Ole Miss star Marshall Henderson will start his season a bit late.
The fiery scoring guard will be suspended for an exhibition, the first game of the regular season and the first two games of SEC play, the school announced on Tuesday.
That means that he’ll sit out Friday when the Rebels host South Carolina-Aiken, he’ll miss November 8th’s season-opener against Troy and he’ll be in street clothes when Andy Kennedy’s club hosts Auburn and visits Mississippi State. He’ll begin his season on November 16th against Coastal Carolina. He’ll also be in uniform in late November when Ole Miss makes their way to Brooklyn for the Barclays Classic.
That’s not exactly a murderer’s row, but give some credit: Henderson is by far the most important player on the Ole Miss roster, and the team will be sitting him down for two games in league play. That’s more harsh than what we normally expect out of a school in a situation like this.
“I support this decision, and I am thankful to our leadership for allowing Marshall the opportunity to earn the right to rejoin our team,” coach Andy Kennedy said in a statement. “Marshall has been compliant with the process put in place for him since his suspension in early July, and we look forward to him being back on our team.”
Henderson’s suspension stems from a tumultuous year where he became daily blog fodder for his on-court antics and his hard-partying ways off the floor. He shot to internet stardom when this GIF of his antics after a win at Auburn went viral, but it was social media that really did Henderson in. His twitter feed was uncensored and, at times, too honest about what he’d be doing in his free time, and it seemed like a weekly occurrence that he’d find his way onto Busted Coverage or Deadspin with an embarrassing picture from a late night on the town. It culminated when pictures of Henderson drinking at a bar after Ole Miss won their opening round NCAA tournament game hit the web.
Henderson was eventually suspended as the result of failed drug tests, but he’s done a good job of keeping his nose clean since then. His twitter account has remained dormant, and he’s mostly kept his name and face off of the blogs.
“This has been a difficult time for me, and I appreciate this chance,” Henderson said.
Hopefully, that will last throughout the season, because college basketball needs a villain and there is none more entertaining than The Landshark himself.
