I actually do apologize, I do not think he is a thug.
I think the word thug was a bad choice, he shows disrespect for authority and it's worsened by authority being easy on him because of his talent..
ISU has had their share that were more of the definition of thug - but still nowhere near the number that Kansas, Cincy, & UK have had
and Vent- I did a search on BradleyFans and on the ISU board and on the other local board for the word "thug"
It's not precise since the search still find each post where the word is NOT used but merely quoted from a prior post...
but here's what I find...
It's used a couple dozen times total...on both BradleyFans and on Redbirdfan - averages out to 4-5X/yr ...just about equal number of times on both boards.
The ISU fans have used it in reference to the Illini, to the Shockers, various other teams and opponents, and a few times in reference to their own players and to Bradley players.
It's used 2-3 times as often on the PJS board for Grayson Allen, Johnny Manziel, a number of other random times including even the use in title threads...plus it's used by a few anti-Jim Les posters to label some of Bradley's own players, such as Daniel Ruffin, as a thug. I find it interesting that they don't use the word in regards to the Geno player who was charged with the exact same offense, although the JL player's charge was never pursued due to completed supervision while the GF players charge & conviction are still on the record.
So there - maybe it's a bad word, but it seems to get used a lot as a reasonably casual label.