The Big Lead

Brandon Davies is Out For the Season Because of an Honor Code Violation. WHY!?

By Stephen Douglas

None
facebooktwitter

Last year, running back Harvey Unga and his ex-girlfriend and basketball player Keilani Moeaki dropped out of school because of honor code violations. Guard Michael Loyd Jr transferred in the off season. Just take a look at the BYU Honor Code. It’s something else. Davies could have done anything from have sex with a man to wear a sleeveless t-shirt on campus.

BYU learned of the violation yesterday and Davies’ future at the university is still in question. Maybe he’ll be back next year. Who knows. All that matters is that this comes with a month remaining in the Jimmer Fredette era. Whatever Davies did, he couldn’t wait another month?

This is a big blow to BYU heading into the Mountain West tournament as they try to wrap up a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. It’s not that Davies has been huge this year (11 points, 6 boards a game), but BYU is really thin up front and he’s their best low post player. The 2010-2011 BYU basketball team is a once in a lifetime team for BYU. Twenty-three years ago, BYU was ranked #3 for a single week. Davies exit comes days after BYU tied that mark.

While 6.2 rebounds per game isn’t going to lead the nation, Brandon Davies is 6-9 and a legit low-post player. BYU need every rebound it can get. You’d be hard-pressed to find an elite team thinner up front than BYU. While March Madness is a very guard-oriented activity, BYU is going to miss those 12 points and 5 fouls down low.

As a BYU fan since Jimmer showed up in Provo, I’m devastated. To think that Jimmer and the Cougars had a legitimate shot at… well, they were going to be in a  good position to win a couple games in the tournament. They still are, but its going to be with a much greater degree of difficulty.

I remain shocked. In fact, I don’t really want to talk about this. The idea that Jimmer’s senior season could end sooner than it has to because of… who knows what. There’s nothing that can make this better. BYU isn’t going to shoot 14 of 24 from three point land every game. You just can’t lose your only big man going into March.

[BYU.edu, image via Getty]