Detrick Mostella was named the SEC’s Player of the Week on Dec. 26, 2016. Just a couple weeks later, he is now off the team.
Tennessee confirmed the dismissal of the junior guard and second-leading scorer late Tuesday evening via a press release with a statement from head coach Rick Barnes.
“I’ve always been very clear about the standards that members of this program will be held to,” Barnes said. “Those standards are very high, and Detrick unfortunately has not lived up to them.”
Mostella is due to appear in Knox County General Sessions Court on Jan. 25 after being cited for two drug-related misdemeanors, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel.
Originally signed by Donnie Tyndall out of Decatur, Ala., in the 2014 class, Mostella was in the midst of a career year thus far in 2016-17, putting up career-best marks of 10.5 ppg and 3.9 rpg through 15 games. His promising junior campaign came to an abrupt halt on Tuesday after he’d played some of the best games of his career in recent weeks.
He’d hit three 3-pointers in his last five contests, including a Dec. 22 matchup at ETSU where he also scored a career-high 25 points on the road against the Buccaneers. He’d averaged 16.4 ppg during that five-game stretch.
Tennessee (8-7, 1-2 SEC) returns to the floor Wednesday evening against South Carolina in Knoxville (6:30 pm ET; SEC Network).
