Mississippi State Dismisses Pair

Sophomore forward Walter Sharpe and freshman forward Jerrell Houston have been kicked off the Mississippi State team for violating unspecified team rules.

“Both young men are good people, but unfortunately things just didn’t work out for them here. We wish them both well in their future endeavors,” Coach Rick Stansbury said in a statement.

The dismissal ends Sharpe’s troubled career in Starkville. He sat out the first seven games this season because he was academically ineligible, and averaged 9.3 points and five rebounds in six games.

Last season, he skipped a practice before the NCAA tournament and did not travel with the team to their first- and second-round games in Charlotte, N.C. He also missed a team flight to Anaheim for a December 2004 game and received several suspensions for being late to games, practices and shoot-arounds last season.

Houston, a native of Memphis, Tenn., averaged 2.3 points and 2.2 rebounds in 13 games this season.

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