:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/photo_images/4750566/133210367.jpg)
Josiah Tuner, Arizona's prized freshman point gaurd, has been suspended for Wednesday's nationally televised game versus the Florida Gators.
Turner missed the last team practice, which led Coach Sean Miller to leave him off the team flight to the Sunshine state.
Via Arizonaathletics.com:
"Josiah will not play in Wednesday's game at Florida," said UA head coach Sean Miller. "We will meet with him when we return to campus to discuss what his obligations to this program are moving forward."
This is the third time Turner has had issue with team practices; the first one coming when he was late to a team shoot around before the Duquesne game. This also had an influence on Turner not playing against Ball State on November 13th.
Turner was also kicked out of practice the week of New Mexico State. He did play in the NMSU game, so whatever act was committed must not have been too bad to warrant a benching. I had been sitting on this, but with this latest news, I felt it was necessary to inform you all of the entire situation. For those who believe in journalistic integrity, I heard this from two separate sources, so don't you fret.
Sean Miller is showing he has backbone on this issue and will not let his players dictate who is in control. (While Miller is staying control, Ben Howland is having issues with that as he seemingly lets star Reeves Nelson do what he wants.)
If Turner wants to have an extended career in the NBA (or just make it), he will have to show he is a team player who can follow simple team guidelines. Turner was also kicked off his high school team, for what his coach said was a violation of "athletic rules and regulations and team rules and regulations."
This seems like a kid who just doesn't know where the line is and crosses it much too often. Hopefully he can get it together, because he has all the talent in the world. But you can' win a game when you're home on the other side of the country.
PointGuardU.com was the first to break this story.