Louisville suspends starting PF
Defending national champion Louisville announced the suspension of starting power forward Chane Behanan Thursday afternoon.
Louisville coach Rick Pitino said he and UofL Vice President Tom Jurich met and set a plan for Behanan after recent misbehavior. Pitino noted that it is possible for Behanan to rejoin the team.
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"It's possible, but not likely," Pitino said. "We set a plan for him to be able to rejoin the team, and he has already violated that in the first week so I don't think it is very likely."
A preseason All-American Athletic Conference selection, Behanan averaged 9.8 points and 6.5 rebounds last season. Behanan was named to the 2013 NCAA Final Four All-Tournament team after his 15 points and 12 rebounds against Michigan in the national championship game.
Pitino noted that the loss of Behanan won't effect the No. 3 ranked Cardinals as much on the court as some might expect.
"This will result in Montrezl Harrell playing at least 34 minutes a game, and that isn't such a bad thing," Pitino said.
Pitino did note, however, that Louisville will need more contributions from Stephan Van Treese, Mangok Mathiang and Akoy Agau in the post.
Behanan has been suspended at Louisville before, but never to this extent.
"He's not coming back in the month of November I can assure you that," Pitino said. "It is possible that he could come back in December, but I doubt that right now. But he will definitely won't be back in November."
Pitino said Behanan has been out of the team's dorm for four days, but confirmed he is still on campus and enrolled in classes.
"We will keep him in shape and work with him, but he just won't be a part of the team," Pitino said. "