Illinois dismissed Kendrick Nunn from its men's basketball team Tuesday afternoon -- less than a week after the 1,000-point scorer pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor battery charge stemming from allegations that he hit a woman in the head and pushed her to the ground back in March.
"We have made the decision to dismiss Kendrick Nunn from the men's basketball team, effective immediately," read a joint statement from Illinois athletic director Josh Whitman and coach John Groce. "We have not reached this decision easily; we care deeply about Kendrick and want him to be successful. But after extensive deliberation, we think it best for our program to reaffirm our core values of trust and respect, to send a strong message about what is acceptable behavior for our student-athletes at the University of Illinois, and to part ways with Kendrick. As it is on college campuses across the country, relationship violence is of significant concern at our University, and we expect Fighting Illini student-athletes to be leaders in promoting healthy, respectful, caring relationships."
Nunn averaged 15.5 points and 5.0 rebounds for Illinois last season while shooting 39.1 percent from 3-point range. Those numbers made the 6-foot-3 guard the team's second-leading scorer and rebounder.
