KNOXVILLE, Tenn., May 2 (UPI) -- University of Tennessee men's basketball Coach Bruce Pearl Friday night dismissed two players before the team's annual banquet.
The players are sophomore forward Duke Crews and sophomore point guard Ramar Smith.
The Knoxville News-Sentinel reported that violations of the team's substance abuse policy and academic shortcomings were factors.
"I am disappointed that Duke and Ramar did not meet the mark and did not succeed to the level of our expectations," Pearl told the newspaper. "They did a lot of good things but they also failed to do some things. We just felt like both the university and these student athletes are better served if they move on."
Crews was suspended 30 days last September for a violation of team rules which the News-Sentinel said included an incident during a search of his on-campus apartment that turned up a small amount of marijuana.
He was not charged by campus police in that incident.
