Senior forward Raheem Johnson and sophomore guard Mory Diane have been suspended for the men’s basketball team’s season opener on Nov. 13 against Pitt-Bradford for “conduct detrimental to the team over the summer,” according to head coach Nate Oats via an official UB press release.
Both players are expected to suit up for Friday’s exhibition against Daemen.
Johnson, Diane and former forward Justin Moss were caught stealing roughly $650 from two football players at the beginning of June. The theft occurred in UB’s South Lake Village, where the three players were working to fix faulty carbon monoxide detectors and smoke alarms.
Since it was Diane and Johnson’s first offense, they were only given a one-game suspension. It was Moss’ second offense in less than a year’s span, which resulted in the university expelling him and subsequently removing him from the basketball team.
Moss missed one preseason game last year after his first offense, but did not miss a regular season game. Former head coach Bobby Hurley called the incident a violation of team rules.
Johnson enters his second and final season with Buffalo. The junior college transfer averaged 2.8 points and 2.4 rebounds in his first season with Buffalo last year. Diane played four games last season, but missed the rest of the season because he was declared academically ineligible.
Both players will return for the Bulls’ second game at Old Dominion on Nov. 16.
Jordan Grossman is the co-senior sports editor and can be reached at jordan.grossman@ubspectrum.com. Follow him on Twitter at @jordanmgrossman.
