Friday, April 12, 2002
Little is likeable but volatile, many say
Former UC basketball player indicted in assault-kidnapping
By Michael Perry mperry@enquirer.com
The Cincinnati Enquirer
![[click thumbnail for larger image]](http://enquirer.com/editions/2001/12/15/shootout/little_150x200.jpg)
Donald Little wears a big smile after UC's win over Xavier last season.
(Jeff Swinger photo)
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Donald Little can be pleasant and polite, personable and popular, a player liked by his University of Cincinnati basketball teammates and entrusted by his coach to entertain recruits.
But Little can be emotional, and that caused him problems even before his career at UC. Now he finds himself not only dismissed from the team, but facing felony charges.
A Hamilton County grand jury on Thursday indicted Little and Porfirio Baldwin each on two counts of felonious assault and one count of kidnapping in the alleged assault and torture of Little's roommate, Justin Hodge, on April 1.
If convicted, Little and Baldwin each could face 26 years in prison.
“If Donald did those things to Justin, I'd have to see it on the video to believe it,” Little's mother, Catherine White, said. “I'm not saying that because it's my child. You start to look at patterns and the way people act, and he's not the kind of guy to act like that.”
Although Little does have a history of his emotions getting the better of him, it apparently never had been to the degree alleged now. In fact, people who know him tend to see him as a generally positive guy who sometimes doesn't consider the consequences of his actions.
A 6-foot-11, 233-pound native of Augusta, Ga., Little was among the Bearcats who spent the most time after basketball games signing autographs, taking pictures with fans and talking to kids — win or lose, good or bad performance.
UC coaches would often ask Little to host recruits because he was enjoyable to be around and honest about his experiences with the program and coach Bob Huggins.
“Donald's a kid who really is a happy-go-lucky sort,” UC assistant coach Andy Kennedy said. “I've been defending him for the past two weeks. He obviously used very poor judgment. He's highly emotional.”
According to an affidavit filed in court April 2, Little allegedly hit Hodge over the head with a whiskey bottle, “dropped some weights” on his face and had Hodge taped to a chair to prevent him from leaving their off-campus apartment.
Hodge claimed Little punched him in the face and kicked him repeatedly. Authorities believe Little was upset because he'd lost $2,500 and accused Hodge of taking the money. UC athletic department assistant athletic director for media relations Tom Hathaway says $700 was Little's monthly room-and-board subsidy and the rest was student financial aid.
Huggins dismissed Little from the basketball program April 3. It was the second time Huggins had dismissed him from the program. The first was in May, after a series of charges for allegedly kicking a female manager at Inn The Woods Tavern in Clifton Heights, and for allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol, driving with a suspended license, speeding in a work zone and possession of marijuana.
Eventually, those charges were reduced or dismissed. Little pleaded guilty to persistent disorderly conduct for the Inn The Woods incident and to charges of reckless driving, an open-container violation and having no driver's license in his possession for the other. Little was reinstated by UC in September, but placed on behavior probation by the athletic department.
“We spoke our words when we gave him a second chance (in the fall),” UC athletic director Bob Goin said. “That spoke volumes of what we thought of him. It should disappoint Donald for not taking full advantage of the opportunity that was given to him both as a basketball player and as a student.”
Huggins declined comment. Hodge and Little were unavailable for comment.
Little, who turns 24 on May 10, is still on athletic scholarship at UC for the spring quarter. Hathaway said Little is registered for classes and on schedule to earn his undergraduate degree in June.
Of the 15 players who have played for Huggins and earned degrees, only Keith Gregor came in as a freshman and graduated from UC in four years; Little would be the second.
He would have taken classes toward a master's degree and played next season as a fifth-year senior because he was injured his first season and received an extra (redshirt) season.
But now, Little is being portrayed as typifying how the UC team is willing to take and keep players of questionable character. Espn.com's Web site is running a quiz to match seven former players and Huggins with their respective incidents and records.
Yet, by many accounts, Little had made strides as a player and a person since last summer.
Emotional as a prep
Mr. Little came to UC from the Winchendon School, a private college preparatory boarding school 65 miles from Boston. Students wear jackets and ties. No facial hair is allowed. Wake-up is at 7 a.m., and lights out at 10:30 p.m. It's a structured, disciplined environment.
Mike Byrnes, Winchendon's coach, said Little was a solid B student who worked hard in the weight room and during preseason conditioning in fall 1997.
