Saturday, October 23, 2010

Oklahoma State forward Matt Pilgrim has been indefinitely suspended

For the second time during the offseason, Oklahoma State's Matt Pilgrim has made headlines for all the wrong reasons.

The Cowboys had their "Homecoming & Hoops" exhibition game on Friday night, but Pilgrim was held out of the event by head coach Travis Ford. He's suspended indefinitely and according to John Helsey of NewsOK.com, that "indefinite" could end up being a significant amount of time.

Pilgrim is a college basketball nomad, playing one season at Hampton and then spending a redshirt year at Kentucky before making his way to Stillwater. Clearly, commitment has not been his strong suit. Helsey speculates that Pilgrim, who became the starter midway through last season, has been suspended for that very reason.

Pilgrim's return likely comes down to how bad he wants to be a Cowboy. How bad he wants to practice and play and do everything it takes to be part of a team that features too many young influential pieces to accommodate anyone who is not all in.

And if it's anything less than all in, the Cowboys will probably move on. And that's too bad for OSU, considering Pilgrim's freak athletic skills would come in handy.
One thing that is clear, however, is that his suspension does not have anything to do with the emergency protective order that was filed against Pilgrim over the summer after a woman accused him of rape.

If he is indeed gone, losing Pilgrim is a major loss for Oklahoma State. They already have to deal with James Anderson's early departure to the NBA, and after Pilgrim, Marshall Moses is the only returning front court player.

Here's to hoping that Pilgrim is able to work through whatever issues he's dealing with and return to the Cowboy team.

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