Wisconsin freshman forward Marcus Landry of the men's basketball team announced Monday in a prepared statement to the media after practice that he would be ineligible for the remainder of the season due to poor academic performance in the fall term.
Landry, who missed the past two games against Ohio State and North Dakota State, said the reason for the late notice is because he was trying to rectify his low marks last semester.
'The reason that it's so late and you guys are finding out about it now is I was going through a process that every student is allowed to go through with my professor; finding out what I could have done to get a better grade or what little thing I could have done to be eligible to play basketball,' said Landry.
He noted he does have a 'slight disability' that is 'being worked on as we speak,' he said.
Coming off the bench, Landry averaged six points and just over three rebounds per game in 15.4 minutes of play, and noted that he did attempt to retake some tests, which he passed, but could not get in contact with all his professors. He said most players in his position would not even make a statement like he did.
'Most guys probably wouldn't even get in front of the camera and tell everybody that, 'Hey, I'm ineligible,' but I'm looking forward to helping my team in any way that I can while I'm not playing,' Landry said.
Fellow freshman forward Joe Krabbenhoft, a roommate of Landry's, said that his actions to come out to the press do not surprise him.
'That's just a reflection of his upbringing and the type of person that he is,' Krabbenhoft said. 'I know that being with him every night when we're getting ready for bed.'
Landry was adamant in his statement that he wanted to prove himself at UW, given his background.
'Many kids from [Milwaukee] Vincent High School don't get this opportunity to come and play and even get into a school like this,' Landry said. 'I'm one of the students that took on this challenge from Vincent. I'm here and I'm not going to stop fighting.'
Landry's coaches are motivated to get the freshman standout back on course.
'We'll work with him and we'll get him back on good standing,' assistant coach Howard Moore said. 'We'll work at it. Just like his basketball skill, his personality won't allow him to keep him down.'
For the players, and leading-scorer Alando Tucker, the end to speculation regarding Landry's availability was much needed.
'It's an extra weight pulled off your back because we were worried for a lot of guys,' Tucker said. 'We're all good friends, so we care about each other as individuals first.'
Landry was not available for questions after his statement.
Stiemsma back at practice
For the first time since he left the team for personal medical reasons, sophomore center Greg Stiemsma returned to practice. It was a positive sight for those in attendance.
'It lifts up our spirits just to see him back on the court and see that everything's going well with him off the court right now,' Tucker said.
When Stiemsma will see actual game action is still up in the air. Until then, UW will have to be more careful on the defensive end without the third-leading shot blocker in the conference.
'Brian [Butch] and Jason [Chappell] have to do a better job now of really staying out of foul trouble and showing their hands and using their position and blocking shots,' Moore said.
Stiemsma made his first appearance with the team in the locker room before Saturday's loss. He was not available for questions after practice.
