Andre Jones, a sophomore guard and the leading scorer on the University of Arkansas at Little Rock men's basketball team, was permanently suspended from the team "due to conduct detrimental to the program," second-year Coach Wes Flanigan said Monday.
Flanigan said he and his coaching staff met with Jones and his mother Saturday night following the Trojans' 81-51 loss to Georgia State. Jones, who leads the team with 12.3 points per game, had been ejected from the game after a verbal exchange with an official.
Flanigan said the ejection "was probably the last straw" for Jones, whose "conduct has been detrimental" during the past two seasons.
"Me and my staff spent a lot of time with Andre the last two years," Flanigan said, "and we just thought it was best to move on. I don't want anyone to have a misconception with the kid. He's a good kid. He has issues, and he's going to have a good career if someone's going to give him a second chance."
Jones was unavailable for comment Monday.
Flanigan said the athletic program distributes scholarship funds before the fall semester, and the funds cover a full academic year. He said Jones' scholarship will be honored and Jones will have access to tutoring and any other academic resources at the athletic department.
"He's just not part of the team," Flanigan said.
The spring term at UALR began Jan. 16, and Flanigan said Jones will have the opportunity to transfer to another institution.
Jones graduated from Malvern, where he led the team to the 4A state championship game in 2016 and was named the McDonald's Full Court Award winner as the top high school player in Arkansas. He started his high school career at Little Rock McClellan, where he led the team to a 5A championship and was named the state tournament's most valuable player.
Jones' dismissal comes with seven games remaining in one of the worst seasons (5-19, 2-9 Sun Belt Conference) in the history of the UALR program.
The 30-point loss to Georgia State was the worst Sun Belt loss since a 79-48 setback to South Alabama on March 1, 1998, and the Trojans' winning percentage (.182) ranks second lowest since UALR joined NCAA Division I for the 1979-1980 season.
The Trojans went 4-24 (.063) during the 1999-2000 season.
UALR had Sunday off, and Flanigan said he addressed the team during Monday morning's practice regarding Jones' suspension.
"They were fine," Flanigan said of the team's reaction. "They saw some things happening, and we had a pretty good workout this morning. Working to get better and be ready on Thursday without one of our best players."
Flanigan said he has not decided who will replace Jones in the lineup for Thursday's home game against South Alabama. The two games in which Jones did not start, junior guard K.J. Gilmore (2.5 points per game), played in his place.
Flanigan did not discuss his suspension of Jones when he spoke at the Downtown Tip Off Club Monday afternoon at the Wyndham Riverfront Hotel in North Little Rock.
UALR issued a news release less than an hour after the luncheon concluded.
Flanigan's speech -- which covered his collegiate playing career at Auburn and his survival of bone cancer in 1996 -- only alluded to a disrupted locker room.
"We're not going to win every game, that's not going to happen," Flanigan said. "But I guarantee you, you got a guy down in that locker room that's trying to teach. And I'm not going to be able to reach every one of those guys."
"Our job is first and foremost as mentors," he continued. "I can't get wrapped up in the winning right now. If I do that, with those young guys I've got in my locker room, I would probably lose half of them.
"Me and my staff, we're in the process of molding and teaching young men. And so, during this time, we've got to invest in them. And to be honest with you, you never know when that investment is going to come back to you. All you can do is kind of stay the course and hope that sometime at some point, that light will switch on with those guys and things will come out for the better for them."
SWAC MEN
ALABAMA STATE 65,
UAPB 59
Alabama State (5-18, 5-6) avenged a 26-point loss to UAPB (9-16, 9-2) on Jan. 8 in Montgomery, Ala., with the six-point victory Monday night at H.O. Clemmons Arena in Pine Bluff.
The Hornets led 36-33 at halftime and maintained at least a three-point advantage over the final 20 minutes.
Fausto Pichardo led Alabama State with 17 points and a game-high 15 rebounds. Reginald Gee had 14 points, while Tobi Ewuosho added 11 more for the Hornets.
UAPB’s Martaveous McKnight had a game-high 20 points for the Golden Lions, who led by as many as seven points (13-6) in the first half. Travon Harper scored 12 for UAPB, while Charles Jackson chipped in 10.
The Hornets outrebounded the Golden Lions 48-25 and led 18-5 in second-chance points.
SWAC WOMEN
UAPB 55,
ALABAMA STATE 53
Shawntayla Harris’ basket with 13 seconds left gave the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff (5-16, 3-8 Southwestern Athletic Conference) a one-point lead and Malaik Muhammad’s free throw with a second remaining clinched the Golden Lions’ victory over Alabama State (6-16, 4-7) at H.O. Clemmons Arena in Pine Bluff.
The two teams went back and forth for much of the game with Alabama State’s Arleatha Gipson’s free throw giving the Hornets a 53-52 lead with 1:29 remaining. After a UAPB turnover and a missed Alabama State three-pointer was rebounded by Faith Ohanta, Harris worked inside the lane to get the winning basket.
Alabama State’s Tatyana Calhoun led all scorers with 18 points.
Destiny Brewton and Kye Richardson led UAPB with 11 points apiece, while Harris chipped in 10.
Ohanta led all rebounders with seven.
UAPB, which led 28-27 at halftime, led by as many as four in the second half.
Sports on 02/06/2018