Auburn will continue without its leading scorer for the foreseeable future.
Kareem Canty remains suspended indefinitely and is not practicing with the team, according to Auburn coach Bruce Pearl.
Canty was initially suspended prior to last Saturday’s tilt at Georgia for conduct detrimental to the team. Pearl has not elaborated on the reason for Canty’s suspension, but he did say it was “more serious” than the issue that led to Cinmeon Bowers’ one-game suspension just over a week ago.
“Nobody said it was anything off the court,” Pearl said. “If you read my comments, his attitude, and sometimes affecting his effort, was inconsistent, which then led to behavior that was detrimental to the team.”
AuburnSports.com reported on Saturday that Canty was involved in a verbal altercation with a coach at last Thursday’s practice and was asked to leave.
Canty is fourth in the SEC in scoring (18.3 points per game) and third in assists (5.3 per game).
Auburn, which has lost five straight games, struggled mightily without him, posting its lowest shooting percentage of the season (25.9 percent) and second-lowest scoring performance (55 points).
In Canty’s absence, Auburn is left without a scholarship point guard on its roster. Bowers and Tyler Harris, who started the season as the two forwards, lead all active players in assists.
Pearl moved Bowers to point guard against Georgia, and he said the senior would stay in that role for Auburn’s game at Tennessee on Tuesday, to which Canty will not travel.
Freshman two guard New Williams backed up Bowers at the point and recorded a career-high 22 minutes against the Bulldogs.
“I thought New did some good things," Pearl said. "He advanced the ball well. He pushed the tempo. He played hard. He made some mistakes that you’ll make early in your career, especially since this is his first meaningful minutes and going up against a guy like (Georgia guard J.J.) Frazier. These reps are going to be good for him.”
Though Canty was mired in a shooting slump before his suspension, his loss still leaves a massive hole in the Auburn offense, as Pearl has said on numerous occasions that he is one of the only players on the roster who can create offense off the dribble.
Even so, Pearl believes Canty’s effort and attitude over the last few games have not warranted a spot in the rotation — or even the team, for now.
“You want to do what’s best for the student athletes themselves, both Kareem or Cim or any of the student athletes, because you care about them,” Pearl said. “The good does outweigh the bad. But then when you have those situations and you’re not winning, it makes it really difficult.”
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