Tennessee Dismisses Sophomores Duke Crews and Ramar Smith

Tennesse Volunteers head coach Bruce Pearl has dismissed sophomore forward Duke Crews and sophomore guard Ramar Smith after multiple failed drug tests.  Pearl stated that both players were given multiple chances to clean up their acts and now both will have to transfer.  Smith started about half the games for the Vols at point guard and Crews came off the bench.  Smith and Crews where highly anticipated five star recruits coming out of high school, but both saw their sophomore numbers and minutes decline from their freshman seasons.  This is not the first time Crews had behavior problems.  Crews served a month long suspension prior to the season after marijuana was found in his campus apartment.

This was a good decision by Pearl.  After giving these guys multiple opportunities to mature from their mistakes, they failed to improve, and therefore, 

deserved to be dismissed.  As young student-athletes, making mistakes is alright, just don't make the same mistake twice, and that is what Crew and Smith did.  Tennessee shouldn't suffer much from their absences, because their numbers declined, and Bruce Pearl has been a great recruiter.  He has done a phenomenal job building Tennessee into a college basketball powerhouse, so Pearl should have no problem filling their spots.  Tennessee should be a top 20 team even without Crews and Smith because they are returning four contributers and are welcoming an impressive recruiting class.