Illinois State head basketball coach Tom Richardson announced today that he has suspended guard/forward Traves Wilson from the team for an indefinite period of time for behavior that is detrimental to the team.
Traves attitude has been a concern to our coaching staff for a long time, Richardson said. I have met with him on numerous occasions to discuss the situation, but it does not seem to improve. Ive just reached a point where I need to determine what role Traves will have with this team. He also needs to decide how badly he wants to be part of Illinois State basketball and whether he can impact our program in a positive way.
We have a good team and we want to keep building the chemistry in our program. I will not let anything stand in the way of that.
Wilson, a 6-3, 215-pound sophomore, is in his first season of eligibility at Illinois State after transferring from Arizona. He has played in all 18 games to date with eight starting assignments.
He has averaged 6.9 points and 3.8 rebounds, while shooting 45.4% from the field, 31.6% from 3-point range and 59.6% from the free throw line. He has 17 assists, 21 turnovers, 11 blocks and 14 steals. Wilson also played in all nine of ISUs league games with averages of 3.6 points and 2.9 rebounds. Against the MVC, he is shooting 32.4% from the field, 37.5% from 3-point range and 62.5% from the line with 11 assists, 15 turnovers, no blocks and 11 steals.
Illinois State, 14-4 overall and 6-3 in the Missouri Valley Conference, returns to action Saturday night when the Redbirds host Northern Iowa at 7:05 p.m.
