Kansas Basketball: Carlton Bragg Jr. suspended indefinitely following domestic battery incident
Kansas basketball already was having their fair share of issues up front with Carlton Bragg Jr. in the lineup.
So much for that breakout 2016-17 campaign.
Carlton Bragg Jr. was arrested on a domestic battery charge early Friday morning and was later suspended indefinitely by the Kansas basketball program. Bragg pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor charge after being accused of striking and pushing his girlfriend down a flight of stairs.
Bragg could face a fine or up to six months in prison, but will first have to return to court on December 27.
Carlton Bragg, Jr. mugshot released. Charged with battery. pic.twitter.com/XqAX3nJApz
— Heidi Schmidt (@HeidisView) December 9, 2016
“Carlton and I have spoken,” Kansas head coach Bill Self said. “He certainly understands the circumstances surrounding this issue. We are taking this charge very seriously. We’re going to hold him out from competition as we continue to gather facts.”
Bragg was a four-star prospect (21st in ESPN’s top 100) coming out of high school, but was a disappointment in his freshman campaign. He averaged just 3.8 points, 2.5 rebounds and 0.4 assists in 8.9 minutes per game. He had very little impact on a team that reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.
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This season, Bragg was supposed to take a major leap with Perry Ellis graduating. Instead, Bragg has been very inconsistent despite averaging a career high 7.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 0.8 assists.
He was removed from the starting lineup and was replaced by freshman center Udoka Azubuike. Bill Self opted to play four guards (Frank Mason III, Devonte’ Graham, Lagerald Vick and Josh Jackson) around the Azubuike, with Bragg and Landen Lucas coming off the bench.
Now, there is no guarantee as to when he will return to the lineup.
I would think that Self would let the legal issues play themselves out before making a decision on Bragg’s future. Xavier is operating in a similar manner with senior guard Myles Davis, who was charged twice for criminal damaging.
This is a difficult loss for the Jayhawks, as they were already thin and inconsistent up front. Azubuike has played well for a freshman, but he cannot be relied on to play more than 15-to-20 minutes a night at this point in his development. Lucas hasn’t given the Jayhawks much on the offense end and his field goal percentage and rebounding numbers have dipped. And finally, Dwight Coleby and Mitch Lightfoot are averaging a combined 11.7 minutes a night.
All four of those pieces will have to step up in Bragg’s absence, and Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk and Josh Jackson could see more time at the power forward position to create mismatches and better spacing.
Kansas remains the favorite to win the Big 12 and is definitely still a National Title contender even if Bragg doesn’t return. However, they do have a clear weakness: Their front court.
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