After two players were arrested last weekend on charges of stealing from parked vehicles, Montana State announced the punishments for those two players on Friday.
Junior forward Tre Johnson has been dismissed from the program by head coach Brad Huse, and fellow junior forward Jeff Budnich will remain on the team but faces multiple penalties.
According to the Associated Press, Budnich faces a reduction in his scholarship, a three-game suspension and community service.
The two players have pleaded not guilty to two counts of criminal trespass to a vehicle and two counts theft, but according to court records both acknowledged the acts to the arresting officers.
Officers were dispatched to the area near Cooper Park shortly after 1 a.m. Sunday for reports of two men shining flashlights into parked vehicles.
Officers contacted Budinich and Johnson. When asked to empty his pockets, Johnson pulled out a GPS he said didn’t belong to him. He told officers he took the GPS from a truck parked on Sixth Avenue.
Johnson started 20 of 26 games last season for the Bobcats, averaging 9.0 points and 6.2 rebounds per game, while Budnich averaged 4.5 points in 25 games played.
With Mohamed Fall being ruled to be out of eligibility by the NCAA to go along with other personnel issues, the Bobcats really couldn’t afford to lose anyone else.
Montana State finished last season 12-17, dropping nine of their last ten games, and if Huse’s team is to improve on that this season the personnel problems of last season cannot carry over into 2012-13.
Raphielle is also the assistant editor at CollegeHoops.net and can be followed on Twitter at @raphiellej.