Tavares Sledge dismissed by Wright State

Tavares Sledge has been kicked off of the Wright State men’s basketball team, as first reported by the Wright State Guardian’s Justin Boggs.

According to Boggs, this is the statement that Wright State issued regarding Sledge

"“Today, Tavares Sledge was released from the Wright State men’s basketball team for violation of team rules.  We will not have any further comment.”"

Sledge had multiple suspensions prior to being removed from the team. As a sophomore, Sledge served a two game suspension for a violation of team rules. Last season, he missed fourteen games and spent 19 days in jail after being arrested on several charges, one of which was domestic violence.

Following the graduation of several key players, Sledge was likely to see a significant increase in minutes. Five of the top six players in Wright State’s rotation graduated. Last season Sledge averaged 2.6 points and 3.4 rebounds in 12 minutes per game, but his legal troubles almost certainly impacted his production on the court. During his sophomore season, Sledge averaged 4.1 points and 4.1 rebounds in 17.4 minutes per game.

With so many key losses, Wright State looked to enter the season as something of an enigma. Preseason polls can’t agree about whether the team is a contender for the league title or on entering a rebuilding year after back-to-back Horizon League championship game appearances. Losing Sledge only complicates this. While he has been reasonably productive given the opportunity to play, missing games for disciplinary reasons isn’t a great way to build chemistry on the court.

This hasn’t been a great week to be a Wright State fan. On Monday, it was reported that the team’s returning leader in scoring J.T. Yoho had been arrested and charged with drunk driving earlier in September.