Roster shake-ups, scholarship shuffles and the arrest of a former player–it’s been an eventful summer for the Northwestern basketball program.
NU’s offseason drama climaxed with the Aug. 1 arrest of Brandon Lee in his hometown of Peoria, Ill. Two days later, the Northwestern athletic department announced the rising sophomore would not return to the team.
The dismissal was unrelated to the arrest, according to Mike Mahoney, NU’s former associate director of media services.
Lee played in 10 games last season, scoring 16 points in 7.9 minutes per outing. His brief NU career was characterized by off-court trouble. He was suspended in January for an unspecified violation of team rules and then suspended again in February.
On Aug. 3, NU coach Bill Carmody announced rising sophomore Gary Lee, who redshirted last season, would not be returning to the team. Lee, who was declared academically ineligible after fall quarter, is now enrolled at Olney Central College in central Illinois.
Carmody had no comment on either player.
Not all the summer roster changes were of the sour variety. NU coaches, exercising their European ties, signed Jean-Marc Melchoir, a 6-foot-6, 205-pound forward from Luxembourg who evokes memories of a young Davor Duvancic, the only player to graduate from last year’s team.
Eurobasket.com named Melchoir the All-Luxembourg League Newcomer of the Year last year. He will be eligible to play this season as a true freshman.
The Wildcats also added three walk-ons: fifth-year senior Justin Hoeveler, a former NU tennis player; freshman Patrick Houlihan; and junior Jason Okrzesik, a transfer from Rice who must sit out this season in compliance with NCAA rules.
The Cats now carry 15 players, with 11 on scholarship, including guard Michael Jenkins, the former walk-on who was awarded a scholarship after emerging last season as a reliable starter.
Former NU guard T.J. Parker, who chose to forgo his senior year, signed a contract with the Paris Basket Racing team in France. The same team his brother Tony Parker played for before joining the San Antonio Spurs.
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