Minnesota Basketball: No Charges to be Filed Against Reggie Lynch

Per a Star Tribune article this afternoon, there will be no charges filed against Reggie Lynch.  The junior center transferred to the Gopher program from Illinois State and sat out last year due to NCAA transfer rules.  In May he was arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting a 19-year old girl.  He was held and investigated but today it was announced that no charges will be filed.

"We have insufficient evidence to prove a crime was committed,’’ said Chuck Laszewski, spokesperson for County Attorney’s office.

What exactly this mean?  That remains to be seen, the administration or coaching staff may still levy some sort of punishment.  A suspension or dismissal is still possible but one would suspect that since he was never dismissed prior to this official announcement, I would be surprised to see any significant punishment coming his way at this point.

From a life perspective, not having charges filed does not mean nothing occurred or that Lynch wasn't making poor choices.  Hopefully Lynch learns to keep himself out of compromising situations and makes good choices going forward.  Innocent until proven guilty, but a gentle reminder that we should always treat women respectfully is worth typing.

From a basketball standpoint this is very good news for the Gophers who were very much counting on minutes at center from Lynch.  Many assume he will be starting at center and will make a dramatic impact on the Gophers, especially on the defensive end.  For team desperate to turn around the fortunes of last season, this is good news.