LOS ANGELES – 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.
"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.
Blasczyk, a 22-year-old senior from Friendswood, Texas, has played in 21 games, averaging 1.5 points and 1.2 rebounds.
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