Indiana Basketball: Emmitt Holt and Thomas Bryant Arrested
By Kyle Grand
Indiana basketball is back in the headlines for the wrong reasons after sophomore Emmitt Holt and freshman Thomas Bryant were arrested on campus over the weekend. The pair was cited for illegal possession of alcohol by state excise police.
Per a police press release, authorities observed Bryant and Holt trying to conceal bottles of vodka while in a car near campus at 12:50 a.m. Friday. The report said, “Officers were alerted to the five people seated inside the vehicle when Holt allegedly attempted to conceal a 750 milliliter bottle of vodka as an officer walked past it.” “Holt, who was a backseat passenger in the vehicle, reportedly shouted to alert the front seat passenger of the officer’s presence. The officer then allegedly observed the front seat passenger, Bryant, attempt to conceal a 1.75 liter bottle of vodka.”
It’s true what your mother told you. Nothing good happens after midnight.
Just when you thought the program had turned the corner, it suffers another disciplinary setback under head coach Tom Crean. I know no one wants to remember, but this kind of thing isn’t new.
In February 2014, former Hoosier Hanner Mosquera-Perea was cited for OWI. In April 2014, Yogi Ferrell and Stanford Robinson were cited after trying to enter a bar underage. In late hours of November 1, Holt struck Devin Davis with a car when he unexpectedly ran in front of it. Davis missed the whole season as a result. The same week, Robinson and Troy Williams failed drug tests. Finally, soon after last season ended, Davis was cited for marijuana possession in an on-campus dorm. Mosquera-Perea was in the room with him, and both were shown the door from the program in May.
So as you can see, this isn’t an isolated incident — it’s a pattern. Plain and simple, Indiana players have to be smarter. As a college athlete at a school known for its basketball team, you’re going to be in the spotlight 24/7. After all that’s occurred during the last two seasons, how do some players still not understand that concept?
Further, it’s a poor first impression by Bryant, a highly-touted freshman with enormous expectations, and immensely questionable thinking by Holt, who already has one strike. It’s obviously concerning that an older player who has already been through something like this would get in similar trouble.
Nothing in terms of a punishment has been released yet, but you can bet Indiana will come down hard. The program can’t take any more publicity of this nature, and it wouldn’t shock me to see Holt receive a similar punishment to that of Davis and Mosquera-Perea.