Friday was not a great night for Akron.
Hours before they suffered a loss to rival Kent State, starting point guard Alex Abreu pleaded not guilty to trafficking and possession of marijuana. (If only he went to Washington)
All kidding aside, the charges are serious. Abreu appeared in court via closed-circuit TV from jail in Akron Municipal Court. On Thursday, the 21-year-old and Austin L. Durgala, 18, were arrested by police for allegedly accepting a package containing 5 pounds of marijuana. According to police, narcotic-unit detectives arrested Abreu and Durgala at the latter's residence.
This isn't a small matter of a player getting caught with a couple bags of marijuana. If that were the case he'd get a slap on the wrist or a dismissal if he weren't a starter. Five-pound bags, however, carry a much heftier consequence, but this isn't the first we've heard of such conduct from NCAA athletes.
Former LSU star Tyrann Mathieu was caught for possession and intent to traffic last year which derailed his career and path to the draft.
However, depending on how things play out for Abreu he could be facing some serious jail time if found guilty.
Abreu posted $5,000 bond and was released from the Summit County Jail at around 6 p.m. He offered only one "no comment" to reporters before he and Durgala got in a car and were driven away. Abreu is due back in court March 22, when the Zips hope to be playing in the NCAA tournament.
Akron is going to have their tournament hopes on the line as they look to win the automatic bid from the MAC conference tournament.
They'll miss the steady 10 points and 6 assists Abreu provides them, but they're still a balanced team overall and could weather the storm. Beyond the conference tournament though, I don't see where they'll make up Abreu's contributions to be effective in getting any upsets.
Tough sledding ahead Akron.