Pickett Leaving Alabama

Alabama freshman point guard Rico Pickett has been suspended for failing to comply with team rules, and will likely transfer. Said head coach Mark Gottfried in a release: "We have standards and levels academically as well as athletically that our student-athletes need to meet, and there are consequences when they fail to do that." However, Pickett's father, Enrico Pickett, has a different view of the situation. "He told them that he wanted to leave," he said. "They told him they weren't going to release him [from his scholarship]. This is their way of fighting back, saying that he is suspended for academic reasons. He is transferring. That is a fact. You heard it from me." This is the second time Pickett has been suspended since arriving in Tuscaloosa, missing one game earlier this season for showing up late to practice. He started 20 games this past season, averaging 5.9 points and 3.3 assists per game.