison for two years. Then, after prison, he could go to a JC for a year or something to try to make a case for getting back to the NFL. Grim, I know.
- Chryst's leaving would be unfortunate, although I wasn't impressed with his play-calling against Tennessee, or the offense's preparation for that game (four timeouts wasted, several illegal procedure penalties). He's usually been a good playcaller, someone who does a solid job of playing to his team's strengths, and he looks like a good developer of quarterbacks. He was definitely a huge step up over Brian White. What makes his pursuit of a college head coaching job a little odd is that he doesn't seem like a guy who's a particularly enthusiastic or effective recruiter. In this day and age, unless you're at some huge traditional power, I really feel that you need to have that trait to be a successful head coach. With his head for strategy and development, Chryst is probably better suited to be a pro assistant.
- Palcic was a solid coach, but with UW's traditional plethora of excellent linemen, Bielema should be able to find a capable replacement. Remember, only two years ago Palcic replaced Coach Hueber, who left to be the Vikings O-line coach.
- As a fan, it's hard to judge Hankwitz's performance. Last year's defense was excellent, and, as everyone knows, this year's was far worse. How much of that is due to player turnover, and how much can be pinned on coaching, we can't really know. That said, last season the defense nearly always made good halftime adjustments. This year, the bleeding often got worse in the second half. (The bowl game being a notable exception.) Also, Hankwitz doesn't appear to have been a particularly effective recruiter. (He was responsible for Colorado and the surrounding area, and UW didn't pull in anyone of note from that region during his tenure.) This also may be viewed as a move to keep linebackers coach and co-defensive coordinator Dave Doeren around. He seems to have done a good job with his players, and is noted as a top-notch recruiter. He should get the promotion to full d-coordinator now.
- Finally, the defection of the St. Louis wideout, Wes Kemp, is unfortunate. Scout.com had him rated as one of UW's top recruits of the 20 or so "verbal commitments" the school has lined up for national signing day. If anything, this "defection" highlights the absence of Henry Mason, who coaches and recruits wide receivers. Coach Mason's been on leave since late summer, recuperating from a terrifying spinal injury. He's a fine coach, an outstanding recruiter, and, by every account I've read, a great person. UW needs him back pronto.
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