Eric Cobb suspended indefinitely from UConn men's team
For the second time this season, a member of the UConn basketball team has been indefinitely suspended.
Junior reserve forward Eric Cobb will be held out of action indefinitely due to conduct deemed detrimental to the team, UConn announced Monday night.
UConn didn't elaborate on the reason for Cobb's suspension.
Earlier this season, coach Kevin Ollie indefinitely suspended starting guard Jalen Adams the day before the season opener against Colgate on Nov. 10 after his involvement in a scooter accident. Adams was charged with evading responsibility and eventually paid a $50 fine.
The suspension was lifted in time for Adams to play the next game against Stony Brook.
The Huskies have the depth up front to compensate for the loss of Cobb, who's seen his role shrink in recent weeks. A 6-foot-9 junior college transfer from Jacksonville, Fla., Cobb has appeared in 11 games, starting five, but played just 13 minutes in the last three games, including two in Saturday's 70-65 win over East Carolina in Hartford.
Overall, Cobb is averaging 2.1 points and 3.2 rebounds in 9.2 minutes per game.
This isn't the first time Cobb has run into trouble during his college career. As a freshman at South Carolina, he was arrested for property crimes connected to a string of BB gun-related incidents, and also was charged with possession of marijuana in 2016. He left South Carolina to attend Chipola College, a junior college in Florida.
Cobb committed to UConn last March and started the first two games this season but missed four straight games with an ankle injury before returning for Dec. 2 game against Monmouth.
State of the Huskies
Earlier on Monday, Ollie spoke about the state of the Huskies during the first American Athletic Conference teleconference of the season. UConn stands at 8-7 overall, 1-2 in the conference. The Huskies are just 2-5 in their last seven games.
"We've been up and down," Ollie said. "We've had some tough losses and had a tough schedule and traveling. But our guys are staying together and we're forming. We're just trying to get better in 2018. We definitely want to cut down on our turnovers and have more playmakers step up, and have more inside-out basketball games with our players.
"... We've got some great opportunities coming up in this great league to get some signature wins and we're looking forward to that."
Wednesday night is one of those opportunities. UConn hosts Central Florida (12-4, 3-1), which is tied for third in the league, at 7 p.m. at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs.
News and notes
Adams earned a spot on the AAC weekly honor roll. He averaged 23.5 points and 9.5 rebounds in two games last week. Adams leads the nation in minutes played per game at 38 minutes, 30 seconds . ... Cincinnati extended its nation's best home court winning streak to 35 straight with a 7656 win over Southern Methodist on Sunday. The Bearcats have maintained the unbeaten run playing in BB&T Arena while their usual home Fifth Third Arena is undergoing renovations. SMU is second in the nation at 33 straight home wins . ... Wichita State climbed to No. 5 in the latest Associated Press top 25 poll and Cincinnati resides at No. 14 . ... UCF ranks sixth overall in the nation in field goal percentage defense at 37.5 . ... Week ahead for the Huskies: After hosting UCF, they visit Tulane (11-4, 2-1) Saturday.