What happened to Benny Williams? Looking at Syracuse forward's recent dismissal

Junior forward Benny Williams of the Syracuse Orange has been dismissed by the program on Tuesday afternoon. Per reports, he was suspended earlier this season for a violation of team rules but there has been no clarity as to what caused the split.

The Syracuse Orange men's basketball Twitter account posted a brief statement regarding the dismissal of Benny Williams.

"Benny Williams has been dismissed from the Syracuse Men's Basketball team. Everyone involved with the program wishes Benny the best."

Benny Williams played 18 games this season for the Orange, with his most recent game being on Saturday against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.

Throughout the season, he averaged 5.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.9 blocks and 0.9 steals per game. His shooting numbers were not great, as Williams had 40.0% shooting from the floor, 20.6% from the three-point line and 53.8% from the charity stripe.

We will monitor the situation and continue to update everyone as more details potentially emerge as to what exactly happened for the Syracuse basketball program to decide on this course of action.

What happened to Benny Williams? Looking at Syracuse director's statement

The details surrounding the dismissal are stated as team rule violations, per various reports but no immediate reason has been disclosed yet. Heading into the second exhibition game against the College of Saint Rose on Nov. 1, the team announced Williams would be suspended for a violation of team rules.

While it has not been publicly reported, it could seem as if he violated the same rule and the program had enough of his issues. When asked about the details surrounding Williams' suspension earlier this season, Syracuse's Director of Athletic Communications responded to an email with the following statement.

"I'd encourage you not to speculate on what may have caused the suspension or what a potential timeline would be. The suspension was for violating team rules and the Twitter post indicated he would return to the team soon." h/t CNY Central

The idea that this dismissal was caused by a legal issue seems misguided, as there have not been any reports suggesting that could be the case.

Situations like that are typically presented before anything else and it will be interesting to see what Benny Williams' future will look like, as he could explore the NCAA Transfer Portal if he wants to continue playing college basketball.