Tue Apr 1 11:57:47 2008

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Indiana dismisses two starters

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Bloomington, IN (Sports Network) - Indiana University dismissed starting guards Armon Basset and Jamarcus Ellis on Tuesday.

An Indiana official confirmed the dismissals, but did not give a reason. If highly touted freshman point guard Eric Gordon declares for the NBA Draft as expected, the Hoosiers will enter next season with an entirely different starting five. The other two starters from this season's squad, D.J. White and Lance Stemler, were seniors.

Bassett, a sophomore from Terre Haute, Indiana, averaged 11.4 points per game last season and led the Big Ten in three-point field goal percentage at 45.4 percent. Ellis, a junior from Chicago, Illinois, was a junior college transfer who averaged 6.8 points per game last season, his first with the Hoosiers.

The Indianapolis Star reported Tuesday that the two guards missed a meeting last week, and that interim coach Dan Dakich told them that, as a punishment, they had to run at 6 a.m. the next day or face dismissal from the team. Neither player showed up the next morning.

Both players were suspended during the season for violation of team rules. Bassett was suspended for three games and Ellis was held out of the regular- season finale against Penn State.

The dismissals cap a turbulent season for the Hoosiers. Head coach Kelvin Sampson resigned in February in the wake of NCAA accusations of five rules violations. Dakich was installed as an interim coach, and Indiana is seeking a replacement. The Hoosiers were 22-4 when Sampson stepped down, and finished 25-8 after a first-round loss in the NCAA Tournament to Arkansas.