Arrest, suspensions latest jolt to U athletic programs

Royce White, the state's reigning Mr. Basketball and the top recruit in Tubby Smith's freshman class, was arrested Oct. 13 for shoplifting and fifth-degree assault at Macy's in the Mall of America, according to police reports obtained Tuesday by the Star Tribune.

According to a police report, a Macy's security officer confronted White, who was with three other males, and tried to handcuff the 6-8, 240-pound power forward after he allegedly attempted to steal about $100 worth of merchandise. The police report said White pushed the security guard "down to the ground two times." Bloomington officers eventually arrived and arrested White, who was released with citations.

Gophers men's basketball coach Tubby Smith said Tuesday that White has been suspended indefinitely for an unspecified violation of team rules, but did not elaborate on the reasons for the action. The coach said senior guard Devron Bostick is also suspended indefinitely for rules violations.

News of White's arrest was the apex in a tumultuous two-day span of highly publicized legal problems within the two most visible Gophers athletic programs.

Athletic director Joel Maturi announced Monday morning that Trevor Mbakwe, a 6-8, 240-pound power forward on the basketball team, will not be allowed to play until his legal case, stemming from an April felony assault charge in Miami, is resolved.

Michael Carter, a top freshman on Minnesota's football team, was arrested early Monday morning near campus for underage drinking and obstruction of justice. The football team in the past month also had another player arrested, linebacker Gary Tinsley, and two-game suspensions for Cedric McKinley and Tim Dandridge for violations of team rules.

"It seems to snowball," Maturi said. "When you have so many instances at one time, you wonder, what's going on at the asylum? It's frustrating for all of us. It's not what we want to deal with. It is part of the job. ... Hopefully, the young men and women that made some mistakes will learn from them and not make them in the future, and those that continue to violate what our expectations are of them won't be part of the program -- and maybe, not part of the school and not be on scholarship. That's the tough love that eventually happens and it's happened here before. None of us relish that be the case, but those are the processes that we follow."

White was also issued a one-year trespass notice by security officials at the Mall of America, according to the police report. Bloomington police Cmdr. Jim Ryan said people who commit the crimes that White has been accused of don't usually serve jail time.

White was considered a risky recruit coming to Minnesota after being kicked out of DeLaSalle for academic misconduct in 2008. He spent his senior year at Hopkins, helping the team to the state Class 4A title.

White and Mbakwe were both expected to play major roles in the upcoming season and give the Gophers the physical post presence they've lacked since Dallas Mavericks forward and former Hopkins star Kris Humphries left for the NBA in 2004.

"Nobody wants to start the year in this type of atmosphere," Smith said. "But it is the start, not the end. ... I'd rather have it over and done with now. ... And hopefully, we won't have to deal with it, again."

Smith said that White and Bostick, national junior college player of year in 2008, will miss the team's first exhibition Thursday against Minnesota-Duluth at Williams Arena. He said the two will not play until they deal with issues that have lingered for some time.

"It could be 20 [games]," Smith said when asked about the possible duration of the suspension.

Mbakwe, meanwhile, could miss the entire season. Terry Chavez, spokeswoman for the Miami Dade County state attorney's office, said Tuesday that "a lot more depositions need to be taken" in Mbakwe's case before it goes to trial, which she said makes the scheduled Dec. 14 trial date unlikely. She said both Mbakwe's lawyer, Gregory Samms, and the state attorney's representative in the case will meet with a judge Dec. 2 for an update.

Samms told the Star Tribune in August that he doesn't expect to go to trial until 2010, although a hearing related to Mbakwe's case was held Tuesday morning.

"Realistically, it doesn't look like anything's going to happen in December," Chavez said. Both Maturi and Smith have talked about redshirting Mbakwe while he deals with his legal issues this season. The junior would have two years of eligibility remaining in that scenario.

White was the centerpiece of a Gophers incoming recruiting class ranked among the nation's best. That talented crop joined a roster of players that didn't lose a key contributor and last March made it to the program's first NCAA tournament since 2005.

Now, a Gophers team that looked like one of the most promising in more than a decade looks like one of the most questionable in recent history.

"If you do something wrong, and our guys know that playing time and the opportunity to play ... it's a privilege to play here and it's a privilege to be a part of this program and we expect them to conduct themselves in the proper way," Smith said. "And when they don't, unfortunately, they force our hands and they force us to have to do something we really don't want to do."