Wesley Witherspoon latest casualty of the mess of a season for Memphis

Memphis junior forward Wesley Witherspoon has been suspended from the team by head coach Josh Pastner.

Why? Here's Jason Smith, the Tiger beat writer for the Memphis Commercial-Appeal:

University of Memphis junior forward Wesley Witherspoon was suspended indefinitely Thursday for mocking an assistant coach on the team bus following the Tigers' 64-58 loss to SMU on Wednesday, a source close to the situation said.
...
The source said Witherspoon mimicked an assistant coach who had voiced his displeasure over the loss to SMU, going as far as getting on the bus' loudspeakers and doing an impression of the coach.

"He will be suspended until I say further," Pastner said. "I absolutely love Wesley. He's a really good young man, and he's got a tremendous amount of talent. But sometimes you do decisions, including discipline, that are best not only for the team but also for the young man."


This isn't the first incident for Witherspoon. He's a fun-loving kid with a sense of humor, he just hasn't learned the time and place for that humor. He's never been the leader of a team that has had success. Even in high school, his team's struggled. And this is supposed to be the Tiger's veteran leader?

He doesn't defend, he doesn't rebound, and he doesn't seem to care all that much about winning or about embarrassing losses to conference foes that a Memphis team with this much talent should never lose too.

One thing is certain, however.

Josh Pastner does.

And he also cares about discipline.

Remember, he's already kicked Jelan Kendrick off of the team as a result of the behavioral issues he had. Who knows if Witherspoon will end up going down that road, but its evident that Pastner would rather lose with the guys that respect the game and play hard than struggle with kids that don't care about a road loss to SMU.

No disrespect to any Mustang fans out there, but Memphis should not be losing to SMU. This is supposed to be one of the best basketball programs in the country. They've now dropped two in a row in Dallas.

Hopefully, this is the wake up call that Witherspoon needs.

But as my man Gary Parrish always says, once a knucklehead always a knucklehead.