Louisville @ Notre Dame, aka House Divided

Every year this basketball game is a tough one to watch. You see, I am a Notre Dame alum in my adopted hometown of Louisville. I married my college sweetheart, who hails from – you guessed it – Louisville. As a lifelong fan of the Cards, she often waits until tip-off to determine which team she will root for. Other times, she simply leaves the room, too upset to even watch.

For both of us, it is difficult to enjoy fully either team's success in this game. One's success always comes at the expense of the other team, and you know full well that loved ones are hurting as a result. Our boys are too young yet to have experienced playing sports against one another, but I have an inkling how it feels to be a parent in that situation.

Having said that, I would like to touch on Kyle Kuric's dunk at the end of the first half. In case you missed it, and you really should see it, here is the clip:

Because Kuric received a technical foul afterward, it has been the subject of some debate. (You'll note this link is from a column in the Louisville Courier-Journal. The South Bend Tribune understandably focused on the outcome in overtime and chose to omit references to the tremendous dunk by Kuric.)

Now, I will be the first to recognize that:

• Kyle Kuric's dunk was nothing short of amazing, reminiscent of his work against top-ranked Syracuse in the last game played at Freedom Hall.
• Kuric is not a trash-talker but, from all appearances, a stand-up kid.
• If anything, his coaches and teammates have continually pushed Kuric to show more leadership as a junior, to be more demonstrative. (I don't disagree with this advice.)
• Other players have certainly gotten away with more abusive behavior toward opponents.

However, I would also point out:

• The Big East has a national reputation as a rough-and-tumble basketball conference, so it is likely the league's referees are charged with making sure things don't get out of hand.
• Taunting of any sort is frowned upon in college athletics, among fellow student athletes. (While I agree with this policy, I am less bothered by trash-talking, etc. in pro sports.)
• Kyle Kuric stated that he “looked down at him and walked away.” It sure seemed to me that Kuric's "look" was more of a "glare" at Irish guard Scott Martin. The point, however, is that Kuric wasn't mugging for the camera or interacting with the student section. He singled out a fellow student athlete for embarrassment and was whistled for it.

The technical foul was the correct call. Not because Kyle Kuric is a dirty player or a bad person, but because he demeaned a fellow student athlete, a 21- or 22-year-old kid. College athletes are supposed to be there for the purpose of earning a degree. They are not supposed to try to posterize each other, belittling others in the hopes of making themselves look better.