Longwood University men’s basketball redshirt senior guard Isaiah Walton has been dismissed from the team for failure to meet program expectations, Head Coach Griff Aldrich announced Thursday afternoon in a Longwood athletics press release.

“We are saddened with today’s announcement,” Aldrich said in the release. “We are striving to develop young men who realize growth academically, athletically and personally. This requires each individual within the program to be committed in the classroom and to focusing on each of these areas — not simply being an athlete. We wish Isaiah the absolute best as he enters the next phase of his career.”

Officials in the release noted that Walton ends his Longwood career ranked 17th in school history in career points (1,104), tied for seventh in scoring average (15.3) and second in free throw percentage (.832).

An announcement was made by Longwood athletics Jan. 30 less than two hours before tipoff against visiting Hampton University that Walton had been suspended indefinitely for failure to meet team expectations.

In response to a question about why there was an indefinite suspension that preceded the dismissal and a question about what might have led from one to the other, Longwood Assistant Vice President for Athletics Communications Chris Cook said, “We will decline to comment on the internal process that led to Isaiah’s initial suspension and ensuing dismissal.”

But Cook did offer a clearer definition of the scope of the discipline.

“To clarify, the dismissal was from the Longwood men’s basketball program and does not affect Isaiah’s status as a Longwood University student,” Cook said.

The Jan. 30 announcement cited that Walton was averaging 17.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.4 steals across 15 games this season. His per-game averages for points, rebounds and steals led the team, and he also held the top scoring average for the Lancers during the 2017-18 season — 15.6.

Longwood (13-12, 3-7 Big South) had played eight games without Walton this season due to injury prior to Jan. 30’s loss against Hampton. During that eight-game stretch, the Lancers went 4-4. They have fallen to 4-6 without him after losing to Campbell University 83-62 on Saturday.