Long Beach State to reinstate players
Suspended Long Beach State basketball players Kejuan Johnson and Mark Dawson will be reinstated for the 49ers’ game against UC Santa Barbara on Saturday, Athletic Director Vic Cegles said Wednesday.
The players, along with associate head coach Reggie Howard, sat out two games while the NCAA investigated possible eligibility infractions. They will also sit out tonight’s game at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
Howard, the team’s recruiting coordinator, was not reinstated and the NCAA is still investigating his actions.
“They are still reviewing the situation and there are some loose ends,” Cegles said. “But I don’t expect any other sanctions regarding the players.”
Cegles said in a written statement that the players’ suspensions were related to “the payment for courses prior to their enrollment at Long Beach State.”
He declined to provide additional details, other than to say that the three-game suspensions indicated the violations were not egregious.
Johnson, a 6-foot-4 senior guard from Artesia High, is the 49ers’ second-leading scorer at 15.4 points a game. Dawson, a 6-9 senior center from New Jersey, is the top reserve, averaging 5.7 points and 4.1 rebounds in 16.9 minutes.
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