Spartan Hoopla: My Two Cents on Zach Randolph's Drug Case in Indiana

Typically, I like to keep to a news-style of writing. I'll report on what interests me in the world of sports.

If you have read any of my articles, you would notice that I keep them hyperlinked to material to back my statements, and present an even-keeled slant on the matter.

But not this time.

Former Michigan State Spartan Zach Randolph has me irked. The guy had a world of potential. He was one of State's prized recruits. Not just for his class, but ever.

I mean, the guy dominated high school hoops like few have. And he was all ours.

I lived in Indianapolis at the time of Randolph's recruitment. I went to Broad Ripple High School for a short time, and my teacher, Mr. Akers, informed me how lucky I was to be a State fan.

We would talk about Randolph's impact every day. I would go to his class between my other classes just to talk about the Marion High School star.

It was that big of a deal to me.

Once he signed with Michigan State, I thought to myself "Here comes a national title."

And I was almost right. The Spartans landed in the Final Four, only to fall to Duke.

With every stumble, I started to lose respect for State's most notable one-and-doner.

The drunk driving in Los Angeles in 2009 was the icing on the cake—until now.

Randolph's recent mix up with drugs in Indianapolis have me thinking a little deeper on the matter. What in the hell happened to this guy?

He was a potential lottery pick, but he slid to the middle of the first round in the 2001 draft.

Even then, questions were raised about his character.

And rightfully so. Randolph was hit on gun charges as a juvenile. He sold a gun, got caught, and Tom Izzo still took a chance on the kid.

He managed to stay out the news while in East Lansing, but the campus rumors wouldn't die. He was known a notorious party animal. The pot stories circulated like no other, but he was squeaky clean.

The worst part was, everyone knew there was substance to the whispers of bad behavior.

Once Randolph entered the NBA, I thought he had a shot at being one of the league's premier forces in the paint. He had a great career ahead of him.

He has been traded more than my Brian Grant rookie card. Seriously, I traded that thing dozens of times in the mid-1990s. My point is that organizations began to catch wind of Randolph's poor character.

He was rich, 19 years old, and just couldn't pull it all together.

I'm not going to bombard you with stats and links to other articles. I just wanted to state my opinion on the matter. Randolph now joins the Spartan Hall of Shame.

Guys like Jeff Smoker, who was also believed to have substance problems, had pro-level talent. He busted in the NFL and Arena League, but he could have been great.

Marcus Taylor, who made the worst mistake of his life by leaving Izzo early. Where is he now? I saw him at the Lansing Mall when I was an assistant manager at Lids a few years back.

He was just hanging out with kids who thought he was a big shot. Never mind the fact that he blew what could have been a lucrative professional career—all because he liked to party.

And he thought he was ready for the league.

Charles Rogers, perhaps the most notable Spartan who lost his way, flushed his hopes down the toilet. Rogers has had problems, to say the least. He just can't put the weed down.

He told ESPN's Saige Steele in an interview last summer "I used to get blowed e'ryday."

Really? Way to sound like a thug on national television. And you want a team to pick you up? Even the Lions wanted nothing to do with you. Keep getting "blowed," Chuck.

Plaxico Burress. Well, I still like Plax. I don't care about the gun charges. He never was implicated in selling/trafficking drugs. I have no respect for dealers or users. None.

Randolph has now surpassed all of the aforementioned if the current allegations are true. Sorry, buddy. But your ambition to be a drug kingpin may have cost you your career.

I hope you have a degree to fall back on. Wait, you don't. You skipped out of school to get money that you have likely burnt through already.

Zach, if you're not selling drugs, why are you letting people that frequent drug houses drive vehicles in your name? And why do you employ them? You have to be smarter than that.

Look, they found weed in storage lockers that you rent. What more is there? People are going to give you up to save their skin at any cost.

I thought you were smarter than that.

I've offered my two cents. Where are yours?