ISU men’s head basketball coach Wayne Morgan announced Wednesday that forward Robert Faulkner has been dismissed from the Cyclone basketball team for failure to comply with team requirements.

“It is very unfortunate and painful to have to separate a student-athlete from our program,” Morgan said in a press release. “I feel it is important to make it clear that his dismissal has nothing to do with Robert’s academic situation.”

But Robert’s mother, Lillie Faulkner, said she was under the impression that her son was taken off the team because of his grades.

“I got that he flunked some grades,” Lillie said in a telephone interview Wednesday.

His mother said Robert is still enrolled at Iowa State. Faulkner has not been with the team since its loss to Missouri on Jan. 8. After Iowa State’s game Tuesday, Morgan said Faulkner’s academic appeal had been denied.

Up to that point, Faulkner had been ineligible pending his appeal.

A player can still practice and sit on the bench with a team at games after being declared academically ineligible.

Faulkner would have had two years of eligibility remaining after this season, had he remained on the team.

Lillie said she wasn’t upset with Morgan for dismissing her son. She said she holds Robert responsible for his actions.

“I’m upset with him,” Lillie said. “You know what you have to do and don’t do it, that’s my reaction.”

Calls to Robert’s residence were not returned.

Faulkner averaged 3.7 points in 12 games this year, shooting 70 percent from the field, and was also averaging three rebounds per game.

Faulkner spent one year at South Plains College, where he averaged 10.5 points and five rebounds per game.