KAVERMAN: ARRESTS ARE ISOLATED

Two male basketball players being arrested and charged with felonies in a span of six days is definitely not the kind of publicity Southeast Missouri State University's athletic department is used to.

Southeast athletic director Don Kaverman, while obviously disturbed by the events of recent days, insists that what has taken place is in no way a reflection of the Indians' basketball program, which has been void of virtually any kind of incidents or controversy since coach Gary Garner took over four years ago.

"For these kinds of things to happen is very disappointing and it obviously doesn't reflect very well on our program," said Kaverman. "But I want to make sure people don't jump to conclusions about our program. These are two isolated incidents. We've had a very, very clean program since coach Garner has been here. We haven't had any incidents of student athlete misconduct since he's been here.

"It's a blip on the radar screen. Obviously it causes us to step back and evaluate how we do things, how we recruit, but we're very comfortable with our basketball program. Coach Garner and his staff do a great job."

On Wednesday, Bobby Smith was arrested and charged with a Class C felony of forgery and a Class A misdemeanor of attempted fraudulent procurement of credit.

Smith was not yet technically a member of the Southeast team because he sat out this past season under NCAA rules after transferring from Villanova, but the point guard practiced with the squad and was expected to be a key player for the Indians next season.

Last Friday, junior center Terry Rogers was arrested and charged with felonies for possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute and second-degree domestic assault.

Rogers, who averaged 4.9 points per game in primarily a backup role this past season, was suspended from the basketball program indefinitely until all criminal charges have been settled. Kaverman said Smith has not officially been suspended because he was not technically on the team yet and would not have been until next season.

"We'll let the legal system run its course and then we'll determine the status of both as it pertains to the basketball program," Kaverman said.

Kaverman, while noting that under the legal system Rogers and Smith are presumed innocent until proven guilty, said, "The allegations are very disturbing in both cases. We're very disappointed that we find anybody even remotely involved in our program with such activities that have been described with Terry and Bobby.

"Our coaching staff works very hard to evaluate and recruit the kind of kids we want in our program. We want them to represent the university and community with class and dignity. We always tell athletes they're held to a higher standard."

Garner, like Kaverman, said he is disturbed by the allegations against Rogers and Smith but he wants to reserve final judgment until the legal system runs its course.

"They're innocent until proven guilty, but if these charges prove to be true, it's very disappointing and disturbing," Garner said. "Our very first concern is for the young man. If he's made a mistake, has he made the kind of mistake that maybe is going to ruin the rest of his life?"

Garner said nothing he and his staff knew about Rogers (a junior-college transfer who has played one season with the Indians) and Smith gave any indication that the two would be risks to have in the program.

"We would not have recruited Terry Rogers if we didn't think he was a good kid. We would never recruit a kid that we did not think was a good kid," said Garner, who said about Smith, "We called the (Villanova) coaching staff. They never told us anything. They told us good things."

Added Garner of his squad's recruiting process, "We really try to evaluate as thoroughly as possible, talk to as many people as we can, all their coaches. We try to do everything possible to make sure they're young men of character.

"Since I've been at Southeast, we've been fortunate with things like this. Things are going to happen. You read and hear about it all the time. You just hope it doesn't happen to you."