FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas basketball players Anton Beard and Dustin Thomas remain indefinitely suspended from the team, but they are enrolled at the UA for the fall semester, Athletic Director Jeff Long said Tuesday.
Beard, Thomas and former Razorback Jacorey Williams -- who was dismissed from the team by Coach Mike Anderson last week -- were arrested July 22 in connection with a forgery investigation and are scheduled to be arraigned next Wednesday in Washington County Circuit Court.
"We'll see what happens with the two remaining young men who have a legal issue, and that's got to play itself out," Long said. "We'll respond accordingly once those things are known."
Beard, Thomas and Williams were the first players arrested in Anderson's four seasons as the Razorbacks' coach. They were caught on surveillance video passing counterfeit money at Fayetteville businesses, according to an arrest report. They all have denied knowing the money was counterfeit.
Long said he didn't want to say too much about Beard and Thomas because of their pending arraignment, but he offered strong support for Anderson.
"Let me say this about Mike Anderson: He's a man of character and honor doing things the right way," Long said. "He hadn't had an incident with a student-athlete during his time here.
"It's not a statement about Mike Anderson and the running of his program and the kind of young people he has in his program. He has character young people in his program. He's known for that across the country, and that's going to remain to be true."
Arkansas is down to 10 eligible players on its roster for this season with the suspension of Beard and Williams' dismissal.
Razorbacks spring signee Ted Kapita, a 6-9 forward who was being counted on as an immediate contributor, isn't enrolled because he hasn't been academically certified by the NCAA Clearinghouse. He will attend the Spire Institute, a prep school in Geneva, Ohio, but could be cleared to enroll at Arkansas in time for the spring semester.
Unless Beard is reinstated, the Razorbacks will not have any returning starters from last season's 27-9 team that made Arkansas' first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2008.
Long said he remains confident in Anderson.
"I don't have concerns about Mike Anderson's leadership of our basketball program," Long said. "He'll continue to recruit, and he'll continue to bring quality young men into our basketball program.
"I see our basketball program continuing to rise."
Williams, in addition to his arrest in the counterfeit investigation, was involved in incidents July 5 and July 18.
He allegedly shoved his then-girl friend to the ground during an argument at a Fayetteville bar, then punched a bouncer in the face at the same bar, according to police reports. He has not been charged in either incident
Long said he and Anderson talked before Williams was dismissed.
"We believe in second chances, and young people make mistakes, but when those mistakes repeat themselves or we continue to have issues, then there's a point where they can no longer be part of our team," Long said. "Mike arrived at that decision, and I supported it."
Sports on 08/26/2015