STORRS — UConn freshman basketball player James Bouknight will be suspended for three games after a crash on campus in September.
Police say Bouknight was driving a car that struck a street sign while speeding on Sept. 27. Police say Bouknight told responding officers he didn’t have identification with him and later ran off.
Police say Bouknight has since provided them with a statement admitting his actions.
He has been charged with evading responsibility, interfering with a police officer, traveling too fast for conditions and operation of a motor vehicle without a license. He has applied for accelerated rehabilitation which will erase the charges from his record if he stays out of trouble.
The guard issued a statement to apologize and called his actions irresponsible.
UConn men’s basketball coach Dan Hurley announced Bouknight will be suspended through and including the Huskies’ game against Florida on Nov. 17.
“After deliberating on it and understanding all the relevant information and dealing extensively with James, it feels like it’s appropriate,” Coach Hurley said Thursday. “I believe the story of his career from this point on is going to be about championships and rebuilding his reputation.”
Bouknight has already missed the Huskies’ closed scrimmage against Harvard on Oct. 25 and the team’s exhibition game against St. Michael’s on Oct. 30. He will sit out UConn’s games against Sacred Heart on Friday, against Saint Joseph’s on Nov. 13 and against Florida on Nov. 17.
Bouknight will be eligible to return with UConn’s first game in the Charleston Classic in Charleston, S.C., on Nov. 21 against Buffalo.
