Saint Joseph’s head coach Phil Martelli announced today that freshman forward Markell Lodge will sit out the 2014-15 basketball season.
In his statement, Martelli said that “Markell, his family and I made the decision, while receiving input from our academic staff. We feel that he would benefit from placing all his emphasis on academics this year. This decision is absolutely the right step for Markell, who has a bright future at Saint Joseph’s.”
Lodge was expected to help fill the hole in the lineup left by Papa Ndao’s recently-announced medical redshirt for this upcoming season. North Carolina-native Lodge, standing at 6’6″, was projected to platoon with Aaron Brown, Isaiah Miles, and Ndao to help give Saint Joseph a number of different looks.
Now it appears that Miles and Brown will share the bulk of minutes from the four spot in a new-look Hawks team coming off an A10 Championship and NCAA berth.
Saint Joseph’s opens the season on November 14 at home against Fairleigh Dickinson.
