Gophers' McNeil arrested on domestic assault charges

Gophers sophomore guard Daquein McNeil has been arrested on two counts of domestic assault in Minneapolis. He is being held without bail in the Hennepin County jail, according to a Minneapolis police report.

McNeil has been suspended from all basketball team activities pending an investigation into the alleged assault, Gophers athletic director Norwood Teague wrote in a statement Tuesday morning. McNeil was arrested at 2:30 p.m. Monday.

"We are currently gathering information and cooperating with the authorities," the statement read. "This athletics department values respect and positively impacting the lives of others and will not tolerate any form of domestic assault from its staff or student-athletes."

The Gophers left for New York and the NIT Season Tip-Off tournament Tuesday, and they face St. John's on Wednesday night. A university spokesman said coach Richard Pitino would not be made available Tuesday to comment on the matter.

The Hennepin County attorney's office has until noon Wednesday to decide whether to file formal charges against the 20-year-old McNeil.

The criminal report details two counts of domestic assault against McNeil, including felony second-degree assault, against his girlfriend, 28, at an apartment near campus. The report reads that McNeil "ripped her clothes off, hit her with a large belt multiple times, choked her and poured cold water on her. The victim [was] able to flee [the] unit with only a small robe and coat. … Officers observed victim to have multiple bruising and welts all over her body."

McNeil was apprehended by campus police and booked by Minneapolis police.

McNeil was expected to be a key member of the team this season. He is averaging 3.3 points and 3.3 rebounds per game while averaging 18.8 minutes through four games.

Pitino originally recruited the 6-3 McNeil — a three-star prospect out of Baltimore with virtually no other scholarship offers — when he was the coach at Florida International in 2012-13. When Pitino took the job at Minnesota, he brought McNeil along, wanting to be loyal to a young man who had already been through a great deal in his life.

McNeil grew up in rough East Baltimore, and at age 13 his father was killed. "I want to say that it was just the wrong place at the wrong time," McNeil said about his father's death when he spoke to the Star Tribune for a story published last year. "But that's just the way it is when you grow up in the city of Baltimore. I guess it was just his turn."

Two months later, his mother died as well, succumbing to a long battle with lupus. That left McNeil in the care of his aunt, Conica Smith, who was working full-time while enrolled in a GED program to try to support her nephew and two sons in East Baltimore's housing projects.

McNeil withdrew from his former life soon after his parents' deaths. He stopped playing basketball and started skipping classes and hanging out with gangs. Some nights, he'd disappear. Smith would drive around the neighborhood looking for him, only to find him many nights shooting hoops alone.

Years later, McNeil pointed to the game as the only remaining thread in a ripped tapestry. It held him together, he said.

After two high schools and a quick stop at FIU, McNeil arrived at Minnesota and found surprising success his freshman season while learning on the job. He became somewhat of a defensive specialist and a significant piece of the backcourt rotation.

Pitino said in October that McNeil was starting to emerge from his introverted personality to become a more vocal teammate. "I hear him in huddles, where he's the one who's stepping up," the coach said.

If formal charges are filed Wednesday, it's unclear what the university's next move would be. The environment has changed significantly this year, in Minnesota and around the country, when it comes to athletes and domestic violence.

After the trip to New York City for two games, the Gophers travel to Winston-Salem, N.C., to play Wake Forest on Tuesday, then return for six consecutive home games in December.