West Virginia: Dominique Rutledge's Absence
On October 14, a little press release by the West Virginia athletic department had some bad news for West Virginia basketball fans expecting to see Dominique Rutledge in a Mountaineers uniform.
You might have to wait a while for that to happen.
Rutledge was suspended indefinitely by West Virginia coach Bob Huggins for what was termed a “violation of team rules.” No news was given as to why by the school, but a fan site speculated the suspension had to do with social media rules. The site (wemustignitethiscouch.com, a West Virginia college sports message board) said Rutledge was seen on Facebook wearing Mountaineer athletic apparel. Speculation is Huggins does not want the players on social media outlets like Twitter and Facebook, at least not while they are in Morgantown playing basketball.
What effect will this suspension, however long it is, have on West Virginia’s Big East chances? The chances are he will be back by conference time if the Facebook rumors are true, but the Mountaineers will have their hands full getting off the ground as it is. Rutledge is a 6-foot-8 forward who attended three colleges in the space of three seasons but only played at two schools. He averaged 8.9 points and 7.3 rebounds per game at Hutchinson (Kan.) Junior College in 2008-09, and while with Miami-Dade Junior College in 2009-10 his totals rose to 11.6 points and 8.5 rebounds.
Rutledge transferred to Western Texas in 2010-11 but did not play.
Only two of West Virginia’s top five scorers are back on the team this year, seniors Kevin Jones and Truck Bryant. Huggins is working eight newcomers into the equation. To say this will be a challenging year for the Mountaineers, especially in the difficult Big East, is an understatement.
Rutledge’s absence creates opportunities for fellow forwards Tommie McCune (6-8) and Aaron Brown (6-5), but it is unclear whether these two have bodies ready for the Big East’s bruising brand of basketball. The longer Rutledge is out, the more likely he will fall behind in the preparation despite his 240-pound body.
No one is saying the season will implode without Rutledge on court for the first several games. However, Huggins’ job did get a little harder thanks to this decision.
Read the in-depth preview for West Virginia basketball
