Jalen Reynolds Suspended Indefinitely

Jalen Reynolds has struggled to make a great impact on much other than opposing players this season, but the young big man took a step forward against Providence, when he logged eight minutes, scored six points, and only committed one foul. Unfortunately, that step forward has been followed by a giant step back as Xavier suspended the freshman indefinitely today. According to Coach Chris Mack:

"All of our players have responsibilities greater than basketball. Any time those responsibilities are not given the appropriate attention, the first thing eliminated to allow them to narrow their focus is basketball. When Jalen can demonstrate he is able to successfully manage those responsibilities, he will re-join our team."

Rumor is currently swirling on the Twitterspher that this is related to academic struggles. That is unconfirmed, but Reynolds did miss last season as an academic non-qualifier. There is not currently any reason to believe that this is a major issue. This season Jalen averages 2.8/2.8/.2 in 10.1 minutes. His offensive rebounding rate of 15.7% leads the team, and his 16.6% defensive rebounding rate is third on the team. His 8.8 fouls committed per 40 minutes continues to be an inspiration to everyone addicted to illegal contact.