The underside of the B.J. Smith saga

On a weekend when its basketball teams plays Arkansas, its women's soccer team goes to the NCAA Tournament, and its football team plays an OVC rival, Southeast hopes nobody notices that its women's basketball coach just got taken to the woodshed.

Word leaked out quietly Thursday about B.J. Smith's suspension, or in university PR lingo, "personal leave." The news ranks so far down on the school's sports web site that the leading scorer for this weekend's opponent, Tulsa, is described in greater detail than Smith's absence and the ensuing coaching change.

There's already buzz that Smith, who rankled the Southeast status quo with a list of NCAA violations less than five years into his job, might not be back. The fact that Smith told the Southeast Missourian that he's staying quiet on the advice of his attorney puts the issue right up there between trouble and turmoil.

But given Southeast's situation, nothing will come as a surprise. Athletic director Don Kaverman expects to hear soon from the NCAA over a list of violations uncovered first through an outside firm this year. The group found problems in seven categories, and the NCAA set out on its own investigation shortly after. The NCAA came up with a similar list of problems in the men's basketball program less than 10 years ago -- and their report came out shortly after Southeast showed men's coach Ron Shumate the door. Coincidentally, the NCAA report on the women's program is expected any day now.

We should know soon if Smith's departure -- temporary or longterm -- is a pre-emptive move in response to the incoming NCAA report. The early speculation is focused on Smith's supervision of a class called "Coaching Basketball," which students say Smith missed more often than he attended. Another instructor took over the class on Thursday, the same day John Ishee became interim head coach of the basketball team.

Southeast has replaced its football coach and men's basketball coach both in the past year. Both processes had the appearance of seamless, smooth transitions that have, so far, appeared to make both programs better. This time, if Smith's exit really is more than just a temporary leave, Southeast won't walk away from it without a black eye. And that's the bad news that Southeast can't ignore.