Oregon sophomores Dominic Artis and Ben Carter begin 9-game suspensions

It was a fantastic scene on Friday night when the Oregon Ducks grabbed a win in South Korea (yes, South Korea) against the Georgetown Hoyas, but Oregon was short-handed for the game. Earlier in the week, the school announced suspensions for two of their sophomore contributors, and the bans began with the start of the season on Friday night.

Guard Dominic Artis and forward Ben Carter were each suspended for the first 9 games of the regular season as a result of violation of NCAA rules. It appears that both players were caught selling shoes that were provided to them through the university (yikes), and that resulted in a nearly automatic ban by the NCAA.

Reports indicate that Artis and Gordon were both complicit in the act, but that the actual transaction was made by a former Oregon player before being traced back to the duo of sophomores. The reported value of the shoes ($1,800) likely adds to the fire, as former University of Georgia A.J. Green was famously suspended for 4 football games as a result of selling a single jersey for less than that amount.

As far as on-court impact, Artis is the bigger loss, as the rising sophomore guard averaged 8.5 points per game (in 23.8 minutes per contest) as a freshman, and he was projected to begin the year as a starter for the Ducks. Neither player is a crushing loss for Oregon, but with the schedule as it is, they will both miss an upcoming tilt with Illinois in the middle of December.

Stay tuned for more updates, but Oregon will be short-handed for the near future.