UCLA senior point guard Jerime Anderson arrested by UCPD on suspicion of grand theft of a laptop, leading to an indefinite suspension from basketball team
Rising senior point guard Jerime Anderson was arrested last Tuesday on suspicion of grand theft of a laptop.
By Daily Bruin Staff
Aug. 1, 2011 1:30 a.m.
UCLA point guard Jerime Anderson has been suspended from the men’s basketball team indefinitely after being arrested Tuesday night, the university said Wednesday.
University police stopped Anderson outside of Covel Commons after a report of a stolen laptop and arrested him on suspicion of grand theft. He was held on $20,000 bail and released Wednesday morning.
“This is a disappointing and unfortunate situation for Jerime,” UCLA coach Ben Howland said in a statement. “We have a high standard and code of conduct that our student-athletes are expected to follow. He knows that he has made a huge mistake and that he has not represented himself, our program or UCLA in a manner that is required.”
Anderson will not participate in team activities and is suspended for at least the season opener, a Nov. 11 contest against Loyola Marymount. His future status with the team “will be re-evaluated as the legal process continues,” according to UCLA’s statement.
Anderson, a 6-foot-2-inch rising senior, came off the bench in all but three of UCLA’s games last year, backing up rising senior Lazeric Jones. He averaged 5.1 points and 2.6 rebounds per game.
Artis makes it two for 2012
While the future of one point guard hangs in the balance, the Bruins landed their point guard of the future when Dominic Artis verbally committed to UCLA on Sunday. The 5-foot-11-inch Artis, who hails from Richmond, Calif., and attends Findlay Prep in Henderson, Nev., is rated as a top-20 point guard by ESPN, Rivals and Scout.
Howland has been searching for an elite point guard since Darren Collison and Jrue Holiday moved on to the NBA in 2009, and finally got one in the class of 2012, which is shaping up to be quite the coup for the Bruins. Oak Hill Academy standout Jordan Adams, a 6-foot-5-inch forward and top-100 recruit, was the first to commit in late June, following former AAU coach Korey McCray from Georgia to Westwood.
With one more scholarship available for 2012, Howland doesn’t appear to be done just yet. He has been hard on the recruiting trail trying to nab Shabazz Muhammad, a forward from Bishop Gorman High in Las Vegas rated by some as the top prospect in the country.
Smith’s weight still an issue
Howland set a goal for rising sophomore center Joshua Smith at the end of last season: trim down to 12 percent body fat. By most accounts, Smith has only lost ground on his way to that target. Howland told CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish that Smith is “about 10 pounds over where he was last season.”
