Kansas State forward Nae’Qwan Tomlin has been removed from the men’s basketball team after he was indefinitely suspended in October, athletic director Gene Taylor said Wednesday.

“This decision was not made lightly by me, but it is the decision warranted by the circumstances that brought it to bear,” Taylor said as part of a lengthy statement.

Tomlin’s suspension came after his arrest at a Manhattan, Kan., sports bar for “disorderly conduct; brawling or fighting,” according to a Riley County Police Department arrest report. At the time, coach Jerome Tang said Tomlin was suspended “for not living up to the expectations we require of our players.”

“Situations like these are difficult,” Taylor said Wednesday, citing an inability to share more information based on “federal privacy laws.” He added that the laws are designed to “protect” student-athletes, and in this case specifically, to protect Tomlin “as he is working through a process designed to support him and lift him out of a difficult time,”

The AD also lamented the “spread of rumors and misinformation” in the case.

Tomlin averaged 10.4 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game as a junior last season, helping the Wildcats reach the Elite Eight in Tang’s first year at the helm. He will graduate at the end of the semester and be eligible to transfer.

The Wildcats are 7-2 this season after winning their last four games. They are unranked in the AP Top 25 poll.

K-State’s ceiling was always going to be higher with Tomlin. He was arguably the most talented player on the roster. Tang’s vision for this team was to have two of the most athletic wings in the country and play fast. K-State is still off to a solid 7-2 start without him, but it’s margin for error isn’t very high. (See: needing overtime against Oral Roberts and North Alabama.) It’s probably a middle-of-the-pack Big 12 team best-case scenario in a loaded league without him. — CJ Moore, college basketball staff writer

Assuming everything is squared away for Tomlin personally, I’m not sure we’ve ever had this high-profile a player available as a midseason addition that could play right away in college hoops. This is a portal first. Expect some big boys to be fighting for Tomlin’s services. Remember, he was the third-best player on an Elite Eight team last year. He could end up a starter or sixth man on a very good team here in a few weeks. — Moore