Rewatching the Fleming play, it's incredible how fast Otchere was closing ground on Fleming. If he had room for another step or two he would have had Fleming beat. I'm sitting in the stands thinking why didn't he just let him go, but he nearly made an incredible play. It's a tough situation.
This was another game among most every one this year I could not attend live, but also watched the replay recently. I know, too, a lot of buzz from across the hall in the discussion about the play with opinions that Otchere should be suspended, maybe for the rest of the year, dirty play, etc. And I know, too, from over there that a lot probably comes from a never-ending hatred for all things SBU (which I find laughingly odd in basketball because, let's be honest, SBU never...except once of course...ruins everyone else's season and goes dancing...).
But I don't think it was a purposefully dirty play by Otchere. At the worst, maybe stupid or ill-advised, but not too sure of that either.
Of course replay (and slowing down/stopping) is not real life in the moment, and at that moment in time looked to me like a huge hustle play to nearly meet Fleming at the basket and then that flash of a decision to go for the block. Of course a good player is always keyed to hustle and make a stop if possible, and that was for sure the starting point of decision for Otchere. After that, I think it was a moment of instinct to not launch to block, to pull back. And from there it looks to me momentum carried over, he did impact Fleming (although I don't see a purposeful undercut or push as others claim they see), and it was just a bad situation from there.
Of course you might think, with careful consideration, that SBU was up big at that point so just let the guy go. That probably would have been the right decision, but for those of us who have seen Otchere all year you probably have to add the element of inexperience and aggressiveness into the mix (obviously the foundation of his often foul-prone games).
In the end it still was an ugly play, and a bad outcome for Fleming that could have been worse and thankfully wasn't. Despite my own opinion that Otchere did not do this on purpose, simply considering the ugliness of the play I could imagine a one-game suspension as being appropriate. Maybe just one of those things you gotta do and move on. Guess we'll see.