Arizona basketball suspends Ira Lee for regular season opener
Oct 30, 2018, 7:45 PM | Updated: 11:06 pm
(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
The Arizona Wildcats announced the suspension of sophomore forward Ira Lee in a statement on Tuesday.
The suspension comes after Lee was cited and later released for driving under the influence back in August. He will miss the team’s regular-season opener against Houston Baptist.
“Arizona Athletics has announced that sophomore forward Ira Lee will be suspended for the team’s regular season opener versus Houston Baptist University due to a violation of the university’s student code of conduct and Arizona Athletics’ community standards related to an incident earlier this year,” the statement read.
A police report obtained by the Arizona Daily Star said Lee blew a 0.215 and 0.198 on two breathalyzer tests after he was pulled over for pulling out in front of another car, nearly hitting it, and then driving the wrong way down a street.
In a note on Twitter, Lee said a death in the family caused him to act “emotionally unstable.” According to the tweet, his grandmother had passed the day before after committing suicide.
Lee, a four-star recruit, averaged 2.4 points and 2.3 rebounds per game last season as a freshman.
He had his best game of the year against Long Beach State, dropping 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting (.714). He also grabbed four boards and registered two steals.
The forward was seen getting shots up prior to the team’s exhibition game against Western New Mexico on Tuesday before seeing game action.