Men’s basketball coach Chris Lowery had an entire offseason to think about how he can keep this season from being his last at SIU, but one player isn’t doing him any favors.

Sophomore guard Diamond Taylor was suspended Friday for violating team rules following an April arrest for possession of less than 10 grams of marijuana, according to Jackson County court records. Taylor will be under court supervision for six months after he pays $475 worth of fines.

This isn’t the first time Taylor had a run in with the police. When Taylor was a freshman at Wisconsin in 2009, he and then-teammate Jeremy Glover were arrested for residential burglary after stealing several iPods, cell phones and $400 dollars in cash, according to the Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel. Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan kicked Taylor and Glover off the team following the incident, and Taylor enrolled at SIU in fall 2010.

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Taylor didn’t become eligible for the Salukis until the spring semester, after which he started in nine of the 19 games he played. Taylor averaged 7.5 points per game in his last five regular season games, according to Saluki Media Services.

Lowery and Taylor declined to comment for this story, but Lowery released a few statements in a press release Friday.

“I am disappointed when any of our players makes an error in judgement,” he said. “But I am confident that Diamond will learn from this mistake and move forward.”

Lowery held a press conference March 10 to discuss the team’s future and what needs to be done to turn the program around. Preventing players from getting into incidents like this was one of the focal points.

“(Lowery and Athletic Director Mario Moccia) talked about retention a lot, but the number one thing we talked about more than that was the identification of the right type of student-athletes that fit our profile and fit what we are trying to do here,” Lowery said.

Despite being aware of Taylor’s track record, Lowery had no way of predicting Taylor’s arrest one month later. It’s easy to pounce on BCS talent when it slips through the cracks, but there’s always negatives that need to be addressed otherwise this could continue to happen.

Fortunately for Lowery and SIU, Taylor’s offense was only an ordinance violation so it’s nowhere near as serious as the burglary that got him kicked out of Wisconsin.

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Taylor’s suspension details have not been released, and it’s unclear whether he will miss any time on the court. Lowery said Taylor will remain on the team, which is important since he is one of only three guards returning from last year.

“His actions going forward will be an important consideration,” Lowery said in the press release.