Eric Hobeck was the sports editor/columnist and men’s basketball beat writer for The Rotunda from 2012-14 and attended Longwood from 2011-14. He is currently a sports aide for The Washington Post. The opinions reflected in this column do not represent those of The Rotunda.
If I had to pick one word to use to most strongly illustrate the three years I spent as a student at Longwood, I wouldn't hesitate to choose "pride."
Pride in the love that students felt for each other and displayed on a regular basis, even in the most mundane of ways. Pride in how the faculty and staff of this school genuinely cared for every student they came across, whether it was a professor helping a struggling student or Ms. Betty telling us to "have a wonderful day" and knowing she meant it. Pride in that the nearly 178-year-old spirit of the school would always be respected and cherished.
Due to the off-court actions of the men’s basketball team over the last two-plus years, including signs that the players and their head coach, Jayson Gee, do not share that same level of respect toward the university, those feelings pride have begun to fade.
Let’s recap, as briefly as possible.
In June 2014, then-freshman Victor Dorsey and then-sophomore Charlie Lockwood crashed a stolen, university-owned golf cart into the Greenwood Library, causing almost $10,000 worth of damages.
In August 2014, then-junior Shaquille Johnson was arrested on a felony charge of malicious wounding after allegedly punching a Hampden-Sydney student. The charge was dropped later in the fall after the alleged victim did not appear in court.
In February 2015, then-junior Jason Pimentel was found guilty in Prince Edward County General District Court of a November 2014 sexual battery charge, a verdict that was overturned in fall 2015 by the Prince Edward County Circuit Court jury. Pimentel returned to action the same 2014-15 season, after missing 25 games in a suspension Gee called “appropriate,” in a university release announcing Pimentel’s reinstatement.
Five days after the circuit court’s decision, both Pimentel and Johnson were charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana. Johnson’s charge was amended to entering property with intent to damage, a Class 1 misdemeanor, in December 2015. Johnson is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 24 for another hearing, where the case will be dismissed if Johnson maintains his end of the bargain regarding the probation, drug counseling program and community service.
According to Prince Edward County court records, a March 2016 violation of Pimentel’s probation was declared nolle prosequi on June 20. Records indicate that Pimentel failed to appear in court for a continuation hearing for the probation violation charge last May, and a “failure to appear” case was added to his file. That case was resolved as a “fugitive file” in July, meaning that under Virginia law, Pimentel would be considered a fugitive of justice.
An alleged run-in between a group of Longwood basketball players and Hampden-Sydney College (H-SC) football players on Dec. 4 escalated to the point that the fathers of the H-SC students involved filed charges against the players. Prince Edward County Commonwealth’s Attorney Megan Clark declined to follow-up on the case. In a letter sent to high-level Longwood officials, Clark “(did) not condone the behaviors of any parties involved in the altercation,” but added that differing accounts of what exactly occurred led her to believe “we would not be able to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Although that issue didn’t involve further action from the legal system, the fact of the matter is that players under Gee’s tutelage have continued to put themselves in embarrassing and potentially dangerous situations, again creating headlines for negative actions off the court that makes one wonder where the leadership within the program is - if it exists at all. The very fact that the commonwealth’s attorney had to make a statement at all regarding an incident including Longwood basketball players speaks volumes as far as the level of the respect that the players have toward their community. At the same time, it highlights the level of accountability - or lack thereof - that these players face.
Since Gee was hired in April 2013, the culture surrounding the men’s basketball program has changed for the worse. While the school’s 13 other varsity athletic programs have, by and large, represented themselves and Longwood well in that time, a pattern of disrespect and lawlessness within the men’s basketball program has been established.
No longer can it be said that one or two players are causing a little bit of trouble here and there. No longer can an objective observer say a trend of the team flagrantly disregarding the community around them, both on campus and in the greater Town of Farmville itself, does not exist.
I have nothing but respect for Longwood Director of Athletics Troy Austin. He has guided the athletic department from its fledgling days during the transition to Division I to where it is today with a powerhouse softball program and several other teams, like baseball and men’s soccer, seeing postseason success recently.
In evaluating Gee’s program at the end of the year, it would behoove Austin to take into account not only the team’s on-court accomplishments and failures, but the disciplinary woes that have plagued the team since virtually the beginning of his tenure, starting with Lockwood’s 2013 DUI arrest that resulted in a six-month suspended sentence. Certainly, Gee cannot control the every action of every player 24 hours a day. But these problems beg the question - is any progress on the court worth the repeated embarrassment that the players are responsible for? After to a 3-0 start in Big South play, the Lancers are now 3-3 in the league; one could make the argument that Gee’s on-court product is finally starting to turn the corner in Year 4.
With that being said, the reality of the situation is that Gee has recruited every player on the team; they have spent the entirety of their Longwood careers under his leadership. In my opinion, when taking a step back and taking a macro look at the program that is now Gee’s own, most facets of said program are in the tank.
Gee’s winning percentage in his time in Farmville is .304, marginally better than that of his predecessor, Mike Gillian (.303). Taking out games against teams in Division II or lower, in which Gee’s teams are 11-0, that winning percentage drops to a measly .228. Those kinds of winning percentages are rarely make for extended stints of leadership.
Had Gee lived up to his early talk of a defense based on “PACE” (standing for the buzzwords “pressure, attack, compete, and energize”) and taken the Lancers to an NCAA tournament or even to a winning record, not even those would-be accomplishments could ever justify his retention as coach after this season, given the unending transgressions of his team. Taking into account the paltry win-loss record under Gee and the continued lapses of his players outside the confines of Willett Hall, the program has fostered itself into a Curry-and-Frazer-sized blemish on an otherwise beautiful school that was thrust into the national spotlight this autumn for all the right reasons.
Troy Austin’s best move in March would be to make a change in leadership at that position. It’s time for him and the rest of the university’s administration to find someone who will back up their own self-assured, positive-mindset talk with positive results for the players on and off the hardwood.
Jan. 22, 2017, 2:30 p.m.: The story's author wanted to update the story to read, "With that being said, the reality of the situation is that Gee has recruited every player on the team; they have spent the entirety of their Longwood careers under his leadership" from first stating, "With that being said, the reality of the situation is that Gee has recruited almost every player on the team, and the two that he did not are in their fourth year under his leadership."
