The saga at Ohio State with Maurice Clarett should be an eye-opener for the ASU athletic department.
Multiple news sources are reporting that Clarett, a running back on the Buckeye football team, has been officially charged with lying about the value of items stolen from his car.
On top of that, Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel has said he doesn't expect Clarett to play this year, adding that Clarett could be released from his scholarship.
And if that's not enough, a report this summer claimed that Clarett might have received "academic improprieties," a claim currently under investigation by a panel at Ohio State.
Clarett had all the makings of a premier running back for college football. As a freshman last season, he rushed for 1,237 yards despite missing three games with an injury.
But now, all of Clarett's talent could be a waste, along with Ohio State's season. The Buckeyes may be the defending national champs and ranked third in both college football polls, but the meat of their offense rested in the powerful legs of Clarett. Without its star running back, Ohio State's chances to repeat the season from a year ago won't be as strong.
On the ASU front, both the football and men's basketball teams have found recent success and appear to still be improving. Head football coach Dirk Koetter has rebuilt his team into a Rose Bowl contender, and basketball coach Rob Evans took ASU to the NCAA Tournament last season after an eight-year Sun Devil absence from the Big Dance.
Both teams are led by top college athletes: quarterback Andrew Walter in football and forward Ike Diogu in basketball.
Just about every reporter close to ASU, including ones at The State Press, say Walter and Diogu are straight arrows. Their success and their teams' success will eventually draw even more big-time recruits to ASU.
If the ASU athletic department wants to ensure its future success, it will be up to athletic director Gene Smith and the Sun Devil coaches to make sure athletes like Clarett stay away from Tempe.
Others are out there with the attitude of Clarett - high school football and basketball players who have been babied their entire lives because of their athletic ability. They may run fast and jump high, but a stuck-up outlook on life turns some of them into a team cancer.
Both Koetter and Evans appear to have a grasp on distinguishing between a good talent and a head case. In less than three years at ASU, Koetter has already dealt with players who had off-the-field problems, and he has done so in a respectable manner. Evans is famous for keeping tabs on his players, requiring them to visit his office daily.
The recent success of Sun Devil sports teams coupled with multimillion dollar renovations to athletic facilities have put the ASU athletic department on the verge of becoming one of the most prominent in the country. But one bad apple like Clarett can ruin everything.
