Raise your hand if you predicted that this wouldn't end well.
South Florida head coach Stan Heath announced Monday that he had kicked Mike Mercer off of the team following the junior guard's Friday night arrest on misdemeanor charges of possession of marijuana.
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"He's disappointed. He's pretty devastated," Heath said. "He just feels like he's snakebit in some ways. Unfortunately, he's got to make better decisions."
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Heath said Mercer would remain on scholarship through this season and could graduate in the summer. Heath said he waited until Monday to finalize his decision.
"I didn't want to make any emotional decisions," Heath said. "In the first 24 hours, you have to be careful with that, but my thoughts really never wavered."
Rated as the No. 22 overall prospect in the class of 2006 by Rivals.com, Mercer's collegiate career hasn't exactly gone as planned.
After making the SEC All-Freshman Team in his rookie season, the talented guard's sophomore campaign was cut short by a season-ending ACL tear in February of 2007. Then, after already having been disciplined for academic issues, Mercer was dismissed nine months later by head coach Dennis Felton for "failure to adhere to team standards and policies."
Mercer became eligible at USF on Dec. 14. He started at point guard in all four games he played in, and averaged 8.5 ppg before suffering a season-ending knee injury.