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More bad news came out of the Rutgers men's basketball program today. It has been a season filled with losing, injury, and now suspension. It was announced this afternoon that Rutgers men's basketball coach Eddie Jordan has suspended junior forward Deshawn Freeman from all team activities indefinitely.
Eddie Jordan has suspended Deshawn Freeman from team activities for failure to meet team responsibilities, Rutgers announces.
— Jerry Carino (@NJHoopsHaven) February 9, 2016
Jerry Carino has more in this article here. Eddie Jordan's quote:
"To build a winning program, all of our student-athletes must commit to be successful academically, personally and athletically," Jordan said in a statement. "Deshawn has not met these expectations in a consistent manner. He has the opportunity to return to basketball activities once he does."
Freeman has NOT been removed from the program. My read: This is a warning shot.
— Jerry Carino (@NJHoopsHaven) February 9, 2016
It sounds like Freeman is expected to return next season, assuming he is able to rebound from this suspension in a positive way. Freeman is recovering from a right knee injury and is eligible to take a medical redshirt this season. That would leave Freeman with two more seasons of eligibility, which was one small bit of positive news to come from this miserable season. He was leading Rutgers in scoring with 13.1 points per game at the time of his injury.
However, if Freeman does not return, it would leave a huge void in the frontcourt for next season's team. Credit Eddie Jordan for holding Freeman accountable and not keeping this suspension private. He is clearly trying to send the talented forward a message. Eddie has not been afraid to lay down the law this season, as he benched star point guard Corey Sanders for two games back in January. However, the suspension of Freeman is far more serious. Will he receive the message from Jordan or will he join a group of many Rutgers players before him that have transferred from the program? Only time will tell.