The security issue in college hoops

Gib Arnold was fired up. He wanted to send a message to the refs and to his players. He was hoping it would give his team a needed spark during a sluggish start.

But he apparently fired up a fan enough that the misguided student felt entitled to rush the court and get up in Coach Arnold’s face. It’s worth noting that his sense of entitlement was only emboldened by the fact that nobody was there to stop him.

In the first half of Hawaii’s 86-77 loss to UC Santa Barbara on Thursday night — the team’s third defeat in its past four games — Arnold got himself a technical foul with the ‘Bows trailing 30-16. He had walked a good 10 feet onto the court before being held back by his players and staff. At that moment, a young UCSB fan made his way down the aisle from the student section and onto the floor, all the way across the 50-foot wide stretch of hardwood and right up into Arnold’s face. He made some antagonizing comments before Christian Standhardinger and Garrett Nevels pushed him away. He then appeared to actually be inviting the UH players to come after him before he ran back up the aisle to his seat. Only then was he approached by a pseudo-security guard and taken out of the arena.

Just a few days earlier, there was a fan incident following the New Mexico State-Utah Valley game and we’re still only weeks removed from Oklahoma State’s Marcus Smart having a physical altercation with a Texas Tech fan in the stands. One of the biggest draws of attending basketball games, especially college games, is the proximity to the action and the feeling of inclusion. College fans are typically more passionate than spectators at pro games and the environments can get emotional and hostile in an instant.

So should security at NCAA basketball games be tighter or more pro-active?

Unfortunately, this small rash of altercations involving players, coaches and fans will probably force the NCAA to get involved, or to at least send out some memos about arena security. As usual, the actions of a few will probably spoil the enjoyment for many.

There’s a fine line in determining what’s appropriate fan involvement and what’s out of bounds. Many fans feel that once they buy their ticket, they’re entitled to treat anyone on the court with pure contempt. I love to be loud and boisterous as a fan, especially at college games, but I don’t think I ever stray from the reality that everyone on the court or field is a human being. Any fan who wants to involve themselves shouldn’t feel a sense of empowerment just because they paid to enter the gates.

As much as I don’t wish violence upon anyone, I would have preferred if that UCSB fan had gotten his wish as he invited the UH players to come after him. He obviously knew they wouldn’t, which made his Morpheus-style invitation — while backpedaling — that much more laughable. I think Isaac Fotu or Brandon Spearman would have taught him the lesson the UCSB security failed to.

While schools need to enforce their security policies a little bit better, it shouldn’t be at the expense of the natural fan experience. College basketball needs that enthusiasm. The players feed off of it. They want their fans to feel involved. They look to their student sections after nailing a big three or swatting a shot at the rim. There’s a give and take that is normally self-policed, as long as all involved have the cognitive ability to maintain decent human behavior.

We don’t need stricter security measures or more separation between fans and the playing field, but everyone in the building should take a second to remember that they may be hurling insults at a 19-year-old kid whose only “crime” is choosing a different school than they did. And if they choose to get involved physically — well, some of the best athletes in the country may just have to take them up on their invitation.

• ‘My Thoughts Exactly’ appears Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays in The Garden Island. Email David Simon your comments or questions to dsimon@thegardenisland.com. Follow David on Twitter @SimonTGI