Nick Valdez had not attended practice since he and Andre Emmett were benched for Monday's game against No. 3 Texas for missing breakfast and a walkthrough meeting that morning.
Both Emmett and Valdez effectively were reinstated to the team late Tuesday night after finishing disciplinary conditioning work. Emmett was at practice both Wednesday and Thursday, but not Valdez.
"He was told he could stay under certain stipulations and he chose not to,'' Tech athletic director Gerald Myers told The Associated Press.
One of the stipulations would have required Valdez to do more running than that required of his teammates, Myers said.
"I want to get this behind me and move on and get my degree and do something with my life,'' Valdez said Friday in the online edition of The Dallas Morning News. "I'm going to continue working out and I just want my teammates to succeed. It's just unfortunate that any of this had to happen.''
On his weekly radio segment Thursday, Knight said there had been a "long history'' of problems with Valdez.
"I think we have had a whole series of irresponsible things with Valdez in the past,'' Knight was quoted as saying in Friday's online edition of the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.
Myers said that Valdez had missed practice because his teammates did not want him to practice with him in the wake of an e-mail Valdez's father had sent to a newspaper Tuesday.
The Avalanche-Journal reported in its Wednesday editions that Joe Valdez's e-mail said that his son and Emmett may have been "set up'' to be suspended Monday. The e-mail said the two didn't receive a customary wake-up call as punishment for their part in the team's losses.
He later apologized in another e-mail to the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal and the Tech coaching staff, saying he regretted the earlier comments.
It was unclear if Emmett, the Big 12 scoring leader, would play in the Red Raiders' game on Saturday against Texas A&M.
The team is 14-8 overall, but only 4-7 in Big 12 games and in danger of missing the NCAA Tournament.
Knight has said Emmett, who leads the Big 12 Conference in scoring with 21.5 points per game, could be the best college player he's ever coached if he played harder and played defense.
Both Emmett and Valdez effectively were reinstated to the team late Tuesday night after finishing disciplinary conditioning work. Emmett was at practice both Wednesday and Thursday, but not Valdez.
"He was told he could stay under certain stipulations and he chose not to,'' Tech athletic director Gerald Myers told The Associated Press.
One of the stipulations would have required Valdez to do more running than that required of his teammates, Myers said.
"I want to get this behind me and move on and get my degree and do something with my life,'' Valdez said Friday in the online edition of The Dallas Morning News. "I'm going to continue working out and I just want my teammates to succeed. It's just unfortunate that any of this had to happen.''
On his weekly radio segment Thursday, Knight said there had been a "long history'' of problems with Valdez.
"I think we have had a whole series of irresponsible things with Valdez in the past,'' Knight was quoted as saying in Friday's online edition of the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.
Myers said that Valdez had missed practice because his teammates did not want him to practice with him in the wake of an e-mail Valdez's father had sent to a newspaper Tuesday.
The Avalanche-Journal reported in its Wednesday editions that Joe Valdez's e-mail said that his son and Emmett may have been "set up'' to be suspended Monday. The e-mail said the two didn't receive a customary wake-up call as punishment for their part in the team's losses.
He later apologized in another e-mail to the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal and the Tech coaching staff, saying he regretted the earlier comments.
It was unclear if Emmett, the Big 12 scoring leader, would play in the Red Raiders' game on Saturday against Texas A&M.
The team is 14-8 overall, but only 4-7 in Big 12 games and in danger of missing the NCAA Tournament.
Knight has said Emmett, who leads the Big 12 Conference in scoring with 21.5 points per game, could be the best college player he's ever coached if he played harder and played defense.
