Delaware dismisses all-conference guard Jarvis Threatt
Two of the biggest stars of Delaware's first NCAA tournament team since 1999 already are moving on after graduating this spring.
Now it appears the Blue Hens will also have to replace a third.
Combo guard Jarvis Threatt, perhaps the preseason favorite to win CAA player of the year honors next season, has been dismissed from school because of an undisclosed violation of team rules, Delaware announced Tuesday afternoon. The 6-foot-2 senior-to-be averaged 18.0 points, 5.4 assists and 5.8 rebounds per game as a junior, earning CAA tournament most outstanding player honors after tallying 59 points in three games.
The loss of Threatt, Devon Saddler and Davon Usher leaves Delaware little hope of capturing back-to-back CAA titles or returning to the NCAA tournament for a second straight season.
Those three accounted for 57 of Delware's 79 points per game last season and tallied 55 of the 78 the Blue Hens managed in an opening round NCAA tournament loss to fourth-seeded Michigan State. Throw in the fact that fourth-leading scorer and top rebounder Carl Baptiste also is graduating, and the outlook becomes even more bleak.
The dismissal of Threatt comes after a junior season marred by a pair of disciplinary infractions. He did not travel for an important Jan. 18 game at Northeastern after missing a class and he was suspended from the team for a month barely a week later after violating an unspecified school policy.
Delaware survived without Threatt last February, but it will be more difficult next season without Saddler, Usher and Baptiste. Senior guard Kyle Anderson and junior forward Marvin King-Davis will be the only scholarship players in the junior and senior classes. Incoming freshmen Kory Holden and Anthony Mosley will almost certainly see immediate playing time at point guard next season as well.
With Threatt, Delaware's nucleus was probably formidable enough to contend in the CAA again next season. Without him, that task just got a whole lot tougher.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
