The Sun Belt Conference was going to suspend Ryan Harrow for an accumulation of technical fouls had Georgia State not done so for Monday’s game at Arkansas State. A person with knowledge of the situation but who couldn’t speak on the record said that is why Harrow didn’t play in the 60-54 win against the Red Wolves.
Harrow, a senior from Marietta, has received six technical fouls this season. The most recent came three games ago in a win against Texas-Arlington. The technical was called after Harrow dunked, turned and then yelled in the face of a Mavericks player. Harrow had already been warned by the officials in the first half. Harrow is averaging 20.4 points per game.
Georgia State (12-7, 5-3) and the Sun Belt declined to comment. Panthers coach Ron Hunter hasn’t returned a text message. He did say on the pre-game show that he disagreed with the decision to suspend Harrow because there is no precedent for it.
The Sun Belt has no specific rule that requires a player to be suspended for an accumulation of technical fouls. However, there are rules about sportsmanship and behavior that can result in penalties and/or sanctions.
Hunter defended Harrow after the Texas-Arlington game, saying he thinks Harrow’s reputation as an emotional player is affecting the referee’s decisions.
