by Bill DiFilippo / @bflip33
One of college basketball’s most exciting players will be back on the hardwood tomorrow after an offseason-long suspension.
Marshall Henderson, a rising senior for defending SEC Tournament champion Mississippi, will practice for the first time after being suspended in July for a violation of team rules. Police reports show that Henderson had several run-ins with the law involving possession of marijuana and cocaine.
According to coach Andy Kennedy, Henderson will still miss an undetermined number of games, but he will play this season.
From USA Today:
“He will miss games, but this is a process,” Kennedy said by phone Thursday afternoon. “When he was suspended in early July, he was told by (school officials) that in order to put an Ole Miss basketball jersey back on, he had to earn it. That meant he had no access to our practice facilities. From July to the end of August, he proved he had taken those steps in the process, so he earned the right to be back on the team. Since we started school at the end of August, he’s been conditioning with the team and he’ll be at our (the first) practice Friday. The number of games he’ll miss is undetermined.”
Henderson is the reigning SEC Player of the Year. Last season, Henderson averaged 20.1 points per game for the Rebels, and led the team to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament.
