Xavier announced today that senior guard Tu Holloway will be inactive for the Muskies' season opening game against Morgan State on November 11. Xavier and Holloway self-reported a secondary violation to the NCAA as soon as it happened back in August. The violation comes with a mandatory one-game suspension, which Tu will serve on Armistice Day. It is believed the violation stems from Holloway's participation in multiple summer leagues, which runs contrary to NCAA rules.
The NCAA defines a secondary violation as "an isolated or inadvertent violation that provides or intends to provide only minimal recruiting, competitive or other advantages. Secondary violations do not include extra benefits or any significant recruiting benefits. If a school commits several secondary violations, they may collectively be considered a major infraction. Secondary violations occur frequently and are usually resolved administratively." Despite the fact that Holloway is Xavier's second major player - both seniors - to be suspended this year, the nature of the infractions in question and the fact that Xavier self-reported leads one to believe that the incidents were isolated in nature. There is no indication that any member of the Xavier squad has traded memorabilia for tattoos.
About the only meaningful repercussion of the suspension is that someone will have to start at the second guard spot across from Cheek. With Tu out for a game, it will be interesting to see if veteran guard Brad Redford gets the nod, or if Dee Davis, Dez Wells, or Justin Martin slides into the lineup. More than anything, this suspension might give fans an idea of how confident Coach Mack is with Cheek at the point and how quickly he thinks this year's crop of promising young guards is coming along.