By Brittany Burke
The future of CCSU women’s basketball players Shontice Simmons and Gabrielle Oglesby, both 19, still remains unknown one month after their initial arrests.
Simmons was scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 10 for the Jan. 20 charges, but due to inclement weather the court hearing was delayed to Tuesday March 2, at 10 a.m. at the New Britain Superior Court. The hearing is also set to address the assault and disorderly conduct charges filed from May, 2009, which have appeared on the court docket eight times. Those charges address Simmons’ alleged assault of another female while attending an off campus party.
Oglesby is set to appear in New Britain Superior Court on Friday March 5, 10 a.m. to address her involvement with the laptop thefts.
Both Simmons and Oglesby, sophomores at CCSU, were charged with two counts of burglary in the third degree and one count of larceny in the third degree for the theft of two laptops over winter break. The players were arrested Jan. 20 and 26 for the on campus thefts that occurred Jan. 2. Oglesby was released with the promise to appear, and Simmons was released on $1,000 bond.
As of Feb. 1 Oglesby was compliant with the CCSU police having given a written confession in January in which she admitted to being an accomplice in the burglary. Simmons repeatedly denied any involvement with the theft. There has been no new documents filed with the New Britain Superior Court at press time.
The CCSU athletics department is still remaining quiet on the entire ordeal. Prior to The Recorder’s first report in the Feb. 3 issue, Sports Information Director Tom Pincince was contacted for comment in which he released a statement confirming that the two girls in question were in fact indefinitely suspended, but has no new information to announce.
While university spokesman Mark McLaughlin did not have any new information regarding the case, he assumed the issue would be handled through judicial affairs.
Part III of the “Student Code of Conduct and Statement of Judicial Procedures” states, “Theft of property, or services, or damage to, defacement or destruction of, or tampering with, real or personal property owned by the State of Connecticut, the University, or any member of the University community,” as one of 23 prohibited codes of conduct that will be handled through the judicial affairs.
In such a case Simmons and Oglesby would be charged with violation of law and code, subjecting them to a disciplinary hearing, which can coincide with their separate court appearances.
It is still unclear whether or not either former player will be an eligible athlete for next season pending each player’s respective court date. According to NCAA rules and provisions, any player deemed ineligible may be subject to reinstatement if the NCAA school files an appeal with the Student-Athlete Reinstatement Committee.
Once the request is submitted, it is reviewed by the committee staff, which can then lead to reinstated eligibility with no conditions, reinstatement with conditions or the denial of eligibility. At press time the two remain suspended from the basketball team.
Last season, Simmons started all 32 games scoring 400 points, averaging 12.5 points per game, which ranked her number 14 in the nation in scoring among freshmen. She led the Blue Devils in scoring for 12 of their 32 games and broke a single-season freshman record with 23 double-digit scoring games.
Oglesby averaged nine points per game in the 2008-09 season, and finished the season ranked 11 in the conference with an average of .79 shots blocked per game. This season she was averaging 4.4 rebounds per game with 7.3 points.
The Blue Devils were 4-8 with Simmons and Oglesby and have gone 7-8 since their suspension. With the void made by the loss of two key players from the roster, other Blue Devils are stepping forward to ensure a playoff berth towards the end of the 2009-10 season.
