After center Diamond Stone received a flagrant foul for pushing Wisconsin forward Vitto Brown’s head to the floor during Saturday’s game, coach Mark Turgeon has suspended Stone for one game.
The freshman will sit out Thursday’s contest at Minnesota.
“Diamond’s conduct during Saturday’s game was a poor representation of the standards that we have established as a program at the University of Maryland,” Turgeon said in a statement. “I have talked with Diamond and he realizes he made a mistake. He felt very badly about what happened and will learn from this experience. I want to sincerely apologize to Vitto Brown and [Wisconsin coach] Greg Gard for what transpired Saturday.”
The Big Ten announced in a release that it supports the program’s decision and will not take any further action. The release added the “the conference also publicly reprimands Stone for his actions.”
“I want to apologize to Vitto Brown and the Wisconsin basketball team for my unacceptable behavior during Saturday’s game,” Stone said in a statement. “I regret that I let the emotions of the game get the best of me. I let my team down and I accept full responsibility for my actions.”
Here is a video of the incident from Saturday’s game.
Stone is second on the team in points per game (13.0) and rebounds per game (5.6). Forward Damonte Dodd, who has started 12 games at center, will likely slide back into the starting role against the Golden Gophers.
