The University of Maryland might need to change their mascot name to the Beatles after this, because the hits just keep on coming.
Incoming freshman Trayvon Reed, a center for the Terrapins basketball team, will not be allowed to enroll at the university after he was arrested Wednesday night in College Park. Reed, the 7’1″ freshman from Snellville, Ga., was charged with two counts of second-degree assault as well as theft under $100 and resisting arrest. One of those assault charges was picked up as a result of attacking a police officer.
Reed’s hearing for the pending charges will be September 14 at the nearby Hyattsville district court.
Reed was one of the more prominent members of Maryland’s top ten 2014 recruiting class, comprising one of the two seven-footers Mark Turgeon brought in for the Terps (the other being Michal Cekovsky). He was expected to play a large role upon entering College Park as Maryland lost both Charles Mitchell and Shaquille Cleare, two other big men, to transfer this year. According to Turgeon, in a statement by the university:
"“Trayvon failed to meet the standards that are required by the University of Maryland athletics department.”"
It’s been a whirlwind of an offseason for the Terrapins, and one that never seems to end. Trayvon was still trying to get clearing to play academically, but this appears to be the final offseason nail in the coffin for the Terps. It leaves Maryland dangerously thin in the front court, and they’re going to have to pray that Michal Cekovsky and Damonte Dodd have made the required strides to become viable front court options for them. We’ll have more as soon as we get it.
Update: Some quotes from the Reed camp about the decision from UMTerps.com:
"I regret that I was unable to meet the responsibilities that were expected of me from Coach Turgeon and the University of Maryland. – Trayvon Reed“We want to express our gratitude and appreciation to Coach Turgeon and the Maryland basketball program. We regret that Trayvon has to leave Maryland and miss out on this great opportunity.” – Daniel Moore, Reed’s stepfather"
Update 3:50 pm: According to Trayvon Reed’s charging documents acquired by the Baltimore Sun, he was arrested outside the 7-11 on route 1 (across the street from Cornerstone and Bentley’s) after putting two Reese’s peanut butter cups and a Twix ice cream bar into his pants pocket. The grand total? Less than six bucks.
"According to court documents, Reed was arrested shortly before midnight Wednesday after two plain-clothes Prince George’s County police officers saw him put an ice cream bar and two candy bars into his pants pocket at a 7-Eleven on Route 1, and leave the store without paying.When the officer confronted Reed and another unnamed male outside the store, Reed “began acting as if he did not understand,” according to charging documents. The officer then reached to place Reed under arrest and Reed attempted to pull away and run.According to police, Reed hit the officer on the left hand as he was trying to control the Maryland player. The other officer, who was inside the store, went to his fellow officer’s aid.Reed took one four-pack of Reese’s peanut butter cups, one two-pack of big Reeses peanut butter cups and a Twix ice cream bar. The total value was $5.81."
So six bucks were what separated Reed from potentially starting for the Terrapins and now, not even being enrolled in the university. That’s got to be hard to stomach, and makes you wonder why he would even considering doing that in the first place. He’s 7’1″, sticks out in any environment, and decided to steal (accidentally or not) from the store. Oh boy.