Keith Frazier officially leaves SMU, will transfer to another university
The SMU basketball player at the center of a recent NCAA investigation into the program has officially left the team and will transfer to another university.
Keith Frazier, a junior shooting guard, left the SMU basketball team with two months still left in the 2015-16 season due to a dispute over playing time and fed up teammates according to Scout.com.
SMU head coach Larry Brown confirmed Frazier’s departure at a Friday media availability.
"We're moving on. We've got kids in this lockerroom we need to focus on,” Brown said.
Frazier last played in a late December game at Tulsa, but then mysteriously was absent for a Jan. 2 game. At the time Brown said the Dallas Kimball High School grad was dealing with “personal issues.”
Scout.com reported Friday that teammates had tired of Frazier’s tantrums, which escalated after he was moved out of the starting lineup in mid-December in favor of a freshman. Scout.com said Frazier started skipping meetings and practices.
Frazier was the focal point of the recent NCAA investigation that resulted in the Mustangs getting banned from the NCAA Tournament this season and the loss of multiple scholarships for the team. The investigation concluded an assistant for the SMU program completed an online course for Frazier so he could qualify for his freshman season. In a cruel irony for SMU, it turned out Frazier never needed the course to become eligible.
Frazier is considering transferring to a local school, either North Texas or the University of Texas at Arlington.
SMU is now left with seven scholarship players for the remainder of its season. The Mustangs are 16-0 and the last undefeated team left in Division I college basketball.
SMU travels this weekend to New Orleans for a Sunday afternoon game at Tulane.