/cdn.vox-cdn.com/photo_images/5862703/20120307_mje_aj4_823.jpg)
The USC men's basketball team will be without junior guard Maurice Jones for the entire 2012-13 season due to academic purposes, head coach Kevin O'Neill announced today.
"Maurice Jones has been nothing short of magnificent for us for two years," said O'Neill. "Mo has been a great guy and great player and we want him to graduate from USC. I support him 100 percent in all that he does."
Jones currently plans to return for the 2013-14 season.
Jones averaged 11.4 PPG in 66 games for the Trojans, 57 of them starts. He led USC in points (416), points per game (13.0), steals (56), assists (111), and three-point FG's (52) in 2011-12. Jones played 38.2 minutes per game, scoring double digits in 23 of 32 games last year.
For more on the USC Trojans, make sure to check out Conquest Chronicles. For more on college basketball in general, please head over to SB Nation's dedicated NCAA hoops hub.