James Madison Suspends Andre Nation and Tom Vodanovich

For the second year in a row James Madison's Andre Nation has been suspended. Last year Nation was suspended for 15 games for a violation of athletic policy and the JMU student newspaper speculated and asked head coach Matt Brady if it was drug related based on a clause in the the JMU Student-Athlete Handbook which states that a player with a second positive drug test will "be suspended for 50% of the competitions during the championship season of their respective sports."

Brady responded, "I wouldn’t want anyone drawing any conclusions from that. But what I will say is that he’s immature and he’s made some mistakes that aren’t helpful."

Upon returning, Nation lead the Dukes with 15.4 points per game with the squad finishing with an 11-20 mark. Sophomore forward Tom Vodanovich, who averaged 4.1 points per game and ironically enough started in Nation's absence, was also suspended indefinitely.

In a statement from the school Brady said:

"I'm very disappointed in Andre and Tom. We have high standards and expectations for members of our men's basketball program, and they will be accountable for their actions."

James Madison will tip off the season November 14 when they host defending ACC champ Virginia in Harrisonburg.

UPDATE (10/22): Vodanovich will be suspended for a scrimmage, home exhibition and first two games of the regular season against Virginia and Radford. Nation will also miss the scrimmage, exhibition, and five regular season games.