When Long Beach State men’s basketball plays its first NCAA Tournament game since 1995 on Friday, nobody will be sitting in the first seat on the bench.
That was the seat assistant coach Reggie Howard sat in until he was suspended from the team on Feb. 1.
The exact reason why Howard was suspended is still a bit of a mystery. When the athletic department suspended Howard, an e-mail was released that said: “Howard has been placed on suspension pending an NCAA investigation related to recruitment of prospective student-athletes during summer 2005.”
Other than that, the athletic department has been very tight-lipped about why Howard isn’t with the team this weekend. But at the same time Howard was suspended, seniors Kejuan Johnson and Mark Dawson were also suspended for possible NCAA violations, but they returned after sitting out only three games. Howard did not return with them.
Whatever the exact reason is for Howard’s suspension, his presence has been missed.
“Coach Howard was a father figure for a lot of the players on the team,” said Aaron Nixon, who was voted Big West Player of the Year. “He always knew the right thing to say, and when we were down he would tell a joke or something to bring us back up. He was like my best friend.”
Not only did Howard play an important role with the team’s morale, but he was also in charge of recruiting. Many of the players on the team are at LBSU because of him.
“If it wasn’t for coach Howard, we probably all wouldn’t be here,” Dawson said. “We all miss him a lot.”
Depending on what Howard did wrong, the athletic department is well within its right to have suspended him, although his presence on the bench sure would come in handy against Tennessee on Friday.
If LBSU finds itself in a tight situation against the Volunteers, Howard would be the person who could say the perfect thing to settle them in an atmosphere the 49ers aren’t accustomed to.
But barring an incredibly surprising announcement from the athletic department, Howard will be watching the game not from the sidelines, but on CBS.
If LBSU does pull off the upset Friday, fans should remember that it most likely never would have happened if it weren’t for coach Howard.
“[Howard] is responsible for a lot,” said LBSU head coach Larry Reynolds. “He had a large part in the making of this team.”
