UCLA’s Butler Injured, Will Be Out Indefinitely

Kelvin Butler, a sophomore forward who started nine of UCLA’s first 11 basketball games, is out of action indefinitely with an injury, Coach Walt Hazzard said Tuesday.

Butler, in his first game coming off the bench, scored a career-high 13 points against Washington last Thursday, then suffered a partial tear of an abdominal muscle in Saturday’s game at Washington State.

Hazzard said that Butler’s injury was “similar to the injury that made Jerry West retire” from the Lakers. “He could be out a week, the rest of the year, who knows.”

Butler lost his starting berth last week when Hazzard moved Jack Haley back into the lineup at center and shifted Craig Jackson to forward.

UCLA will play Arizona State Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion. Chris Sandle, Arizona State’s leading scorer with a 15.2 average, has been suspended temporarily. Hazzard said: “I’ll believe it when he doesn’t line up to start the game on Thursday.”

Said ASU Coach Steve Patterson: “Chris has some academic matters to clear up before he’s allowed to practice and play again. He’s also continuing to have problems meeting deadlines, curfews and other team standards.”

Patterson, however, did not rule the sophomore forward out of the trip.

In another disciplinary move, ASU senior center John Taylor, who had played only a little, was dismissed from the team for “failing to fulfill his obligations to his team,” according to Patterson.