Penn basketball's Tony Hicks suspended

Penn basketball junior guard Tony Hicks has been suspended by the program for this weekend's Ivy doubleheader against Harvard and Dartmouth, Penn Athletics announced on Friday.

The suspension comes after the Quakers' most recent contest against Brown last Saturday. In that matchup, Hicks received a technical foul midway through the second half for something he said to an official. Following the incident, coach Jerome Allen sat the team captain for the remaining 6:22 of the Red and Blue's eventual 71-55 loss.

However, Hicks' suspension appears to stem from more than the technical foul itself.

"Tony did some things during and immediately following last Saturday's game against Brown that did not meet the standards of the Penn basketball .program," Allen said. "After reviewing the incidents earlier this week, I have decided to sit him for this weekend's games.

"I have spoken to Tony and the team about the situation, and they will learn from this. We look forward to having him back on the court next weekend."

Following the game with the Bears, reports claimed that Hicks had been involved in an incident in the handshake line between the two teams. It is unclear exactly what, if anything, occurred at that point.

This weekend's suspension marks the third consecutive year in which Hicks has found himself barred from at least one of Penn's games.

In his freshman season, Hicks — along with four others — was suspended for the Quakers' matchup against Delaware on Dec. 21, 2012. After the suspension and Penn's loss to the Blue Hens, a source confirmed that the suspension for the five players was the result of failed drug tests.

Late in the 2013-14 campaign, Hicks was suspended again, this time as a result of his actions in a game against Columbia on March 7. With seven minutes remaining in that contest, Hicks threw a right-handed punch that connected with the jaw of the Lions' then-junior guard Meiko Lyles.

After reviewing the incident, officials assessed Hicks with a flagrant-2 and he was ejected from the game. Allen suspended the South Holland, Ill., native for Penn's game the next night against Cornell before playing Hicks in the season finale against Princeton three days later.

Penn Athletics' Director of Communications Mike Mahoney confirmed that the decision to suspend Hicks this time around was made earlier this week. Although he did not specify the events that led to the suspension, Mahoney confirmed that Hicks did not travel with the squad to Massachusetts.

When asked whether the length of the suspension this weekend is tied to the fact that it is Hicks' third punishment from the program in as many seasons, Mahoney explained that he is "pretty confident in saying this suspension [is] independent of previous stuff."

This weekend's suspension for games against the Crimson and Big Green will mark the longest of the guard's career with the Red and Blue. Friday night's matchup with Harvard will mark the first game without Hicks in the starting lineup this season.

Hicks is the Quakers' leading scorer in 2014-15, averaging 13.0 points per contest. Sophomore guard Matt Poplawski — who played the remainder of the game against Brown after the junior was benched — and freshman Darnell Foreman will likely see the bulk of action in Hicks' absence.

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