Emmitt Holt Dismissed, Thomas Bryant Disciplined by Indiana for Alcohol Citation

The Indiana Hoosiers basketball program took its latest hit Monday in what has been a tumultuous offseason.

Alex Bozich of InsideTheHall.com noted sophomore Emmitt Holt was dismissed from the program and freshman Thomas Bryant was internally disciplined “following citations by the Indiana state excise police earlier this month. Both Holt, 19, and Bryant, 18, were cited during welcome week for illegal possession of alcohol.”     

Bozich also passed along the full release from Indiana:

"

Sophomore Emmitt Holt has been dismissed from the men’s basketball program effective immediately for demonstrating exceptionally poor judgment in the circumstances surrounding his recent citation, particularly coming after his involvement in the Devin Davis accident which should have motivated him to make better decisions.

Freshman Thomas Bryant, as a result of his citation, is receiving internal team discipline and is subject to additional discipline for any future failure to live up to his responsibilities to the program.

"

After the announcement, Indiana athletic director Fred Glass told Mike Miller of the Herald Times he fully supported the decision to part ways with Holt.

The loss of Holt stands out because he flashed potential during his freshman season in 29 appearances. He averaged 3.6 points and three rebounds in 11.4 minutes per game and was efficient with a 65 percent shooting clip from the field. He likely would have improved during his sophomore campaign with a year of experience under his belt.

Zach Osterman of the Indianapolis Star pointed out this was Holt’s second public off-the-court incident:

"

He was behind the wheel when then-teammate Devin Davis was injured in a serious car accident last Nov. 1.

Holt had been drinking, but registered a blood alcohol level of just 0.025 after the incident. According to an official report, Davis appeared suddenly in front of the car Holt was driving, and was struck by the car. The resulting head injury kept Davis sidelined for all of what would've been his sophomore season. 

"

Glass also made it clear Holt was not paying for his teammates' own mistakes "because of Emmitt's direct involvement with what happened with Devin Davis," per Miller.

Glass expanded on Holt's issues, via Miller: "During Welcome Week he was engaged with two freshmen and received an alcohol citation. In my view this is on Emmitt as an individual."

Play-by-play announcer and Pacers reporter Scott Agness agreed with Indiana’s decision in light of multiple transgressions:

Monday’s announcement comes after coach Tom Crean recently took a strong stand regarding the leadership within the program, per the Associated Press (via ESPN.com): "We've got to get a team, guys that understand that they play for Indiana and not at Indiana. Even some of our Indiana guys have got to understand that. Ultimately, I'm responsible, but our internal leadership has been less than poor for the last two years, and it's got to get better."

Leadership has been an issue for the Hoosiers considering Holt is the third player dismissed since the end of the 2014-15 season. Bozich noted Indiana dismissed Devin Davis and Hanner Mosquera-Perea in May for “not living up to their responsibilities to the program.”

Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports acknowledged that all three were frontcourt players, which will hurt in the Big Ten. The conference is known for its physical, grinding play, especially in the paint, and Indiana won’t have the depth down low many expected for the 2015-16 season.

That will be a problem against teams such as Wisconsin, Michigan State, Ohio State and Michigan who will look to exploit the Hoosiers on the blocks and glass.