Villanova has suspended freshman forward JayVaughn Pinkston for the rest of the season after he was charged with assault.
School officials on Monday announced that Pinkston will be able to rejoin the school and the team in June. He still has to reapply to school next summer to regain student in good standing status.
“I am sorry,” Pinkston said in a statement. “This situation is my responsibility and I have learned from it. I am going to work extremely hard so that I can return to the Villanova family in June.”
Upper Merion Township police charged Pinkston with simple assault and harassment in November following an off-campus altercation. The top recruit had been held out of all Villanova’s games this season.
“This is an unfortunate situation for everyone involved,” said Kimani Young, Pinkston’s mentor with the New Heights AAU program. “Villanova is a great place for him as a player and as a person. It is our hope that JayVaughn will be able to continue his education and basketball career at Villanova in the fall. JayVaughn is learning a valuable life lesson through this process and will become a better young man from it.”
Said head coach Jay Wright: “I am in support of the University’s decision. JayVaughn understands that there are consequences to his actions, and I believe he will continue to handle this in a mature manner. We look forward to his return in June.”
A McDonald’s All-American out of Brooklyn Bishop Loughlin, Pinkston chose Villanova over Tennessee last year.
(The AP contributed; Photo courtesy Villanova Athletics)
matty1959 / December 6, 2010
While I feel this punishment is extreme, I commend Villanova for having much higher standards than most schools especially those in the Big East. We already know by history that if this was Uconn, West Virginia, etc., Pinkston would be playing right now.
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InsideACCHoops.com / December 6, 2010
Sad to see, but ultimately could help my Terps. They need a victory on Jan. 15th to bolster their out of conference schedule.
By the way, for all of the best ACC news in one spot, check out http://www.InsideACCHoops.com
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JonHuskyMS / December 6, 2010
What history are you referring to?
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gazzosdriver / December 6, 2010
Joe Mazzulla, West Virginia – two arrests, never missed a game
Marcus Williams, UConn – theft – suspended for the non-conference portion of the season
Ben Gordon, UConn – arrested for assaulting a female student, played the next night
Eric Devendorf, Syracuse, arrested for assaulting a female student – suspended for the semester – Boeheim calls the suspension too harsh
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matty1959 / December 7, 2010
Gazzo: Thanks for that. I was not going to bring up those examples and OTHERS where players for other BE schools committed criminal acts and were playing soon afterwards.
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