STORRS, Conn. -- Connecticut suspended guard A.J. Price for
the entire 2005-06 season as a result of his arrest on charges of
trying to sell stolen laptops this summer, but has allowed
co-defendant Marcus Williams to return to the team in December.
University officials announced the school-imposed sanctions on
Friday.
Under the penalties handed down by the university's director of
judicial affairs, the two point guards have been kicked out of
campus housing and dining halls -- Price for three years and
Williams until next August.
They also have been suspended for the 2005-06 academic year, but
those suspensions were held in abeyance, meaning they can attend
classes but could be expelled if they fail to meet several
conditions. Price, a redshirt freshman, will return to classes in
the spring semester, while Williams has been attending classes this
semester.
Williams, a junior guard, can rejoin the team on Dec. 17 and
will be available for the Jan. 3 game at Marquette.
The players also must complete several hours of community
service, under the school penalties.
In their criminal cases, both applied for a special form of
probation for first-time offenders. Williams was given 18 months of
probation and must serve 400 hours of community service. Price's
application for accelerated rehabilitation is pending and he is due
back in court Nov. 15. Under the program, criminal charges are
erased if defendants successfully complete the probation.
Price has yet to play a minute of college ball since arriving on
campus last year. The Amityville (N.Y.) High School star led that
team to a pair of state championships and averaged 28.5 points his
senior year. But he suffered a brain hemorrhage in October 2004
during his freshman year at UConn and has not yet been medically
cleared to play.
Williams missed most of the 2003-04 national championship season
because of academic problems.
In statements released Friday, the players expressed remorse and
apologized for their actions, saying they were eager to prove they
were worthy of getting a second chance.
"Although this has been a negative experience, I will use it as
a positive opportunity to move forward both in my capacity as a
student and an athlete," Price said.
Williams said he regretted the embarrassment he caused for his
family, coaches and fans.
"Most importantly," Williams said, "I want to apologize to my
teammates for the difficult position that I have put them
through."
The laptops were stolen between June 9 and June 14. Both players
were arrested on larceny charges, and Price also was charged with
lying to police, a misdemeanor.
The four laptops, which have a total value of $11,000, have been
recovered. Two were recovered in Price's room.
Arrest warrant affidavits suggest that a friend of Williams', who
does not attend the university, stole the computers from dorm rooms
belonging to incoming freshmen on the women's basketball team and a
member of last year's women's track and field team. That person has
not been charged.
Coach Jim Calhoun suspended the pair indefinitely from all team
activities after their arrests in August. He called the university
judicial process a fair and deliberate one.
"I have said since the beginning of this process that we should
never be in the business of abandoning young men who have made a
mistake and I am glad that we will not be doing that," Calhoun
said.