Well, this isn't a nice way to kick off the weekend. Maryland Assistant Dalonte Hill, who joined the Terps' staff after Mark Turgeon's hire, was apparently arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence. Maryland has stated that he won't be on the bench for the next two games. Word came initially from Patrick Stevens via Twitter:
Maryland assistant Dalonte Hill arrested on suspicion of DUI. Maryland says he will not be on the bench the next two games.
Obviously, this is really bad news for Maryland on several fronts. Not only is it bad PR for the school, in what some considered a controversial hire, it certainly will hurt recruiting. Most parents frown upon someone trying to recruit their son who shows poor judgement in their own life. Hopefully this won't be a big deal and maybe the charges get dropped. But the fact that Hill won't be on the bench the next two games is rather telling to me that something happened.
Hill is also a high-profile assistant for Maryland because of the salary the school is paying him. I'm not arguing that he doesn't deserve it, because I definitely believe he does, but during a tough financial time for Maryland's athletic department, don't think that people won't bring this issue up for discussion, whether or not it's justified or warranted.
In the world of recruiting, people use negative information against others all the time. You have to imagine that this will be used by others to undermine Hill's creditability, especially for some of the big name targets Maryland is courting in 2013 and 2014. Hopefully Turgeon can do damage control and hopefully Hill can use this as a learning experience and tell recruits and parents that no one is immune from making mistakes. I just hope this mistake doesn't cost the Terps in the near future.