The Oregon Ducks took a huge hit right before the start of the season after the NCAA announced Dominic Artis and Ben Carter are suspended indefinitely for a violating rules.
Oregon Ducks guard Dominic Artis and forward Ben Carter suspended indefinitely
The two players were caught selling team-issued apparel.
Streeter Lecka
The school self-reported the violations after they found out that Artis, Carter and three former players sold team-issued basketball shoes. Per NCAA rules, each of the players will be suspended to a yet to be determined amount of games and will have to donate the value of the gear to a charity.
Both players apologized in a statement released by the school.
Dominic Artis, Ben Carter Suspended Indefinitely
Read how the Ducks will have to fill the rotation holes at Addicted to Quack. Artis started in 25 of 28 games as a freshman for the Ducks last season and averaged 3.2 assists per game in 23.8 minutes a game -- good for ninth in the Pac-12. Carter played sparingly in every game for the Ducks last season, but was expected to compete for more minutes this season.
The Ducks will be able to absorb Artis' absence a little easier. Senior guard Johnathan Loyd will most likely slide into the starting point guard spot, with Joseph Young and Jason Calliste helping him in the backcourt. The two transfers were both scorers for their schools, with Young averaging 20.5 points for Houston and Calliste averaging 14.4 points at Detroit.
Artis missed nine games last season and the Ducks struggled in his absence, going 5-4 without him.
The Ducks are lacking experience in their frontcourt this season after Tony Woods and Arsalan Kazemi graduated. Seniors Waverly Austin and Richard Amardi will now share minutes alongside transfer Mike Moser to start the season.
The Ducks made a run to the Sweet 16 as a No. 12 season in the 2012 NCAA Tournament and were picked to finish fourth in the Pac-12 preseason poll. Oregon is ranked No. 19 in the AP preseason poll.
Oregon travels to South Korea to play Georgetown to open the season on Nov. 5, at 8 p.m. ET.
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