Louisville dismissed senior point guard Chris Jones on Sunday, bringing an end to a tumultuous week that included a one-game suspension and subsequent reinstatement.
No reason was given for Jones' dismissal in a brief release from the school that added there would be no comment. He was suspended Tuesday for violating unspecified team rules and did not travel with the team for the next day's loss at Syracuse; Jones returned Thursday after coach Rick Pitino said "Chris has done what he needed to do" for reinstatement.
He helped the No. 12 Cardinals beat Miami on Saturday.
Louisville (21-6, 9-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) now enters Monday night's game at Georgia Tech without its assists leader (3.7 per game) and third-leading scorer (13.7 points). The 5-foot-10 Memphis native scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half of Louisville's 55-53 victory over Miami; he also had five rebounds, two assists and two steals in 36 minutes.
Jones' dismissal likely thrusts freshman Quentin Snider into a bigger role for the Cardinals. The Louisville native made his second straight start and didn't score in five minutes of action against the Hurricanes, but he had a season-high 13 points in Jones' place at Syracuse.
Jones watched that 69-59 loss in his dorm room. Pitino harshly criticized his starting guard afterward and said his selfishness hurt the Cardinals, calling him a "knucklehead" in one interview.
Jones was contrite following the Miami win and acknowledged that he "made a mistake that I shouldn't have done."
Asked why he thought he was suspended, Jones said, "it was coach's decision. It is what it is. I learned from it. Coach called it my selfish behavior of what happened between a situation. It's just something I learned from -- you've got to stay away from things like that and that's what I'm going to do."
Louisville now must replace a player who was critical on both ends of the floor.
Jones was a fierce defender who could quickly make steals leading to easy layups. He was also fearless in driving the lane against bigger defenders and could make baskets from long range.
That determination sometimes led to questionable decision-making that frustrated Pitino. Jones drew the coach's ire for a well-publicized flop against top-ranked Kentucky in December, leading to diminished playing time in the following game against Long Beach State.
Jones returned from that benching to score 22 points in back-to-back games and 19 in a one-point loss at North Carolina. Saturday's game was part of a productive stretch featuring double-digit scoring efforts in 10 of 13 ACC contests played.
