Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Virginia suspends starting point guard, reserve forward for season opener

London Perrantes

AP Photo

AP

Virginia begins the season next Friday, but will do so without its starting point guard and one of its reserve big men, as Tony Bennett announced that he had suspended London Perrantes and Evan Nolte for two exhibition games and the Nov. 14 opener at James Madison.

The school released a statement on Friday evening, citing both players had violated team rules back in the summer.

Perrantes started 33 games last season as a freshman, averaging 5.5 points, 2.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game en route to all-ACC freshman team honors. His starting spot agains the Dukes will likely be filled by Devon Hall, a 6-foot-5 redshirt freshman. Nolte, who was arrested and charged two months ago with being drunk in public, saw an average 9.3 minutes per game.

The Dukes will be without a pair of players as well. Last month, James Madison suspended leading scorer Andre Nation for the first five games of the regular season and sophomore forward Tom Vodanovich for the first two regular season contests.

Perrantes and Nolte will both make their season debut on Nov. 16 in the team’s home opener against Norfolk State. College Basketball Talk ranked Virginia, the reigning ACC regular season and tournament champion, No. 6 in the country to begin the season.

Follow @terrence_payne