OK, not what you'd call Oscar-worthy stuff, but not the horror show that some previous efforts have been. In fact, the Bearcats lost to Rider by just eight points and were in contention well into the second half. Certainly, it was not the sort of lopsided loss they have become so accustomed to this season, which has included blowouts at the hands of Pitt (by 25), St. Bonaventure (by 26), Duquesne (by 18) and Western Carolina (by 29). And that was just during an 8-day stretch last month.
But this is how it is going to be this season for Macon, 40, who could not have found a more chaotic venue to begin his career as a collegiate head coach. In a scandal that occurred just months after Binghamton celebrated its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament last March, the university removed coach Kevin Broadus, who was placed on indefinite paid leave in October due to a recruiting violation, and tossed six players off the team. Included in that upheaval were star Emanuel "Tiki" Mayben, who pleaded not guilty in September to possessing and selling cocaine, and two Philadelphians - D.J. Rivera, of Neumann-Goretti High, and Malik Alvin, of Simon Gratz, for unspecified reasons. Binghamton athletic director Joel Thirer also stepped down.
Into this mess on the eve of the opening day of practice in October stepped Macon, who had worked as an assistant under Broadus since 2007. The all-time scoring leader at Temple, a three-time All-America and a former NBA player with Denver and Detroit, Macon began his coaching career as an assistant in 2003 under his old coach, Temple's John Chaney, before moving on 3 years later to Georgia State for the 2006-07 season. Given that Macon has just seven scholarship players, the Bearcats job was not exactly an attractive opportunity. But it was not one that Macon considered turning down, even for a second.
