The rumor that Joshua Bone has left the team is now official.
Bone was one of the few Salukis that didn't fare well on the Canada trip. In the three games played he went 1-13 shooting for a combined total of 4 points. He fouled out in 18 minutes during the first game, and only played 11 minutes in the next two.
Bone probably should have been red shirted his freshman year, after missing the first 9 games of the season due to injury. However, the Salukis were in the midst of a Sweet 16 run and it's understandable that the coaches wanted to have some additional depth at the guard position in case they needed it.
As a sophomore Bone averaged 8.1 points in 27 minutes per game. It's likely that he would have seen a sharp decrease in playing time as a junior with the arrival of Kevin Dillard, Torres Roundtree, Justin Bocot, and Ryan Hare. There wouldn't have been much of an increased opening for playing time his senior season either, with Iowa transfer Tony Freeman waiting in the wings.
As far as career highlights go Bone hit 5 of 6 from three point range in a win over Miss St last season. He also scored a career high 19 points against Butler, and followed that with a 17 point performance helping SIU to a 79-71 win over Missouri St.
In his Saluki tenure Bone showed tremendous shooting potential as well as weakness defending against the dribble. Also, in my opinion he was a pretty nice kid. No word yet on where Bone will play next but he'll likely have to sit out two full semesters after transferring. In addition to SIU, Bone was recruited by UNC-Wilmington, Arkansas St., Bradley, George Mason, and Miami-OH.
Photo Credit- SIU Sports Information Dept.
