Purdue Basketball: D.J. Byrd Suspended and Kelsey Barlow Dismissed

D.J. Byrd is now suspended for one game following his public intoxication charge, while junior Kelsey Barlow has been kicked off the team. 

Byrd was charged early this morning with a public intoxication charge after an incident that sent the Boilermaker nation into a stir. But not many expected all of this to come about.

Kelsey Barlow was involved in the incident and since it is his second offense violating team rules, he has been officially dismissed from the Purdue squad.  

Although Barlow was not usually a scoring threat, he was a high-energy player that was widely regarded as one of the best defensive players in the Big Ten. With Barlow gone, Lewis Jackson is going to have to play the majority of minutes at the point guard position and with his nagging injuries, that could be an issue. 

In the statement released, coach Matt Painter said, “This is an unfortunate situation, but we will move forward as a program, we expect our student-athletes to live up to a high standard, and when their actions become detrimental to the program, there are consequences.”

Barlow was either loved or hated by Purdue fans. Sometimes his trash talk was not appreciated by alumni, but it was hard to argue that the intensity he brought to the court was second to no one on this squad. 

It looks as though this junior class couldn't have done worse for themselves. D.J. Byrd is the only player left from the class, with Barlow getting kicked off and Patrick Bade switching to football.

It is very disappointing to lose such a key guy on this team, but you have to admire Painter for sticking to his word. Kelsey had his chance and blew it. 

This team is going to have to regroup. After finally developing a rhythm this season, which can be attributed to both Barlow and Byrd, they are going to have to figure something out. 

Maybe this team will step up, but right now they are going to have to come together and face adversity, because this kind of distraction is big enough to drag any group apart.