DALLAS — Word that Keith Frazier, who played on one of the best college teams you will not see this postseason, had dropped out barely registered beyond the confines of Dallas.

Frazier, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard who was Southern Methodist’s third-leading scorer, simply stopped showing up for practice in early January, with the Mustangs still undefeated. A few days later, he left the university.

As emotionally fragile as he was talented, Frazier stood at the center of an academic scandal that led the N.C.A.A. to ban S.M.U. from the postseason this year and suspend its coach, Larry Brown, who is in the basketball Hall of Fame, for nine games.

A few days after Frazier dropped out, I asked Coach Brown about the student. Brown shook his head; more than a hint of a native Brooklyn rasp lingers in his voice. “I think I invested more time in that kid than my family,” Brown said. “It’s a tragedy now in college sports — kids leave.”