Slater Suspended

A couple of days late on this, but here it is:

STARKVILLE - Mississippi State basketball coach Rick Stansbury said Thursday that Dietric Slater has been suspended for the first half of the 2006-07 season for a violation of team rules.Stansbury would not disclose the nature of the violation, but said it will sideline the senior small forward for the entire fall semester.Slater, a 6-foot-3 player from Waynesboro, will miss 50 percent of MSU's games under the suspension, or 15 regular-season games. Slater will not return until MSU's third Southeastern Conference game on Jan. 13 at Kentucky.Slater will not travel with the Bulldogs when they leave today for a three-game exhibition trip to western Canada over Labor Day weekend, Stansbury said.Mississippi State will play two games on Saturday and one game on Sunday against Canadian university teams.Stansbury said Slater has not practiced with the team for the Canada trip but that he will be able to practice when State resumes preseason workouts in October.Slater was set to be one of four returning starters for the Bulldogs after averaging 10.1 points and 4.9 rebounds last season. He made 19 starts in 24 games but missed the final week of the regular season and the SEC Tournament after partially tearing a knee ligament in a March 1 game at Arkansas.