ShareThisSAN ANTONIO -- Backup point guard Andre Allen was suspended Wednesday from the University of Memphis basketball team and did not make the trip to San Antonio for the Final Four.Upon arrival at the team hotel, coach John Calipari said Allen was suspended for violating team rules and declined to elaborate. WREG-TV reported Wednesday night that Allen's suspension was drug-related.The NCAA randomly selects players to be drug-tested following tournament games. Asked whether the suspension was mandated by the school or the NCAA, Calipari said the school issued the suspension.Calipari did not rule out the possibility of Allen, a scrappy 5-9 point guard, becoming available Monday if the Tigers reach the NCAA championship game."Right now, we're just going to do what we're doing," Calipari said. "All I'll talk about from this point on is our team, the team that's here to play, and we'll go from there."Pressed for more details, Calipari cut off the line of questioning, saying, "I'm talking about our team now, OK?"This is Allen's second off-court incident in his Memphis career. In 2005, he was arrested for soliciting a prostitute. The case was eventually dismissed.Over the past three seasons, Allen has been a key contributor in the NCAA Tournament. During the 2007 postseason, he averaged 21.7 minutes and was often playing point guard in late-game situations. In 2006, he was the Tigers' de facto point guard, even though he came off the bench during that team's Elite Eight run.Allen played 12 minutes against Texas in the South Regional final Sunday, scoring three points in the Tigers' 85-67 victory. In the Sweet Sixteen victory over Michigan State, he played 14 minutes.Though Calipari said this incident will have "no effect" on the team's preparation for UCLA on Saturday, Memphis' first trip to the Final Four in 23 years likely will be overshadowed by an entirely new round of questions about the off-court behavior of its players."We'll be fine," Calipari said. "The greatest thing is, when you have injuries, you have issues, you have suspensions, normally it will bring them closer and everybody will notch it up a little bit, which is what we need anyway. But it's unfortunate for the young man."(Contact Dan Wolken of The Commercial Appeal in Memphis, Tenn., at XX(at)xxx.com.)
Memphis suspends Allen for Final Four
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