Two valuable pieces of the backcourt won't be around for Louisiana Tech this season.

Coach Kerry Rupp announced on Sept. 29 that senior guard J.C. Clark (a returning starter) and junior guard Jamel White had been dismissed because of a violation of team rules.

White was a transfer from Nebraska -- one of three big-school transfers that the program had been looking forward to putting on the court in Rupp's second season.

"Although I am disappointed by these circumstances, there is an expectation of conduct that will not be compromised in our program," Rupp said. "Every member of our team is also a representative of this university, and we will continue to reinforce the core values that are the backbone of our program."

The dismissals took some of the wind out of the sails of a team that was expected to make a significant jump from last season's 3-13 mark when the Bulldogs were nearly hopelessly shorthanded.

Clark averaged 9.5 points in 31.5 minutes per game, and was the team's top returning three-pointer, even though it was only at 33.9 percent.

In all, six players have been dismissed since the end of last season.

Still, Louisiana Tech seems to have more options and better players this time around. Improvement will happen. Maybe just not quite as much as originally hoped.

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