Beverley Ruled Out For 2008-09 Season

FAYETTEVILLE — Patrick Beverley will not play basketball for Arkansas this season, and his future as a Razorback is in serious doubt.

A release issued by the University of Arkansas on Friday was short and ambiguous, and it didn’t reveal specifics on whether Beverley was still a long-term member of the Razorbacks.

“Junior guard Patrick Beverley will not compete for the Razorbacks in the 2008-09 basketball season,” the release stated. “The University of Arkansas, including its administrators and coaches, will have no further comment due to student privacy laws.”

CBSSports.com first reported on its Web site through an anonymous source that Beverley, Arkansas’ leading returning scorer would miss the season because of academic reasons. The details of those reasons weren’t identified in the report. ESPN.com cited sources saying that Beverley wouldn’t transfer but would consider turning professional and playing overseas.

Friday was the last day of the university’s last summer school session and fall classes begin on Aug. 18. A student-athlete who has been deemed academically ineligible because of poor grades typically can become eligible within one semester, however. So other academic issues could be the cause for Beverley’s ineligibility.

Arkansas coach John Pelphrey declined comment when approached Friday night at the Tontitown Grape Festival, where he participated in the crowning of Queen Concordia. Beverley’s mother, Lisa, didn’t return a phone message left Friday night by The Morning News.

A source close to the basketball team said that a team meeting to notify players of Beverley’s status took place Friday night at Pelphrey’s residence. The source said that players were told not to discuss the issue.

Beverley, a 6-foot-1, 195-pounder, has experienced a bit of a troubled past at Arkansas after a promising start. He was named the SEC Freshman of the Year after scoring 13.9 points during the 2006-07 season.

But Beverley has been the subject of transfer rumors each of the past two years — after Stan Heath was fired as head coach last March and this past spring. He then slumped during his sophomore season, averaging 12.1 points and a team-high 6.6 rebounds.

Pelphrey disciplined Beverley a couple of times this past season, as well. Beverley was suspended for an exhibition game in Cancun, Mexico, for missing the team bus, and he missed the Red-White Game because of academic reasons.

Beverley also dealt with a paternity suit in January in which the mother of his child accused him of not paying child support and of receiving money from an agent. At the time, Beverley was deemed eligible by Arkansas.

Beverley’s absence means Arkansas will have only 10 scholarship players for this season, assuming incoming freshmen Courtney Fortson and Jason Henry are cleared by the NCAA Eligibility Center as expected.