MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota coach Tubby Smith has suspended two players indefinitely for breaking team rules.

Smith would not say Tuesday why freshman forward Royce White and senior guard Devron Bostick were in trouble. They’ll be held out of exhibitions Thursday (against Minnesota Duluth) and Monday (against Minnesota State Moorhead) and possibly more, until Smith decides they’re ready to return to the No. 25-ranked Gophers.
“It could be two games. It could be five, six. It could be more,” Smith said, adding: “It could be 20. It depends on what I want, what I decide.”
Bostick is a reserve who averaged 11 minutes per game last season. White was dismissed from DeLaSalle High School in Minneapolis last year for academic misconduct before finishing his prep career at Hopkins.
White is part of a touted recruiting class that includes transfer Trevor Mbakwe, who is also out indefinitely while a felony aggravated battery charge against him goes through the legal process.
“If you do something wrong, our guys know that playing time ... is a privilege,” Smith said. “We expect them to conduct themselves in a proper way. When they don’t, unfortunately they force our hands and force us to do something we really don’t want to do.”
White and Mbakwe were expected to give Minnesota some bulk and athleticism at the power forward spot. Damian Johnson and Paul Carter, who are more natural at small forward, will play more inside while White and Mbakwe are out.
For now, the Gophers are down to 11 players including freshman walk-on guard Dominique Dawson, who was expected to redshirt but might be activated instead to provide more depth.
“We still have a really solid group,” Smith said.
As for Mbakwe, Smith said he agreed with athletics director Joel Maturi’s decision to keep the junior from playing until he’s cleared in the court system. Mbakwe wasn’t at practice Monday or Tuesday to take care of his legal matters.
“We love Trevor, and he’s done everything we’ve asked him to do since he’s been here,” the coach said.
Smith said he wasn’t sure when he would decide whether Mbakwe should be redshirted or not.
“He’ll have two years of eligibility left if he does sit out this year, but if he gets it resolved in his favor he’ll be back on the court immediately,” Smith said.
Minnesota’s first regular season game is against Tennessee Tech on Nov. 13.