UK basketball: Tai Wynyard had an armed student ‘protecting’ him, per report

Tai Wynyard is going through tough times right now, and we may now have some insight as to why he’s currently suspended, though there is no confirmation.

According to a report from the Louisville Courier Journal, fraternities and sororities warned each other via a group message of a “potentially dangerous student” that had a firearm at a party as a means of protecting Wynyard. Sorority members were warned not to approach the student.

The redshirt sophomore forward from New Zealand is currently injured and dealing with a suspension. UK has not said whether or not this incident is related to the suspension.

Wynyard has not played since Dec. 31, 2017. That totals up to 11 straight games that he has missed. He’s averaging one point and 1.8 rebounds in 5.4 minutes per game. He’s not been on the bench for any of the recent road games, and wasn’t on the bench for the Vanderbilt home game.

After Tuesday’s loss to Tennessee, Calipari all but confirmed the report while saying not much else.

“He was, he was.” Calipari said when asked of the report. He (Tai) violated team rules. He has -- the back, he is out because of a back, but he’s now been suspended because of violating team rules, and that’s all I’ll say.”

It’s not a good situation for Wynyard, who already was unlikely to play again this season due to the injury. Now, he’s not even sitting on the bench during games, and his future in a Wildcat uniform is murky at best.