Basketball Point Guard Maurice Jones Academically Ineligible

USC junior point guard Maurice Jones will miss the 2012-2013 season because of academics, the school announced on Saturday.

Jones was the Trojans' leading scorer in the 2011-2012 season and was expected be the key sixth man on the squad this year.

It will be the second consecutive season which the Trojans will be without a big member of their team. Last year guard Jio Fontan suffered a torn ACL in a preseason game and did not play for the rest of the year.

USC went an abysmal 6-26 last season, with Jones as one of the team's lone bright spots. While the team is supposed to be much improved this season, the loss of Jones puts a bit of a damper on expectations.

"Maurice Jones has been nothing short of magnificent for us for two years," said head coach Kevin O'Neill in a statement. "Mo has been a great guy and great player and we want him to graduate from USC. I support him 100 percent in all that he does."

As of now Jones is expected to return for what would be his senior season in 2013-2014, but that has not yet been confirmed.