The “indefinite” came off suspensions to two USD men's basketball players and a third suspension was announced yesterday.
Combine that with junior guard De'Jon Jackson's doubtful status with a knee injury and coach Bill Grier's Toreros figure to be at a “definite” disadvantage for this afternoon's season opener at UNLV.
Senior forward Gyno Pomare, an All-WCC selection, will sit out the contest to serve a one-game suspension before he will be reinstated for the home opener Tuesday against Nevada.
For sophomore forward Clinton Houston, it will be the first in a six-game suspension with reinstatement contingent on meeting certain, unspecified criteria Grier set forth.
Pomare and Houston both missed USD's exhibition game against Cal State Los Angeles a week ago for what were described as separate violations of team rules.
Trumaine Johnson, who played in the exhibition but has been absent from practice this week, will be precluded from team activities until the Toreros return from the Paradise Jam Tournament in the U.S. Virgin Islands on Nov. 25 – effectively a five-game suspension – for what Grier termed behavior unbecoming a USD student athlete.
“Obviously this puts us at a huge loss to start the season, and I can't express how disappointed I am,” Grier said. “We're going to be short-handed going into a game that concerned me even if we were going into it at complete full strength and health.
“But the expectations of this team are that it act in an exemplary manner on and off campus, in and out of class. It is very upsetting to me that it has come to this. Especially when we should be so excited about the start of a new season.
“But I have to look at the long-term good of this program in making decisions like this.”
Pomare (6-8, 240) averaged 19.6 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks while shooting 61.5 percent from the field in the Toreros' final four games of a 22-14 season in 2007-08. Those games were victories over Saint Mary's and Gonzaga as USD won the West Coast Conference Tournament, an overtime upset of Connecticut in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and a loss to Western Kentucky in the round of 32.
Houston (6-7, 228) averaged 8.5 minutes and less than two points and rebounds per game overall last year. However, he was a key front-line reserve by the end of the season, as evidenced by 25 minutes of floor time in the victory over UConn.
Johnson's insertion as the starter at the point in a three-guard offense was a key as the Toreros went 12-3 from late January to the end of the season.
Instead of having the same starting five that ended last season, Grier has only two playing today: guard Brandon Johnson and forward Rob Jones. They will be joined by sophomore guard Devin Ginty, a walk-on last year, and newcomers Matt Dorr and Roberto Mafra.
Hank Wesch: (619) 293-1853; hank.wesch@uniontrib.com
