Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

James Madison sophomore guard Andre Nation suspended first 15 games of season

William Mary James Madison Basketball

James Madison’s Andre Nation, right, steals the ball from William & Mary’s Brandon Britt with help from teammate Alioune Diouf during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013, in Harrisonburg, Va. James Madison won 81-71. (AP Photo/Daily News-Record, Michael Reilly)

AP

James Madison on Monday announced that sophomore guard Andre Nation has been suspended the first 15 games of the 2013-14 season due to a violation of athletic department policy.

According to a release from the university, Nation -- the lone returning starter for James Madison this season -- will be suspended until the Dukes’ second Colonial Athletic Association game of the season on January 7th at the College of Charleston.

The 6'5" sophomore from Plant City, Florida averaged 9.3 points and 3.1 rebounds per game last season for the Dukes and was expected to compete for CAA All-Conference honors this season.

“It is an unfortunate situation,” James Madison Director of Athletics Jeff Bourne said in the release. “I feel for the coaches, our student-athletes and many other folks who are invested in our program. We’re disappointed in Andre and hope that he is able to learn from this incident.”

Dukes head coach Matt Brady also commented in the release, stating, “We’re disappointed in Andre’s actions, and we hope that he learns a life lesson, that he is part of something greater than himself and is accountable to his team and to the entire JMU community.”

James Madison will now have five new starters for at least the first 15 games of this season after winning last season’s CAA Tournament and advancing to the NCAA Tournament Second Round after defeating LIU Brooklyn in a first-round matchup of 16 seeds. The Dukes then fell to Indiana in the Second Round.

Follow @phillipshoops