by A.J. Coltrane
UW Washington guard Venoy Overton has been suspended for the duration of the Pac-10 tournament as a result of criminal charges:
The gross-misdemeanor charge against Overton stems from a Jan. 8 incident in which Seattle police say he met with two 16-year-old girls and took them to his sister’s apartment in South Seattle. A police report says Overton, 22, furnished the girls with alcohol and engaged in sex acts with both.
Doesn’t the “Pac-10” tournament seem just a little too convenient? It may only be one game if the Huskies lose to the Cougars in the first round. The Huskies currently are slated in the NCAA tournament as about a 9-seed. If they lose tomorrow to the Cougars it probably drops them to about a 10-seed. If the Huskies were to somehow get past (hypothetically) the WSU game, then UCLA, then Arizona… they’d be about a 7 or an 8 seed.
What difference does that make, really?
Huskies as a 10 seed would face UConn, West Virginia, or Georgetown.
Huskies as a 9 seed would face Texas A&M, Kansas St., Xavier, or Vanderbilt.
Huskies as a 7 or 8 seed would face somebody along the lines of Cincinnati, Villanova, Temple, UNLV, or Missouri.
That’s all about a wash.
If the Huskies had suspended Overton for say, 3 games, then it might have involved some of the NCAA tournament. The problem with that approach is that they’d be penalizing the other players for Overton’s [lack of common sense, lack of judgement, stupidity, what do you call that(?)]
The point is, anything less than a supension for the remainder of the season doesn’t really impact their chances of advancing in the NCAA tournament. The suspension the Huskies selected doesn’t really do squat.
Make of this what you will: I was in a adult beverage establishment today and I was told (by someone I believe) that Overton had been there shortly before the original charges were filed .. with two underage girls. They sat in a corner and tried to get served, but when they got carded – and the girls were found to be minors, they were all asked to leave.
I’m not entirely sure it’s appropriate to post that “rumor”, but I can say that I absolutely believe that the person who told me that story wasn’t making it up, and if I were to ask around a little more I could get other people to corroborate it.
Ick.
FlatbreadGarden 
I have a feeling if the Huskies lose to WAZZU, they will drop to a 10 or 11 seed. Being an 8 or 9 is the kiss of death – you end up playing a team that you are theoretically evenly matched with and you reward for winning that game is a meeting with a #1 seed. I did think that the “length” of the suspension is odd. I wonder what the suspension would have been if the Huskies were a bubble team.
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