Uh, this is pretty big news. Baylor's Perry Jones has been suspended for tonight's Big 12 tournament game against the Oklahoma Sooners, according to a TV report. Adam Winkler of KEYE TV in Austin, TX reports that Jones III will not play tonight due to the suspension.
He tweets that "it could be more than just a violation of [team] rules." Other reports say the violation involves impermissible benefits and he could be done at Baylor. We're not sure what the situation is.
If so, wow. This is obviously incredibly bad timing for Baylor as they prepare to play Oklahoma at 6:00 p.m. in the Sprint Center for the first round of the Big 12 tournament. The timing is also strange considering the NY Times profiled him just this morning.
This affects a lot of things.
First, it gives Oklahoma a better chance of beating Baylor. Jones III was averaging nearly 14 points per game and over seven rebounds per game. Just a freshman, he's projected to be one of the top picks in the 2011 NBA draft, if he decides to leave. After this, you wonder if he's more or less likely to go pro.
Second, what does this do to Baylor's chances in the Big 12 tournament? If they had any NCAA tournament hopes, they had to make a big run in this tournament. That task just got tougher.