Clemons faces arraignment, another hostile road crowd

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Home games for Ricky Clemons are easy, as if he'd never been arrested for allegedly choking, shoving and restraining a woman last month.

There were no boos for the Missouri point guard in his first game back after being reinstatated following a one-game suspension, no derogatory posters, no protests. Never have been in his three games since returning. In the Hearnes Center, he remains a beloved member of the starting five of the 21st-ranked team, seemingly unscathed and innocent until proven otherwise.

Certainly, there have been distractions. Later today, the same day the Tigers leave to play Texas A&M on Wednesday, he will be arraigned in Boone County Circuit Court on charges of second-degree assault stemming from an alleged attack on 20-year-old Jessica Bunge of St. Clair.

He was arrested Jan. 17 amid accusations he pulled Bunge's hair and bloodied her nose the previous night at his off-campus apartment. He has denied the allegations and soldiered on, immersing himself as much as possible in the game, and insists it's not difficult to keep his mind on 3-pointers and assists.

"Nah," Clemons said Sunday after a victory over Texas Tech. "It's not tough at all."

On the road, though, the situation can get pretty dicey.

The student section at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kan., was merciless last Monday, greeting Clemons, 22, with chants of 'Wo-man Beat-er" in the first half before coach Roy Williams walked over to the crowd and glared. Before the game, a female student with a black eye painted on her face wore a white T-shirt that read "I (heart) Clemons," dancing and inciting cheers, and even getting pointers from a security guard.

Instead of sending the fan back to her seat, the guard gave her additional material by pantomiming a choking motion to the throat. That brought even louder cheers.

Whenever he touched the ball, there were boos.

At Texas, fans mobilized an hour before the game. There, they waved mug shots at Clemons, who was arrested but not prosecuted on a similar charge in 2001 at the College of Southern Idaho, and chanted, repeatedly, "No means no!"

"I think that's going to be what you expect going on the road," coach Quin Snyder said. "I don't know if he's public enemy No. 1. But I think it's hard for him, no question about it."

He'll be an easy target again at Texas A&M, both during the game and afterwards, when a member of the Sports Information Department again will be at his side for support.

"Basketball is my avenue," Clemons said getting 14 points and five assists Sunday. "So it's very easy to just concentrate on basketball."

He said much the same thing after the Kansas game.

"I'm used to it," he said then. "My life's been rougher than that."

Clemons, a junior college transfer from the College of Southern Idaho, is an indispensable member of the team known for his lightning-quick moves to the basket and seemingly limitless 3-point range. The Tigers are thin as it is, with only eight scholarship players, and lost by 20 points at Oklahoma State in their only game without Clemons.

But it's clear he's struggled under the glare of unwelcome publicity.

He was a modest 4-for-10 shooting with five assists and four turnovers against Texas Tech, and has shot 36 percent with 17 assists and 27 turnovers since the suspension.

The situation has already affected the school. Athletic director Mike Alden said in the future, coaches will be more diligent in background checks of potential recruits, and that neutral university representatives will be involved in the reinstatement process. In Clemons' case, the decision was made by Alden, Snyder and Clemons' attorney.

Teammates say Clemons has held up admirably, under the circumstances.

"He's handling this probably better than any of us could," junior forward Travon Bryant said. "He's getting a lot of grief from people, but he's staying focused. That's tough."

After Sunday's game, Clemons fielded a question one minute about whether he took special note that Bobby Knight was coaching the opposition. Not really, he said. In the next, the topic turned to the turmoil in his life.

"I don't think it's anything you get used to," Snyder said. "But it's the position he's in."