Terrence Brown’s playing days at UPEI are over.
Panthers basketball coach Tim Kendrick released the fourth-year guard from Nassau, Bahamas, Monday.
“I am just shocked,” Brown told The Guardian Wednesday.
He said Kendrick told him Monday one of the reasons was because he swore after Saturday’s 92-80 loss at St. F.X.
“I swore out of frustration. I was mad,” said Brown, who was third in team’s scoring this year at 12.8 points per game. “He looked at me and said you shouldn’t have shown frustration and he said he didn’t think this is going to work.”
Kendrick said the specifics would stay internal and wished Brown well with his academics and in the future.
“It was significant enough that this had to happen in our minds,” he said.
The Panthers have been battling injuries all season, but Kendrick said he felt the action was required, regardless of the injuries.
“For me, it’s always a matter of the team comes first,” he said. “Team attitude and everything is very important to me and we all have to be on the same page. The team comes before everything.”
Brown admitted he raised issues with a few things, including the style of play, practice regimen and the playing time for some players on the team.
“I told them I didn’t like the way we were playing, the run-and-gun style basketball.”
Brown said he was a team player and was speaking up on behalf of teammates as well.
Brown was suspended for a week in mid-January and missed a game at UNB after asking questions about the team. He said Kendrick and him had different views.
“I had a feeling I was going to be released, but I didn’t think it would have happened until after the season was finished,” he said. “I don’t feel it was the right decision, not at all.”
The Panthers have six games to play in the regular season before the Atlantic University Sport championship March 1 to 3 in Halifax.
“I’m still going to watch the games. I’m still going to wish them good luck and I still hope they make it far in the playoffs and hopefully win the championship,” Brown said.
“For me it’s going to be hard. I really would want to be there, but it’s out of my hands. Kendrick had other plans and this is a new era now.”
Kendrick is in his second year with the program.
Brown, who is on scholarship, said he would finish out the semester and could explore transferring to another school for 2013-14.
“I’m not going to let that stop my basketball plans,” he said, noting he continues shooting hoops daily. “I still want to play pro and I still want to go as far as I can go in basketball.”
Brown and Kendrick did not speak about the possibility of reconciling.
Kendrick said the team is moving forward and preparing for two four-point games this weekend.
It hosts UNB on Friday and Cape Breton on Saturday.
Both games start at 8 p.m. following the women’s games at 6 p.m.
“It’s just another chapter that we’re going to finish with a great ending to this story for this year,” Kendrick said. “We’re going to do something special, wait and see.”
