Louisville Dismisses Forward Chane Behanan

by Bill DiFilippo / @bflip33

Embattled Louisville forward Chane Behanan has been dismissed from the team for an undisclosed violation of university policy.

The announcement was made earlier today by Cardinals head coach Rick Pitino, who said that he learned last night that Behanan was going to be dismissed from the team. There is no word of what Behanan will do next, but he could transfer schools—which Pitino recommends he does—or attempt to join the professional ranks.

Behanan began this season suspended for an undisclosed violation of university policy—there is no word on whether or not his dismissal has anything to do with the original rules violation—and was reinstated after the team’s first game. The junior was also at the center of a controversy where his 2012 Final Four ring appeared on an auction site, but the NCAA cleared him of any wrongdoing.

From The Courier-Journal:

“I want to apologize for letting down my family, teammates, coaches, (athletic director) Tom Jurich, this university and the Louisville fans,” Behanan, a junior power forward, said in a statement.

“Unfortunately (2013) is ending on a bad note for us and me personally as Chane Behanan has been dismissed by the university from our basketball team,” Pitino said. “We lost a really terrific young man in many respects. Between the lines, he gave great effort and was a great teammate, a wonderful young guy to be around. Away from the lines, he did not do the right things over and over and over.”

Behanan was averaging 7.6 points and 6.3 rebounds on 63.6 percent shooting this season.