Two Indiana basketball players reportedly suspended over failed drug test

In the midst of an offseason filled with bad news, the Indiana basketball team got even more bad news on Monday, as ESPN’s Jeff Goodman reported that two key players, Troy Williams and Stanford Robinson, would be suspended for failing drug tests.

Williams and Robinson, both sophomores, are expected to play key roles this season, and Williams was already a starter last season as a freshman. According to KenPom.com, both players were among the five most-used players at the end of the 2013-14 season. Their contributions were needed even more this season, given that two of the biggest stars from last year — Noah Vonleh and Will Sheehey — are gone.

Three of the games Williams and Robinson will miss — against Mississippi Valley State, Texas Southern and Lamar — are relatively inconsequential, but a game against No. 22 SMU will now be an even stiffer test if the Hoosiers are indeed without the two players.

This is the latest in a rough series of offseason incidents for Indiana, the most serious of which came this weekend when sophomore Devin Davis was sent to the hospital in serious condition with a head injury after being hit by a car driven by freshman teammate Emmitt Holt, who was also suspended four games. Police said Davis was at fault for the incident, and both players were drinking.

Earlier this offseason, Robinson and star point guard Yogi Ferrell were both arrested for underage drinking and possessing fake IDs.

The flurry of alcohol related arrests caused former Indiana player and coach Dan Dakich to say that he was “embarrassed” by the “out of control” IU program on his prominent Indiana radio show. This was before the news of Williams and Robinson’s suspensions came out.