Dismissed Blue Devil Sulaimon transfers to Maryland

Rasheed Sulaimon, who was dismissed by Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski last season, will join the University of Maryland’s basketball program in the fall, the school announced Monday. Sulaimon, a rising senior, will have one year of eligibility remaining.

Sulaimon, who will be eligible to play immediately if he graduates from Duke in August, had a prior relationship with Maryland coach Mark Turgeon, who recruited the Houston native out of high school while he was the head coach at Texas A&M.

“I’ve known Rasheed and his family since he was in the seventh grade, first meeting him when he attended our basketball camp at Texas A&M,” Turgeon said in a statement released by the school. “He was a very polite and poised young man, and I recruited him while I was at Texas A&M because of his commitment to both academics and athletics. We competed against Rasheed on multiple occasions in the ACC and I was reminded of his dynamic playmaking ability. During our conversations with Rasheed and his parents, Kenny and Angela, Rasheed expressed the importance of proving that he is committed to being a great student-athlete and a selfless teammate. I have full confidence that Rasheed will embrace this opportunity at the University of Maryland.”

Sulaimon was dismissed from the Blue Devils program on Jan. 29 for being “unable to consistently live up to the standards required to be a member of our program,” head coach Mike Krzyzewski said in a statement. Never before in 35 years had Krzyzewski kicked a player off one of his Duke teams.

A month after his dismissal, the Duke Chronicle, the school’s student newspaper, released a story – based on anonymous sources – reporting that two allegations of sexual assault were made publicly against Sulaimon during the 2013-14 school year during two off-campus retreats. No police reports were filed, and Sulaimon denied that he ever assaulted anyone to ESPN.

Sulaimon saw his playing go down in each of his three seasons at Duke. His best year was his freshman year, when he averaged 11.6 points per game and was a member of the all-ACC freshman team.

Sulaimon joins a Maryland team that will be ranked in the top five to start the year.

This story was originally published May 11, 2015 at 2:09 PM with the headline "Dismissed Blue Devil Sulaimon transfers to Maryland."