Tennessee Tosses Two - FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog

The timing stinks for Tennessee. It was supposed to be a celebration. The team banquet was that night. Celebrating one of the best seasons in Tennessee men's basketball. The news of Chris Lofton quietly and successfully beating testicular cancer this past year was made public. The good feelings got tempered quite a bit with the news that two players were kicked off the team for good.

Sophomores Duke Crews and Ramar Smith were given the boot.

Violations of the University of Tennessee's substance-abuse policy and academic shortcomings contributed to both departures, sources within the program told the News Sentinel.

"I am disappointed that Duke and Ramar did not meet the mark and did not succeed to the level of our expectations," Pearl said moments before UT's annual basketball banquet.

Both Crews and Smith were All-SEC Freshmen, but stumbled last year.

Smith is rumored to have been dismissed for academic reasons. He had struggled just to get eligible after signing his Letter of Intent. The point guard also had an odd event in the offseason. Last September Smith borrowed a teammate's car, crashed it and then left the scene. No charges were ever filed.

Crews had been suspended for 30 days in the season -- reportedly for failing a drug test. The forward had previously been dinged for having a small amount of marijuana found in his apartment. Under Tennessee student-athlete rules, dismissal is mandatory for a 4th failed drug test. He had also missed a lot of time in the season with an ankle injury and a heart condition.