At least three players, including two starters, are likely to be dismissed from the Long Beach State men’s basketball team, according to multiple sources.
West Coast Hoops Report tweeted on May 9 that Deng Deng, Keala King and Tony Freeland had been dismissed from the team; however, Long Beach State assistant athletics director Stephanie Sampson said no roster changes would be official until the end of the spring semester, after final grades are posted.
Sources also told the Daily 49er that as many as five players could be dismissed, including Kyle Richardson and Jerramy King. The reason for the dismissals is unclear at this point.
Sampson did not confirm nor deny the dismissals and said the athletics department would “probably” make a release as early as next week about the 2013-14 roster, which would include the players in this year’s recruiting class. She declined to comment further.
LBSU men’s basketball head coach Dan Monson also declined to comment.
LBSU athletics director Vic Cegles reiterated Sampson’s stance, saying via email that nothing would be official until the end of the semester and that “academic results are an important part of all decisions.”
Deng, who contributed significant minutes off the bench as a freshman for The Beach, tweeted Sunday night that he would be “taking [his] talents to CSU Bakersfield.”
Keala King and Freeland are both transfers who started regularly for the 49ers after the beginning of Big West Conference play. The seniors-to-be were named Big West honorable mentions after averaging a combined 20.8 points per game.
Richardson was primarily used as a bench player, and Jerramy King sat out the season as a redshirt.