Iowa's Henderson and Four Star recruit Smith Arrested

**BryceC** · 09-27-2006, 10:07 PM

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa basketball players Mike Henderson and Tyler Smith were arrested and charged with theft Sunday, according to Coralville police.
The incident occurred at Dillard's in the Coral Ridge Mall. There is no word on the circumstances surrounding the arrest.
University officials would not comment on the issue, but issued a joint statement from both players.
"We feel terrible that we made such a stupid mistake," the statement reads. "We let down our families, our teammates, our coaches and all of our supporters. There is no excuse for our actions, and we take full responsibility."
Henderson, a senior guard, averaged 7.6 points and 3.9 rebounds while starting all 34 games last season.
Smith is a freshman forward from Pulaski, Tenn.
It was unclear whether coach Steve Alford would punish the players.
"Mike and Tyler are good individuals who made a very poor decision, and I am very disappointed in their actions. ... I've never had an issue with Mike or Tyler and this is out of character for them," Alford said. "We expect no further incidents from either of these two individuals."

**BryceC** · 09-27-2006, 10:11 PM

I find this very interesting, considering Henderson is supposed to be a senior leader next year, and he's taking out the prize recruit for a little shoplifting spree.

I don't doubt that the Hawkeyes have the talent to get to the tournament this year outside of the center position, but they are going to miss the leadership of Horner and Brunner more than they know. They dealt with a lot of crap with the Pierce thing, and they were mature guys because of it at the end. I hope they aren't planning on leaning on Haluska for leadership because that's a house of cards there.

**ripvdub** · 09-27-2006, 11:00 PM

i feel a one game suspension for the 1st exibition game coming for two naughty boys.

**Todd Blythe** · 09-28-2006, 12:45 AM

yeah probably cuz iowa can get away with that crap...look at us jiri hubaulk is suspended for the like the whole exibidition and he didnt even mean to do what he did.

**johnsonjj** · 09-28-2006, 03:37 AM

Wow, the season hasn't even started and they already have two statistical leaders, Henderson in "steals" with an "assist" from Smith!

**Flynn4Heisman** · 09-28-2006, 03:58 AM

Originally Posted by johnsonjj

Wow, the season hasn't even started and they already have two statistical leaders, Henderson in "steals" with an "assist" from Smith!

Heh.. That's a good one.

**thunderdave** · 09-28-2006, 07:24 AM

I'm guessing they were trying to get new accessories for they're "cell phones".

**cycloneworld** · 09-28-2006, 08:00 AM

Why do I feel that if this were Iowa State players, this would have been headline news in the DMR??? Hell, the Hubalek thing made the headlines for a few days but I guess breaking the law is not as big of news as breaking NCAA rules...only worth a front page blurb and 3rd page story.

**johnsonjj** · 09-28-2006, 08:05 AM

Yeah, let's see how they "rebound" from this one!

**CY ST8T** · 09-28-2006, 08:12 AM

Another great example of Alford fully backing his player's right away and not even addressing the fact that they might actually be guilty. This is why you will continue to see problems from his teams. And I love it!!! I say sign him to at least a couple more years for an extension. As a Cyclone fan, I wish him on the hawks for years!

**mt85** · 09-28-2006, 08:33 AM

I'm perplexed at SA's response to two of his players being charged with theft. The response seems to trivialize the charge as if they were ticketed for public intoxication.

According to the report they each allegedly stole over $100 in items. I'm not sure this should be trivialized. JB spent a year in jail for stealing $4 and a cell phone. They may have more to worry about then just missing a few games.

**BryceC** · 09-28-2006, 09:19 AM

Well, Berryman did punch the guy too.

The funny thing to me is how in the statements, guys always call it a "mistake". A mistake for me is locking my keys in my car, not trying to leave Dillard's without paying for merchandise.

**CyinCo** · 09-28-2006, 09:29 AM

Originally Posted by BryceC

Well, Berryman did punch the guy too.

The funny thing to me is how in the statements, guys always call it a "mistake". A mistake for me is locking my keys in my car, not trying to leave Dillard's without paying for merchandise.

I'm totally in agreement on this. This isn't a mistake. If they had gotten home with the merchandise and were never caught, would they think it was a mistake then? The mistake they reference is GETTING CAUGHT. Not the act of stealing.

Que up token half exhibition game suspension music.

**mt85** · 09-28-2006, 09:38 AM

I realize JB punched a guy, but at the time I wouldn't have guessed he was looking at a year of jail time. My theory is that today's star athletes are pampered by coaches and fans. This seems to create an attitude that they are above the law or that they won't be held accountable for their actions. This may be what leads to repeat offenders (ie Jason Berryman and Pierre Pierce). If this gets swept under the rug, that may be the worst thing for both of these athletes becasue that may reinforce the wrong message.

**keepngoal** · 09-28-2006, 10:24 AM

Originally Posted by BryceC

The funny thing to me is how in the statements, guys always call it a "mistake". A mistake for me is locking my keys in my car, not trying to leave Dillard's without paying for merchandise.

I didn't see it that way at first... as "a mistake" is used too often. But I absolutly agree with what you typed...

nice work.

- keep