Separating passion from punishment

If you're going to take a cheap shot, try not to make it so obvious.

In the past couple weeks, some college basketball players have taken it upon themselves to use some excessive force in an effort to gain an advantage on the opponent.

On Jan. 28, Michigan's guard Zack Novak was ejected from the Wolverines' 72-54 loss to Ohio State for throwing, and landing, an intentional elbow to the noggin of Buckeye's guard P.J. Hill.

It was blatantly obvious there was intent to harm as Novak didn't attempt to rebound the free throw attempt on the play.

Three days later, Novak's teammate Manny Harris was ejected for throwing an elbow during Michigan's 67-49 loss at the hands of the Purdue Boilermakers.

To me, this one wasn't quite as obvious, but still uncalled for.

Harris caught a pass on the wing and quickly spun his body around to get in position as many players do. However, in his approach, he had his elbows a bit too high and extended his arms further out than was needed, allowing him to connect and knock Purdue's Chris Kramer to the court.

But the dumbest of the recent outbursts occurred Jan. 24, during the Houston-Arizona game.

After drawing a charging foul, Arizona's Chase Budinger had his face stepped on by Aubrey Coleman of the Cougars.

At first glance, in real time, it is clear something was askew.

However, when slowed down (see video), one can see just how disgusting of an act this was. Coleman clearly looks down to see where Budinger is, takes a couple steps and proceeds to stomp down.

Now in high school, I was taught little tricks to gain a minor advantage like a small push off or a slight hip check when setting a pick. On top of that, I am a fan of physical play, like those late-1980s Detroit Pistons "Bad Boys."

However, the "Bad Boys" played physical and things got out of hand as part of the deep passion for the game and the strong will to win. Plus, the hard fouls came within the constructs of the game.

The recent events don't represent the will to win, but the urge to punish, which is not acceptable.

Sure basketball is supposed to be a non-contact sport, but a little (and I mean little) physicality can add to the drama and intrigue of the game.

But things should never go that far.