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Memphis center Malcolm Dandridge will be held out of action for the time being due to potential academic misconduct.
The school issued a statement on Saturday announcing Dandridge is being withheld “from competition until further notice” while it gathers and reviews information related to his eligibility:
Jeff Borzello @jeffborzello
Statement from Memphis regarding Malcolm Dandridge’s status: pic.twitter.com/d9icJjsCnP
Jason Munz of the Memphis Commercial Appeal reported the issue stems from potential academic misconduct by Dandridge.
Memphis is currently in a three-year probation period in a September 2022 ruling from the Independent Accountability Resolution Process. The punishment stemmed from NCAA rules violations regarding James Wiseman’s recruitment.
Hardaway wasn’t disciplined from the investigation, nor was the program banned from participating in postseason tournaments.
The Tigers were also issued an additional year of probation in December 2022 stemming from recruiting violations that occurred during the 2021-22 academic year.
Memphis has made the NCAA tournament in each of the past two seasons, losing in the first two rounds both times. This year’s team is currently 19-8 with four games remaining in the regular season, including Saturday’s matchup with Florida Atlantic.
B/R’s Kerry Miller doesn’t have Memphis included in the 68-team field for the NCAA tournament in his most recent projection from Feb. 19.
Dandridge is in his fifth season at Memphis. He played high school basketball for Tigers head coach Penny Hardaway when he was in charge of the team from 2017-18 at East High School in Memphis.
After Hardaway was hired by the Tigers in March 2018, Dandridge joined him the following year. The 23-year-old has moved into the starting lineup this season after playing primarily off the bench in the previous four years.
Dandridge is averaging career-highs in points (8.0) and rebounds (5.0) per game in 27 appearances. His 19 starts are five more than he had in the previous four seasons combined.
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