Big man Darien Williams kicked off the Nevada basketball team

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After a two-week break for the holiday season, the RGJ's Chris Murray, Duke Ritenhouse and Jim Krajewski discuss Nevada basketball, prep sports and the national cyclocross championships in Reno this week. Chris Murray/RGJ

The Wolf Pack's thin roster of eligible scholarship players dropped by one Friday.

Darien Williams, a senior center who transferred to Nevada this season, was dismissed from the team by coach Eric Musselman for failing to meet the Wolf Pack's standards.

“We have requirements to be member of the Nevada basketball program and unfortunately, Darien has fallen short of those standards,” Musselman said in a news release. “He is a fine young man and we wish him the best moving forward.”

Williams had appeared in 15 games for Nevada, including two starts. He played 6.5 minutes per game and was averaging 2.1 points and 1.7 rebounds on 40.7 percent shooting. At 6-foot-8 and 220 pounds, Williams was the team's biggest player.

The dismissal leaves the Wolf Pack with only eight eligible scholarship players as the team has four transfers sitting out this season under NCAA rules. Williams and Elijah Foster have split the center minutes this season, with both logging just 6.5 minutes per game as Nevada has used a smallball lineup and short rotation. The Wolf Pack now doesn't have a player taller than 6-7.

Williams transferred to Nevada this season after two years at St. John's. He also was a member of Iowa Western Community College and City College of San Francisco and committed to Iowa State at one point but never joined the Cyclones.

Williams missed Nevada's last game, a contest Saturday at Air Force, with what the team termed “fulfilling academic obligations." He also wasn't at the team's practice Thursday. As a graduate transfer who had earned his degree from St. John's, Williams was eligible to play for Nevada immediately as long as he took graduate-level classes.

When Williams joined the Wolf Pack, Nevada petitioned the NCAA to get him an additional year of eligibility for the time he missed following shoulder surgeries, but this dismissal almost certainly ends Williams' college career.

Williams, a San Francisco native, committed to Nevada in June and said he was looking forward to playing close to home.

“Nevada literally every box it checked for me,” Williams said at the time of his commitment. “I’m originally from the Bay Area, so the proximity, the need from a basketball standpoint, the school, the city, the coaching staff were all great and exactly what I was looking for.

“Coming off an NCAA Tournament appearance, we’re looking to the next level. We got there and now we need to take the next step. I just want to win. Obviously, I know I can help this team in a lot of ways, but I want to win. During my two years at St. John’s we won a total of 23 games. Whatever I can do to help this team win, that’s what I’m going to do.”

A message left on Williams' cell phone was not immediately returned.

Williams is the first player to be dismissed by Musselman in his three years at Nevada. Another big man, AJ West, quit the team while citing "personal reasons" 10 games into the Musselman era.