Two Rutgers Players Defend Fired Coach Rice Two Rutgers basketball players on Mike Rice's team say the fired coach wasn't the abusive tyrant he appears to be on a widely viewed video that ultimately cost him his job. "You can't let those individual moments define what he was," junior forward Wally Judge said during a telephone interview Thursday. In my past two years, me being an older guy and being under other coaches, I have grown from the moment I stepped in these doors, not only as a player but also as a person because of how he has treated me. Sophomore forward Austin Johnson agreed. "He did a lot for us off the court, academically, socially," he said during a separate telephone conversation. I have to say I enjoyed my time, even it was an emotional rollercoaster. Rice was fired Wednesday, the day after a video aired on ESPN showing him shoving, grabbing and throwing balls at players in practice and using gay slurs. "I feel if people had a chance to see the other portions of practice, or had been at practice, their judgment would not be as severe," Johnson said. I am not saying what he did wasn't wrong, because I do believe it was wrong. But it is also tough because it was a highlight reel of his worst moments. "I never expected for this to escalate as fast as it did," Johnson said. We have to deal with this and it's new for a lot of the younger guys. En esta combinación de imágenes tomada de un video de ESPN, el técnico del equipo masculino de baloncesto de Rutgers, Mike Rice, patea, empuja y arroja pelotas a sus jugadores durante prácticas en Piscataway, Nueva Jersey. Rice fue despedido pero siguen las consecuencias del caso después que un grupo de profesores exigió la renuncia del presidente de la universidad (AP Foto/ESPN) Close Judge believes some of those moments come across worse on camera than they really were. Honestly, a lot of the things that have been seen have been taken out of context. A lot of things that aren't seen are when we grab him and kid around," Judge said. Like I said before, when people ask me why did I play for him, I told them 'He's a players' coach.' Mike was almost like a big brother. He would get on the floor with us and go through drills with us. He made it fun. When you have a big brother-type of figure, you know you can play around like that. I have grabbed Mike and put him in a headlock and we joke around and kid. That was the type of relationship he built with his players. Eric Murdock, former director of player development at Rutgers, put together the video that showed clips of several different practices over three years. In November, he showed it to athletic director Tim Pernetti. The following month, Rice was suspended three games for improper conduct, fined $75,000 and required to take anger management classes. Like the two Rutgers players, Pitt guard Travon Woodall also defended Rice, who recruited him when he was an assistant coach there. "They are going at my man Mike Rice too hard," Woodall tweeted. Murdock played in the NBA and was viewed in the program as someone who could mentor players. His contract was not renewed. I have a lot of respect for him. When he was here, he was somebody I would talk to because he knew of my aspirations for playing at the next level and he was a guy who had done it," Judge said. He was a great guy to talk to. As far as this situation goes, I understand everything that is going on; I can't necessarily be mad at him, but it's been blown out of proportion. There are certain ways of going about things and this wasn't the way.