Virginia men's basketball coach Tony Bennett announced yesterday that forward Jamil Tucker will be taking an indefinite leave of absence from the team's games and practices. The news comes less than a week after sophomore center Assane Sene has been suspended for the first three games of the season for detrimental conduct.
These two changes to the team's line-up could leave the Cavaliers' front court depleted heading into its season opener Friday against Longwood, but Bennett staunchly said he expects his team to perform up to its initial expectations.
"It's a situation where it's an opportunity for other guys on our team," Bennett said. "It makes us, I guess, thin on the forward or front-line part of things ... At times, you have to look at playing four guards, so it makes us, I guess, expand a little bit and do some things without that depth. But we move forward."
Appearing in all 28 games for the Cavaliers last season, Tucker averaged 7.4 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. He also led the team in three-point percentage, shooting 44.2 percent from beyond the arc while averaging 18.5 minutes per game. Leading the Cavaliers in scoring three games last season and breaking into double-figures 12 times, Tucker dropped a career-high 21 points on the road against Maryland. Against Longwood last December, Tucker notched his first career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
-compiled by Cayce Troxel
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