2MSN.net

If you’re a college basket ball fan and haven’t heard of Jimmer Fredette, you’re probably living under a rock. The Brigham Young University point guard sensation, is currently the nation’s leading scorer and his Cougars are ranked third overall. Many analysts have them in top contention for one of the four coveted #1 seeds in the NCAA tournament. But with some recent news, BYU’s aspirations of pushing far into March Madness may be crushed.

According to MSN’s sport page, BYU has announced that its starting center has been dismissed from the team and will not play again this season. Brandon Davies, a 6’9” sophomore was apparently kicked off the team for a BYU honor code violation. Being owned and run by the LDS Church, BYU students are required to sign an agreement upon enrollment committing them to observe the law, maintain academic honesty, and abstain from porfanity, coffee, drugs, alcohol, gambling, and pre-marital sex. The BYU honor code office declined to specify which of these rules Davies violated but did say that his offense was not criminal or academic in nature. Some local radio stations in the area have been saying his girlfriend recently discovered she was pregnant.

With this dismissal, BYU may have lost an irreplaceable component to their team. Davies averages about 11 points a game and leads the team in rebounds with 6 per game. Losing his fire power and his inside presence could be a huge setback for the Cougars. While honor code violations have led to the suspension of athletes in the past at BYU, none have ever come at this critical of a juncture. Last year it was learned that the football team’s running back star, Harvey Unga was expecting with his girlfriend. However, this news came during the off season when BYU had time to adjust and nothing was on the line.

Because of the honor code, many people think BYU will never have another championship team in any sport. Only time will tell. But in any case, without Davies or not, we’re still looking forward to see Jimmer go crazy come March Madness. Let’s hope it last for more than just two games this year.