LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Sophomore center Jason Parker has been dismissed from the Kentucky basketball team Friday for violating athletic department policy.

		Last season, the Kentucky basketball program was a big-time soap opera. Big Blue was plagued by turmoil, and now it's continuing. Jason Parker, a true low-post presence who would have been a big plus inside, has been thrown off the team. You would think kids wearing the Kentucky uniform would be so proud that they'd do everything to make certain they don't jeopardize playing at the school. More...

Neither athletic director Mitch Barnhart nor coach Tubby Smith would disclose the nature of the infraction.

Parker, a Charlotte native, was a two-time Associated Press high school Player of the Year in North Carolina. He was originally going to play at North Carolina, but a dispute over college entrance exams landed him at Kentucky.

Parker was named to the Southeastern Conference All-Freshman team in 2000-01. He averaged 8.6 points and 4.7 rebounds, and had career highs of 22 points and 13 rebounds in the Cats' season-ending loss to USC in the 2001 NCAA tournament.

Parker tore an anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in June 2001. He was scheduled to return to action in January, but tore the ligament again in the locker room just before the team's first fall practice. He missed the entire 2001-02 season as a medical redshirt.

Parker's dismissal is the latest occurrence in a tumultuous offseason for UK.

In May, Smith announced that guards Rashaad Carruth, Adam Chiles and Cory Sears had left the team. In late June, junior point guard Cliff Hawkins was deemed academically ineligible for the fall semester.

The Wildcats went 22-10 last season, losing to eventual national champion Maryland in the NCAA Tournament's round of 16.