Grimes dismissed from Tiger hoops team
In a move that had been much speculated for the last two weeks, Mike Anderson dismissed senior forward Kalen Grimes from the Missouri basketball team on Tuesday afternoon.
Grimes was Missouri's leading rebounder as a junior, but his status on the team came into question after an incident in his hometown of Florissant, MO on Saturday, July 7. Grimes was charged with second-degree felony assault after being accused of hitting a man with the butt of a shotgun outside of a Dairy Queen at about 3 a.m. Police also found a loaded handgun in Grimes' car.
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The charges carry a maxiumum penalty of seven years in prison if Grimes is convicted.
"Based upon the information I have gathered, I have decided to dismiss Kalen from our program," Anderson said in a statement. "This is an unfortunate situation and one that I know he regrets, but it is in the best interest of Kalen and our program to move forward with this decision."
"Although we have dismissed Kalen from our program, we will continue to help him through this difficult time," Anderson continued. "Kalen will need support and he'll have it through his family at home and through his family here at Mizzou."
The dismissal leaves an already thin Missouri frontcourt even more undermanned. Leo Lyons should step into Grimes' role as a starter, but Vaidotas Volkus and incoming freshman Justin Safford will now likely be pressed into more minutes in the post. In addition, junior DeMarre Carroll could be asked to log more of his time at the power forward position, rather than playing on the wing.