Buffalo Bulls and LaMonta Stone

Saturday is Senior Day!

But it's also UB's second and likely final match of the season against Bowling Green. In the first game, a famous Buffalo scoring drought combined with the most ill-timed of Hurley technicals helped the Bulls fritter away a lead and ultimately lose to the Falcons by six.

You'll also remember that this happened:

Fouls (Men) - At this point, sometimes I'd rather we flip a coin to determine if UB gets a point out of a foul shot rather than go through the rigmarole of actually lining up and tossing the ball at the hoop. The Bulls shot under 50% from the line in the first half, which is pathetic.

Additionally, a back and forth late in the half left a sour taste in Buffalo mouths. AfterJavon McCrea was called for a travel on the offensive end, he apparently got into some sort of a shouting match with Bowling Green assistant coach Lamonte Stone. I can't remember the specifics, but I know this is not the first or even second time in McCrea's career that opposing coaches have talked directly to him.

Anyway, the end result of this was double technicals on McCrea and the Bowling Green Bench. Which is garbage. Because UB was in the double bonus already, the tech on the Falcons meant nothing, while Javon had to be reigned in and plopped into an offense-defense rotation with Justin Moss to avoid picking up a third foul before the half.

This whole sequence is nothing short of trash. I'm willing to listen to folks who will say that McCrea should know better, but there is no place here for a coach to speak to, much less shout at, an opposing player. And there's certainly no way that that opposing coach - who is a lot older and more experienced than McCrea - should reap all the benefits of goading a 22 year old into a response.

I have little new to say on this incident. My feelings haven't changed, and neither have the ethics of grown men goading 21 year olds into fights, or the sensibility of an assistant coach being able to induce a double technical that hurts his team in no measurable way.

UPDATE: I have been asked to make clear that Stone physically approached Javon going into a timeout. This wasn't just a coach yelling some really good smack, it was a grown man and professional in his field ignoring the team he's paid to coach and heading off to start something with an opposing player who, realistically, he should never interact with outside of the handshake line.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>BG assistant coach tried to fight javon on the court. Lord help me!</p>&mdash; Shannon McCrea (@Momma_McCrea12) <a href="https://twitter.com/Momma_McCrea12/statuses/430069222832496641">February 2, 2014</a></blockquote>

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But, on this rematch Saturday, Stone and McCrea will be joined by a couple hundred (or thousand+, if TrueBlue does things right) friends, who should make it their job to let Stone know just how unwelcome his antics are here in Buffalo.

This post is for you, True Blue. LaMonta Stone tried to pick a fight with your best player and suffered no consequences. He deserves worse than Daddy's Princess of old.

In recent games opposing student sections from Ohio and Akron have shown they can make a difference in games against Buffalo. True Blue isn't as old as either group, but they can be just as good. You should already be pumped up and representing in force for Senior Day. Bring the noise on Stone as well.