A day after University of Arkansas basketball coach John Pelphrey said Patrick Beverley is one of the three juniors he counts on to lead the Razorbacks, the UA announced Beverley won't play at all for the Hogs in 2008-09.

Late Friday afternoon the UA sports information department issued a two-sentence press release stating: " Junior guard Patrick Beverley will not compete for the Razorbacks in the 2008-2009 basketball season. The University of Arkansas, including its administration and coaches, will have no further comment due to student privacy laws. "

Neither Beverley nor Pelphrey, who had praised juniors Beverley, Stefan Welsh and Michael Washington after Thursday's press conference on changes to Walton Arena, could be reached for comment Friday.

Since Friday closed the UA's summer school session, speculation and reports, including one by CBS Sportsline citing an anonymous source, ran heavy that Beverley not returning is related to academics.

Privacy laws, which the UA cited in its press release, forbid colleges from publicly disclosing a studentathlete's academic records without consent.

With six seniors graduated from the 2007-08 team and now Beverley, the SEC Newcomer of the Year two years ago, and the team's leading rebounder last year despite standing but 6-1, Pelphrey will start his second Razorback season bereft of 87 percent of the offense and 77 percent of the rebounding from last season.

Last season Beverley averaged 12. 1 points and 6. 6 rebounds and was second on the team in steals and was Arkansas' top backcourt defender as he was in 2006-07 when he averaged 13. 9 points and 4. 5 rebounds for former Arkansas coach Stan Heath.

Minus Beverley, the Razorbacks are down to 10 scholarship players with only three - Welsh, Washington and sophomore guard Marcus Britt - playing for last season's team.

Welsh now is the returning leading scorer with a 5. 3 average and Washington the leading rebounder with a 3. 9 average.

There has been speculation since last spring that Beverley might not return to the UA.

It started with a report alleging he had written " I'm leaving" on his Facebook account on the Internet and then reports that Beverley intended to rejoin Heath at the University of South Florida until his mother, Lisa Beverley, reportedly convinced him to stay at Arkansas, which he did this summer.

Publicly, anyway, Beverley was in Pelphrey' plans Thursday when the coach talked to media after the press conference announcing 34 seats that had been the media's Press Row are for sale as $ 60, 000 for 5 years Courtside Club luxury seats.

" Our basketball team is only going to be as good as our three juniors, " Pelphrey said Thursday. " We are excited about the young guys and what they are going to bring to the University of Arkansas this season and the future, but first-year guys, they are going to be a little up and down.

" So those three juniors will have to lead us. They can't have bad days attitudewise. I was impressed with them this summer. "

The Razorbacks' roster, never with any seniors for 2008-09, now returns Welsh, Washington, Britt, redshirt freshman forward Michael Sanchez of Springdale Har-Ber and walkon guard Stephen Cox of Jonesboro and adds Andre Clark, a freshman forward from North Little Rock who practiced but didn't play during the 2008 spring semester, freshman post Brandon Moore, freshman guards Rotnei Clark and Courtney Fortson and freshman small forward Jason Henry of West Memphis and junior college transfer swingman Montrell McDonald.