Wes Flanigan said he wasn't "ready to give up on the season yet" a day after permanently suspending his leading scorer.
The University of Arkansas at Little Rock's second-year men's basketball coach said after Tuesday's practice that the team had "to move forward" after the dismissal of sophomore guard Andre Jones (12.3 points per game), whose ejection during Saturday's 81-51 loss to Georgia State was "probably the last straw" in two seasons of "conduct detrimental to the program."
Flanigan did not declare a starter to replace Jones in the lineup, but he said he's "pretty sure it will be" junior guard Camron Reedus or freshman guard Cameron Corcoran.
Reedus has started in three games and has scored 9.3 ppg during Sun Belt Conference play. Corcoran has not started, but he averages 6.4 ppg and leads the team in made three-pointers (33) and three-point percentage (43.4).
"We'll go with one of those guys, give us some added shooting," Flanigan said. "Corcoran's been good from a shooting standpoint. He's got a little ways to go defensively for us. Reedus has had two good practices since everything has happened. So, we'll have a little better feel for it on Thursday."
UALR (5-19, 2-9 Sun Belt) plays at South Alabama (11-12, 4-6) at 7:05 p.m.
Flanigan said Trojans players were unavailable for comment because they had a community event immediately after practice.
Flanigan addressed the team during Monday morning's practice regarding Jones' status, and he said he is "anxious to see how they respond when we play on Thursday."
"Again, Andre was a vital part of our team," Flanigan said. "So, when you miss your best player, obviously you've got to make some adjustments. And so, we're going to have to make that adjustment. We've got to move forward."
Flanigan's suspension of Jones adds to a list of significant roster adjustments he's made since he was hired March 31, 2016.
Before the 2016-2017 season, the Trojans lost starting senior point guard Dayshawn Watkins for the year with a toe injury.
Before the 2017-2018 season, junior guard Deondre Burns, UALR's returning leading scorer, was lost for the season with an MCL injury.
"You see us struggling, and a lot of it was because some of our older guys that we've counted on to this point hadn't either dressed out for us or they just haven't stepped up and been good players for us," Flanigan said. "These are the things that people don't see that's outside of our program that we have to deal with. It's been a detriment, but our staff has made do with what we have.
"Our players have stepped up and done what they have. We're just trying to seize the moment right now and get better. That's all we can do is control what we can control. That's our effort and attitude whenever we come out here every day."
Sports on 02/07/2018