Illinois Basketball: Illini to be without Tevian Jones indefinitely

Nothing is going to take away my excitement for the Illinois football team, but the Illinois basketball team had some sad news announced on Saturday.

Erich Fisher of Rivals announced on Twitter that Illinois forward Tevian Jones has been suspended indefinitely from the team for a violation of team academic policies. This is Jones’ second suspension in the two seasons he has been with the program.

Coming out of Culver City High School in California, Jones was rated a four-star recruit. He was wanted by many programs, but Illinois was able to land this talented wing player. Sadly, Jones didn’t get a chance to play a lot as a freshman. His suspension had a lot to do with the lack of playing time.

Now that Jones is suspended again, it makes me question what the future holds for the kid and the Illinois basketball program. This is the second suspension in as many years. This suspension is an academic one, which means his grades aren’t where they should be, or he missed too many mandatory study sessions or something to that effect.

My guess, and it is just a guess, Jones will be out the first semester. That means he is gone through December. If I would pinpoint the first game, I think Jones would be back, it would be the start of the Big Ten slate when the Illini take on No. 1 Michigan State. This would probably be best-case scenario.

The thing that is troubling me the most about the most recent suspension for Jones is the fact he isn’t reliable. I want players who can be on the court. Jones isn’t thinking about anyone but himself, and that is not something that is conducive to winning. This Illinois basketball team is poised to do some great things this season. I want Jones a part of that. He needs to get his stuff together.

This is only a minor speedbump in what should be a successful season. I hope Jones pulls out of this funk and starts doing what he needs to do. If he doesn’t, this could end up being a great season without him.