Kansas basketball coach Bill Self announced Monday that Jayhawks guards Tyshawn Taylor and Elijah Johnson would be suspended for the team's exhibition games against Pittsburg State and Fort Hays State for a violation of team rules over the summer.
"Tyshawn and Elijah have both been terrific since school began in August," Self said. "They've not only performed well, they have been very responsible and disciplined the first few months of the school year. But during the offseason they violated a rule that I told them, because of some past experiences, their punishment was going to be severe and I was going to hold them out of the two exhibition games. They have been aware of this for several months and also are disappointed, but have had very positive attitudes about it."
Taylor, a 6'3 185 point guard, is the only scholarship senior on the roster. A three-year starter, he has been a role player for most of his career at Kansas, averaging 9.1 points and 4.5 assist a game, but is expected to take on a bigger role in the offense after the departure of the Morris twins to the NBA.
Johnson, a 6'4 195 junior combo guard, played behind Sherron Collins, Xavier Henry, Tyrel Reed, Brady Morningstar and Taylor as an underclassmen. But the highly-regarded recruit will probably be a starter on a much thinner Jayhawks team this year.
As Self mentioned, both players have had discipline problems in their time in Lawrence.
Taylor was suspended for the Oklahoma and Oklahoma State games last season for an undisclosed violation of team rules, and he missed time as a sophomore in 2009 after injuring his thumb in a brawl with the football team.
Johnson was also suspended for the first two games of last season for an undisclosed violation of team rules.
No. 13 Kansas starts their season with a game at No. 2 Kentucky on Nov. 15.
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