Nut Job

I made the mistake of trusting a Bubblee's judgment. Flash told me that Bubba was a solid guy, and I believed him. Initially, Bubba didn't give me a reason to have pause about offering him a spot on the team. He was 6'6 with a solid frame and great hands. Although Bubba didn't like to get physical inside, he could make outside shots and take opponents off the dribble. It seemed to me that I had struck gold--or at least silver.

Things went downhill after I watched Bubba work out. I didn't expect that at all since we had a great meeting before he left campus. He was well spoken, and seemed like a nice guy who relished the opportunity to play college ball after essentially doing nothing since graduating from high school two years prior. For months afterwards, he didn't return my phone calls or texts. After awhile, I figured Bubba got cold feet and decided to just keep idling in the hood.

Three months later, Bubba got back to me. He apologized for falling off the map and noted that some "stuff was going on" in his life. After that phone call, once again, he vanished--only to reappear two weeks before school started. He sounded remorseful, but by then the red flags were too apparent to ignore. I told him to go somewhere else. At that point, his boy (Flash) jumped in to save the day. Flash had played one year for me and was my leading scorer. He begged me to give Bubba another chance.

Bubba ended up enrolling. Within a month, he was failing every class. He even skipped preseason workouts. After I received an email from a professor about his frequent trips to the bathroom, I let him have it. Out of frustration, I put him on blast in front of some teammates and told him to write "I will stop acting like a 10 year old" 100 times.

He completed the assignment, but asked me for an apology since I had scolded him in front of the guys. I told Bubba to take a hike instead. He didn't even make it to the first exhibition game. It wasn't long before Bubba disappeared altogether. After some time, Flash delivered some news to me that I didn't expect.

Flash: Sorry things didn't work out with Bubba, Coach. I really thought he was serious. He's been my boy for a minute. I never expected this.
Me: Your boy was a mess. Thank you for that recommendation.
Flash: My fault. I guess you never really know dudes. The news keeps getting worse with him.
Me: What happened?
Flash: First off, he told my girl that I was cheating on her. He's supposed to be my ace! We grew up together, Coach! When I checked him on it, he denied it but I know my girl ain't lyin because of what she said. Feel me?
Me: Yeh. Where is he now, anyway?
Flash: He must've lost it or something after his girl broke up with him. I heard he's up in a nut house now.