The Big Dog is back

The big news a lot of people in Waukegan hoped for came down Monday night when the Bulldogs' junior star Jereme Richmond was cleared by IHSA czar Marty Hickman to play in Wednesday's sectional semifinal with Zion-Benton. Richmond picked up two technical fouls in Friday's Hoffman Estates regional final win over Fremd - the latter when he was whistled for hanging on the rim when he tried to dunk a pass off the backboard from a teammate with about 4 1-2 minutes left.
Hickman reviewed the tape of the play and determined that Richmond deserved a technical for what happened but did not believe it was an unsportsmanlike act that warranted a suspension that would go with his ejection from the game (the result of getting 2 Ts).
I watched the YouTube video of the play and it didn't look as if Richmond stayed on the rim for an unusual length of time. But I still would like to have seen it live to get the same view the officials did in the live-game situation. The irony is the play itself would be regarded by a lot of people as unsportsmanlike since it came with Waukegan ahead by 23 points midway through the fourth quarter.
I'm glad the kid gets a chance to play in what is one of the most-anticipated games in Lake County history. Here's hoping this scare provided a few valuable lessons ....
First, a star such as Richmond should probably be on the bench as a cheerleader with the game no longer in doubt.
Second, if he is in the game, next time make a simple pass for a simple layup or dunk.
While everyone wants to put on a show, it's not worth nearly missing one of the state's biggest showcases of high school hoops this week in Waukegan.