USC suspends 2 players indefinitely for violating unspecified team rule
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Southern California starting center Dewayne Dedmon and backup big man James Blasczyk have been suspended indefinitely following allegations the pair was involved in a melee in Spokane, Wash., over the weekend.
Interim coach Bob Cantu said Monday the suspensions were the result of violating an unspecified team rule. It wasn't immediately clear whether the 7-footers would be allowed to play in the Trojans' opening game against Utah in the Pac-12 Conference tournament on Wednesday night in Las Vegas.
Spokane police are investigating a series of fights in the downtown area early Sunday morning. The Trojans were staying there after losing 76-51 to Washington State on Saturday in Pullman.
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"Separately, we are aware of the Spokane investigation into an alleged incident involving those players and we are cooperating with the authorities to determine the facts," Cantu said in a statement. "Until we learn all the facts, it would be inappropriate to comment further."
The Trojans opened their road trip with a 65-57 loss to Washington last Thursday. They tied for sixth in the conference and earned the seventh seed for the tournament.
Dedmon, a 23-year-old redshirt junior from Lancaster, Calif., has started 29 of 31 games this season and averages 6.7 points and a team-leading 7.0 rebounds.
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Blasczyk, a 22-year-old senior from Friendswood, Texas, has played in 21 games, averaging 1.5 points and 1.2 rebounds.