UPDATE 5/10 1:30 pm: Lynch has been released from jail. This does not mean his is cleared or reinstated to the team, just that charges have not been filed against him as of this time.
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Things were getting a little stale around the Gopher basketball program, so the team did what it's become quite adept at recently -- making headlines for criminal activity.
Junior transfer Reggie Lynch was jailed on Sunday afternoon amid sexual assault allegations stemming from an unspecified incident. Lynch has yet to be charged but is being held on probable cause.
Few details have been made public but Lynch was suspended indefinitely by the team pending the outcome of the current investigation. Per a University statement:
"Men's basketball student-athlete Reggie Lynch has been arrested on probable cause of criminal sexual conduct. As a result, he is suspended from all team activities indefinitely, pending the outcome of the investigation. As an athletics department and a University, we are committed to respect toward all members of the community and we hold all of our student-athletes accountable to the highest standards."
It's another notch in a string of ridiculous and disappointing events involving Minnesota basketball players that have made news for all the wrong reasons and have marred Richard Pitino's short tenure as head coach. Just last year Daquien McNeil was booted from the team after he was charged with felony domestic assault, while Dupree McBrayer, Nate Mason and Kevin Dorsey were outed for their role in a leaked sex videos earlier this year, which eventually led to Dorsey seeking a transfer.
Pitino is quickly cementing his legacy as running an undisciplined program and having very little to show as far as on-court success. Details are still coming together for the Lynch situation, but it certainly appears to be headed in the wrong direction.
Obviously, there's never a good time for something like this to pop up, but Lynch was slated to be a big contributor down low for a Gopher team that is sorely lacking talent in the frontcourt. His absence would mean more time for a still-developing Bakary Konate and more lineup shuffling.
Not good.