Purdue Basketball Suspends Basil Smotherman For Season Opener

It was announced on Wednesday that Purdue has suspended forward Basil Smotherman for the Boilermakers season opener this fall. The redshirt junior will miss the opener for the 2016-17 season against McNeese State, as well as the exhibition game against Southern Indiana and the secret scrimmage against West Virginia.

Although it's not being reported as to what Smotherman specifically did, the suspension is the end result of a violation of team rules.

"We have suspended Basil for our first three competitions for a violation of team rules. We hold our players to high standards and when they don't meet those standards, there will be consequences. Basil knows he made a mistake and will learn from it," mentioned head coach Matt Painter.

Smotherman is coming off of a redshirt season in 2015-16, with the wing working on developing last season as Purdue had a log jam of talent in the front court. While Smotherman didn't play last year, he played in 66 games his first two seasons with the Boilers, averaging 3.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game.

While there's still a bit of a log jam in the front court, with both Caleb Swanigan and Vince Edwards returning, Smotherman has plenty of experience and is set to provide plenty of depth for Purdue in the upcoming season.

The news of a player being suspended is never a positive, but this isn't the first time an experienced Boilermaker has had a similar suspension. In 2013 Painter handed out a similar punishment (two exhibition games and the season opener) to center A.J. Hammons for a violation of team rules. Hammons also missed time at the beginning of last season before returning for a strong senior season.