Kansas has suspended sophomore forward Carlton Bragg Jr. indefinitely for a violation of team rules, but the infraction is not related to an investigation of an alleged rape at campus dormitory, coach Bill Self said Thursday.
Bragg will miss the Jayhawks' game Saturday at Kentucky and maybe more.
"Carlton is suspended for a violation of team rules," Self said in a two-sentence statement. "This violation is not connected to the alleged incident in McCarthy Hall on December 17th."
The statement refers to an alleged rape of a 16-year-old girl at a dormitory where most of the Kansas players reside. Five Kansas players have been interviewed by authorities in relation to the incident, but Self has publicly said his players are not directly connected with the crime, and that if any player were facing charges or anything serious, "they wouldn't be playing."
Bragg (6.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg) entered the 2016-17 season as an oft-referred "breakout player." He was expected to make a big leap after a promising freshman season. But it hasn't happened, and instead, underwhelming play hasn't been the only issue.
This is Bragg's second suspension this season. In December, Bragg was erroneously accused of domestic violence and suspended while the case was sorted out, only to be cleared of all wrongdoing after video of his accuser surfaced and showed that she was the instigator in the incident.
For Kentucky, the Bragg news means the Wildcats will be going against a Kansas interior that only features Landen Lucas as a regular minutes-getter. Kentucky will play at home. Both teams are coming off road losses earlier this week, with KU falling at West Virginia, Kentucky losing at Tennessee.