“It seemed like whenever we would play pickup games, when things would not go his way, he was a very, very emotional kid,” Byrnes said. “When he would lose control of his emotions, it would take him a while to get back control of his composure. He would mouth off. But the thing was, he'd be emotional, and I'd get on him, and within a half-hour, he'd come back in my office and say, "Coach, I'm sorry. I was wrong. I shouldn't have done that.'”
After two suspensions, Byrnes kicked Little off the team for good.
“I tried everything,” Byrnes said. “I tried the hard love. I tried patting him on the back. I tried the individual one-on-one talks. ... I felt like I wanted him to succeed more than Donald did from time to time.”
Little apologized to the players and told Byrnes he didn't like the decision, but that he understood. “I need to work on my emotions,” Byrnes said Little told him.
“When I did put him off the team, it seemed at times like it was almost a relief for him,” Byrnes said. “He wasn't dismissed from school. He very rarely missed class. He's a very articulate kid. There was not one discipline problem on campus. He was very cordial to his teachers.”
Kevin Kenny, now coach at Evans High School in Augusta, Ga., coached Little from ninth to 11th grade at Hephzibah High School. Then, Little left for Mt. Zion Christian Academy, considered a top basketball program, at the beginning of his senior year.
“I never had any problems with Donald,” Kenny said. “He matured as the years went on. He worked hard in practice. He did a good job for us.
“He showed some emotion, but it wasn't anything negative. No temper, where he'd lash out. There were times we had to tell him, "Donald, tone it down a little bit,' but nothing out of the ordinary. What happened (in Cincinnati) really blew me away.”
At UC, Little would argue with Huggins or get in trouble off the court, show remorse, behave for a period of time, then make another mistake.
“In any situation on the floor when he did not think rationally, in the locker room or after the game he'd apologize or say thanks for trying to help him,” Kennedy said. “In the heat of the moment, he just did not have the capability of consistently controlling himself.”
When Little was reinstated to the team Sept. 21, there were several conditions, including court-mandated anger manage ment counseling.
Little attended meetings with counselors in the Dean of Students office and also attended six sessions with psychologist Gail H. Friedman of the Behavioral Science Center Inc.
In a letter to Hamilton County Municipal Judge Timothy Black dated Nov. 30, 2001, Ms. Friedman wrote that Little had successfully completed six sessions in anger management.
“He is improving in impulse control and demonstrates a more positive attitude,” Ms. Friedman wrote. “It has been a pleasure working with him.”
Ms. Friedman said she could not comment further, citing confidentiality.
Judge Black ended Little's probation Dec. 5.
Little did display a more positive approach during most of the basketball season. His coaches and teammates said that several times.
But Little long had been popular among the Bearcats.
“When I was there, Donald was one of the guys I hung around with pretty much every day,” said Denver Nuggets rookie point guard Kenny Satterfield. “He's just fun to be around.”
“I like Donald a lot,” said another former teammate, Pete Mickeal, who plays for the Kansas City Knights of the minor-league American Basketball Association.
Close-knit family
Growing up, Little was surrounded by females.
“That's why he's so emotional, I think,” said his mother.
Donald Little Sr. moved out when his son was about 4 years old and lived in North Carolina. Donald would spend summers with his dad, but otherwise was raised by his mother, sister Deyanna and a close-knit family that included five aunts, his grandmother and great-grandmother Edith, who is 88.
Two uncles and his father were Donald's biggest male influences. Ms. White said Donald's father was “absent but active,” and though the father-and-son relationship has been strained over the years, it was Donald Little Sr. who was in Cincinnati on Thursday for the grand jury decision.
Ms. White, an assistant director for a 911 communications center in Augusta, Ga., called Donald “a typical boy” growing up.
“He was mischievous,” she said. “He played a lot of sports. He's an avid swimmer. He's a golfer. His first year in high school, he played drums in marching band. He played football, even though he was so scrawny.”
With no brothers, Ms. White said, Donald often connected with boys he would meet and remain loyal to them. He became close with teammates, including NBA Orlando Magic star Tracy McGrady (when the two were at Mt. Zion) and Chris Seabrooks (Winchendon).
Seabrooks, who transfered from the University of Pittsburgh to Northern Kentucky University and is one of Little's closest friends, is facing a misdemeanor menacing charge for allegedly making threatening statements about Hodge, but was not involved in the assault on Hodge, according to police.
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Little is likeable but volatile, many say
