Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski shockingly announced Thursday that Rasheed Sulaimon had been kicked off the team for consistently being unable to live up to the standards of the program. There was no specific incident given as the reason for the junior guard’s dismissal, but it sounds like multiple issues led to this.
“Rasheed has been unable to consistently live up to the standards required to be a member of our program,” Coach K said in a press release. “It is a privilege to represent Duke University and with that privilege comes the responsibility to conduct oneself in a certain manner. After Rasheed repeatedly struggled to meet the necessary obligations, it became apparent that it was time to dismiss him from the program.”
Sulaimon’s minutes have steadily declined since his freshman season where he averaged 29.2 per game. He was averaging 19.3 minutes per game this season and likely was unhappy with his role.
SI’s Seth Davis reports that Sulaimon had been kicked out of practice a few times this season:
Coach K has tossed Sulaimon from practice a few times this season. Sulaimon played 12 mins, shot 1-6 fg in loss to NDame.
— Seth Davis (@SethDavisHoops) January 29, 2015
“It was an accumulation of a whole lot of residue,” a source told ESPN’s Jeff Goodman. “It had built up over time.
“His issues didn’t outweigh his talent.”
Sulaimon played in Duke’s loss to Notre Dame on Wednesday, so many think something happened after the game or during the team’s road trip.
Duke beat reporter Laura Keeley says “it was a recurring conduct issue” with Sulaimon. Keep in mind that Sulaimon also was suspended for a game last year.
Duke is now down to eight scholarship players, though the quality of those players is extremely high.
