Senior guard Devin Cannady has played his last game for Princeton. After deciding to take a leave of absence from the University for personal reasons, Cannady will not be playing men’s basketball for the remainder of the season.
“Devin Cannady has decided to take a voluntary leave of absence from school to attend to a personal matter and, consequently, will not be playing basketball for the remainder of the season. He has our full support,” Deputy University Spokesperson Mike Hotchkiss wrote in a statement to The Daily Princetonian.
Cannady was a team captain and Princeton’s leader in points per game this season with an 18.2 average. He is fifth on Princeton’s all-time scoring list with 1515 points and third in three-pointers with 268.
“I’d like to thank our AD, the athletic department, and the coaching staff for supporting me through this tough time,“ Cannady wrote on Twitter following the initial publication of this article. “While it saddens me that I’ll no longer suit up for the program I gave my all to, they will have my continued support as they pursue another Ivy League Title.”
According to a later Instagram post, Cannady wrote that he plans to return to the University “in the near future” and to declare for this year’s NBA Draft.
“The past few weeks have been extremely difficult for me and my family and as a result I will be taking a leave of absence from school to be with them,“ Cannady wrote in the post.
This decision comes over a month after he allegedly threw a punch at a Department of Public Safety officer in Wawa early morning on Jan. 18.
He now faces charges for simple assault, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, and being under the influence without a prescription. The Princeton Municipal Court has adjourned his case until Mar. 11.
He was originally charged with aggravated assault, an indictable charge which has since been downgraded.
After the incident, Cannady was suspended from the team for three games. He was reinstated to play prior to Princeton’s Feb. 8 game at Yale.
“Based on the result of the University’s disciplinary process and in keeping with its policies, procedures, and precedents, the Department of Athletics has determined that Cannady has served the appropriate suspension from competition and is reinstated,” wrote University Spokesperson Ben Chang at the time.
Cannady played four games following his reinstatement before missing last weekend’s contests against Cornell and Columbia due to an undisclosed personal matter.
The team is 16–9 overall and third in the Ivy League with an 8–4 conference record. Following a split in this past weekend’s games, the team will conclude their regular season this weekend with home games against Brown and Yale.
This story has been updated to reflect quotes from Devin Cannady.