MORE LOST OPPORTUNITIES AT THE CONVOCATION CENTER.

It's college basketball season, which means the police blotter is sometimes more important than the injury report.

Eugene German, a junior guard who starred for the Northern Illinois University basketball team last season, faces battery charges stemming from an incident in May in which he is accused of throwing eggs at two women, a source close to the investigation told the Daily Chronicle on Tuesday.

NIU athletics officials said Monday that German, of the 800 block of Fotis Drive in DeKalb, had been suspended from competition in the wake of shoplifting charges against him becoming public. They did not address the battery charges against German, for which he was arrested in August, court records show.

Jeremy Reid, a director of communications within the athletic department, said the department won’t generally comment on charges against student-athletes. He added that German was facing discipline from the team for the battery charges.

The shoplifting allegations, as recited in DeKalb's Daily Chronicle, are redolent of Animal House.

Police said German, along with two teammates, Zaire Mateen, 20, of the 500 block of North Annie Glidden Road; and Dante Thorpe, 24, of the 700 block of Fotis Drive, were charged with retail theft, a local ordinance violation that carries a potential fine of $300. Police said the three were shopping at Walmart, 2300 Sycamore Road, when they left several items in their cart while checking out and did not pay for them. The items had a value of less than $50, DeKalb police Cmdr. Steve Lekkas said.

He said a self-checkout clerk got suspicious and alerted security, which then provided video to police.

“It’s a disappointing and bad decision, regardless,” Lekkas said.

Lekkas said after the NIU Athletic Department was notified, the three men turned themselves in and didn’t have to post any bail, because it’s merely an ordinance violation, which can be settled by Dec. 17 with a payment of $300 apiece.

“Everybody was cooperative,” Lekkas said.

NIU men’s hoops coach Mark Montgomery was not made available for comment Tuesday, but he issued a statement Monday:

“We are aware of the incident involving three members of our program and are very disappointed in their actions as they do not reflect the high standards that we have for our student-athletes. As a result, each of these three student-athletes has been suspended indefinitely from competition.”

Perhaps, yet again, the women's basketball team will be the highest achieving winter sport.  The players have a history of making the grade and there's more than a little unfinished business in their minds.  It's not going to be easy.

The Huskies were picked fourth in the west in the MAC Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll. NIU had 38 points, three behind third-place Eastern Michigan. The Huskies also garnered a vote to win the 2019 MAC Tournament, one of only three teams picked to win.

Oh, there is the occasional trespass, in the form of a speeding ticket, to be forgiven.