VCU's Barbour to miss first semester

Andrea Barbour

Virginia Commonwealth high-scoring guard Andrea Barbour must sit out through at least the first semester to beef up her academics, the school announced Tuesday.

This means Barbour, a redshirt junior who averaged 23.8 ppg on 60-percent shooting at Patrick Henry Community College last season, won't be available for the Rams' 10 non-conference games, including their Nov. 21 showdown at Virginia Tech. Barbour averaged 15.0 ppg and made the ACC All-Rookie team as a freshman at VT in 2007-08.

“When Andrea transferred to VCU this fall, she was behind in meeting the NCAA percentage of degree requirements and therefore, is not yet eligible to play,” VCU coach Beth Cunningham said. “She worked very hard academically this summer prior to enrolling at VCU. Since she has arrived on campus, we have put an academic structure and plan in place for her to meet the necessary requirements. Andrea has done everything we have asked of her and is working diligently to achieve her goal of not only being able to play for us, but to ultimately graduate.”

The release also stated that Barbour's academic progress will be re-evaluated at the end of the first semester and that the team "hopes to have her back by the beginning of January." The Rams open CAA play on Jan. 2 at William and Mary; their last non-conference game is on Dec. 23 at Radford.

The news is the latest blow to a program that has already been hit by setbacks this offseason. Earlier this fall, point guard Ebony Patterson was lost indefinitely after she tore an Achilles tendon during a strength and conditioning workout. Around that same time, the school announced that 6-1 forward Richelle Price, a transfer from Western Carolina, had withdrawn from the program.