SALT LAKE CITY — As if the Washington Huskies had not already spent enough of this men’s basketball season as a punchline, they are now making national headlines for embarrassing actions that have nothing to do with poor defense and mounting losses.
Well, one embarrassing action, anyway. Malik Dime, UW’s 6-foot-9 senior forward, has been suspended indefinitely after he apparently slapped two members of Colorado’s student section during the Huskies’ 81-66 loss in Boulder on Thursday night.
A Pac-12 spokesperson said the conference is reviewing the incident.
Dime hasn’t played since Jan. 7 due to a broken pinkie on his right hand, but still travels with the team and sits on the bench. He smacked the hecklers — both were seated in the front row of CU’s student section beneath the basket near UW’s bench — after the halftime buzzer. The incident quickly spread across Twitter. One of the students, who gave his name only as Brian, confirmed the incident to the News Tribune, but declined comment other than to say “everything has been made right.”
The students told BSN Denver that they had been heckling UW’s bench, and that Dime approached them as if he was going to give them a handshake, but instead slapped both of them with one swing.
Dime apologized to the students after the game, both of whom reportedly declined to press charges. They were seen laughing throughout much of the second half.
UW announced the suspension on Friday afternoon, after traveling to Salt Lake City for Saturday’s 1:30 p.m. game at Utah. And so there was the headline on the front page of ESPN.com: “Washington suspends Dime for slapping heckler.”
Not what the Huskies needed, particularly in the midst of a six-game losing streak in a season that long ago went off the rails.
In a statement, UW coach Lorenzo Romar said: “Malik’s actions were inconsistent with his typical behavior. They were absolutely unacceptable, and did not represent the values of our team and the sportsmanship spirit of our conference. We have spoken with him at length and expect this to be a valuable teaching moment. We do not expect this type of behavior to happen again.”
The statement also quoted Dime: “I was caught up in the emotion of the game and allowed my frustrations to influence my behavior. I made a very poor decision, and did not represent my team, my university and my family the way I want to. I am glad I had the chance to apologize in person to the students involved in the altercation, and I am prepared to accept the full consequences of my actions. I look forward to putting this incident behind me and moving forward.”
It has already been a difficult season for Dime, a gregarious and likeable senior from Dakar, Senegal. After setting the school’s single-season record for blocked shots last season with 88, he seemed poised for greater contributions this year. But he broke the pinkie on his right hand late in UW’s 87-61 victory over Oregon State on Jan. 7, and has missed the last nine games (for what it’s worth, he was not going to play against Utah, regardless of the suspension).
Dime moved from Dakar to Columbus, Ohio, at age 18 and began playing basketball. He spent two seasons at Indian Hills Community College in Ottumwa, Iowa, before transferring to UW. Last month, he officially became a United States citizen.
It remains unknown when he might play again. Romar originally forecast Dime’s return as four to six weeks after his injury, though nearly five weeks have already passed and he still isn’t ready. The suspension only complicates that timeframe.
It is also unknown whether star freshman Markelle Fultz, who sat out Thursday’s loss at Colorado due to a sore knee, will be able to play against Utah. Romar said Fultz hadn’t practiced this week as he tried to reduce swelling in his knee, and termed his status as “day to day” after Thursday’s game.
The Huskies struggled without him, committing 14 turnovers in a double-digit loss against one of the two conference teams they had actually beaten this season. Saturday does not offer a reprieve; the Huskies already lost to Utah, 94-72, in Seattle on Jan. 21, with Fultz in the lineup. He scored 30 points.
Utah, though, shot 60 percent from the field in that game with 20 layups or dunks, a performance that led Romar to surmise that “we took some steps backwards defensively.”
And the Utes played that game without junior forward David Collette, who ranks second on the team with a scoring average of 14.6 points per game.
“Honestly speaking, it is what it is,” UW forward Noah Dickerson said after Thursday’s game, asked about the season’s woes. “Just trying to get better every day. Still got season to play. Don’t really think about it. Just keep doing what you’ve got to do, (and) try to get out of here with a win.”
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