Friday's news of Kelsey Barlow's dismissal from Purdue's basketball team, sadly for all involved, may have been an inevitable result.
Barlow's story at Purdue is one of a kid with all the ability in the world - talent-wise, he's a pro - held back only by a stubborn unwillingness to simply do what he was supposed to.
Given chances and chances, the eccentric - the diplomatic descriptor I've always gone with for him - player couldn't stay out of his own way.
He was suspended for last year's NCAA Tournament for reasons that no one will ever confirm publicly. He was given another chance.
Given that chance, little changed.
And so came early Friday morning, when it was Barlow's ejection from a campus bar - one eye-witness account had two guys having to carry him out of the bar - as part of his postponed 21st-birthday celebration that triggered the fracas that got D.J. Byrd arrested.
I'm not absolving Byrd of any guilt here, but in the NHL, they have something called the "third man in" rule. The third guy who just jumps into a fight gets a game-misconduct penalty.
Byrd made a huge mistake and let his team down profoundly obviously, but his transgression was out of character. Barlow's involvement was what we might consider normal.
There was little stuff, too. Little stuff, after a while, adds up into big stuff.
After Purdue had to issue a public apology on Barlow's behalf after he flashed the choke sign at IU his freshman season - the irony being that Chris Kramer actually blocked the shot Barlow was essentially accusing Verdell Jones, on national TV, of "choking" away - he came out the next season and made inflammatory comments about Hoosier players.
After acting like a space cadet in his first post-game press conference to the point where you could hear E'Twaun Moore admonish him afterward - "Why you gotta act like that?" Moore said as they left the podium, not quite out of media earshot - that act continued through the remainder of his career.
After the Xavier-Cincinnati brawl, Matt Painter gave an extremely well thought-out analysis of the situation on Dan Dakich's radio show, during which he admitted to having some "wild cards" on his team he needed to manage. Wasn't hard to figure out who he was talking about. Trash talk is just part of the game, but Barlow's been a technical foul waiting to happen.
The great contradiction that's been Barlow has been how a picture of aloofness and apathy could act out so often.
Add it all up and you have a situation where a kid comes out of both of his first two seasons on campus on double-secret probation and still can't keep in line.
It's a sad story, one that easily could have reached its end game this time a year ago.
It was sad for last year's team and its two seniors, Moore and JaJuan Johnson. Even with Barlow's drama, they'd have had a much better chance to keep their careers going into the NCAA Tournament's second weekend than not with Barlow against VCU. That said, VCU flat-out beat Purdue that day. Not sure LeBron could have helped the Boilermakers that day.
It's sad for this year's team, which has been playing its best basketball of the season the last three games, has Robbie Hummel and Lewis Jackson going again and heads into a giant game Sunday.
With Barlow and Byrd Sunday, Purdue beats Michigan State and locks up its place in the NCAA Tournament. There's no question in my mind. Now, for the second time in three years, the Spartans come to Mackey to face a short-handed team.
And it's sad for Barlow. I know everything I've written here may come off like a hatchet job against a newly minted 21-year-old, but is what it is. For a player with his unbelievable physical gifts, the basketball world is your oyster. And here's what Barlow has to show for it right now: He's a college basketball free agent with baggage and just a single season of remaining eligibility.
All because of his own devices.
What happened Friday had to be done. I could have told you this morning you'd seen the last of Barlow after this.
Painter had no choice. The university had no choice.
They did what they had to do after all these chances. It's a bit surprising, really, Barlow got this far. Funny how many chances talent will get you.
Friday's result was what had to happen.
It may only have been a matter of time.
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This post was edited on 2/17 5:15 PM by Brian_GoldandBlack.com
