Kennard Davis Jr didn't suit up for the BYU Cougars during the team's home win against the Delaware Blue Hens, nor did he appear on the floor in Boston for BYU's duel with third-ranked UConn on Saturday.
His off-the-court issues have been well-documented at this point, and though his status with the team and the university is still up in the air, here is everything we do know.
Davis was involved in a two-car accident on the intersection of 900 West and Center Street in Provo. As the police arrived to the scene, Davis was taken into the local station under suspicion of driving under the influence. He has since been cited with possession of marijuana and driving under the influence. He has been suspended from the team, and it is unknown if he will suit up again for Kevin Young's team this season, if ever again.
This is an issue for the University at this point, and disciplinary measures are out of the hands of Young and his team.
Brigham Young University holds to a strict code of conduct known as the 'Honor Code', in which every student must abide by a set of rules and regulations in order to addend the school. Many of those rules simply align with the guidelines set by the university's sponsor religious organization, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which includes abstaining from recreational drugs and any form of substance abuse.
Possession of marijuana will put Davis in hot water with the school's decision-makers, and that's not even mentioning the DUI charge.
Through the lens of basketball, this is a crushing blow for a team with expectations far exceeding any heights the program has reached before. Davis, a Junior transfer from Southern Illinois, joined the team as both a scoring threat and defensive force on the perimeter to supplement the trio of AJ Dybantsa, Rob Wright, and Richie Saunders.
Without Davis, the Cougars were still able to compete with a championship-caliber team in UConn, but if he is removed from the program entirely, the team's ceiling may drop noticeably.
Still a sensitive topic, the most important detail to recall in a situation like this is the wellbeing of the student-athlete both on and off the court. Substance abuse is a crippling anchor to drag, and we hope Davis is able to find support, regardless of his standing at BYU.