Tubby Smith spared his star forward Trevor Mbakwe following a DWI conviction in September. Now his son is testing the veteran coach’s patience.

Saul Smith, Gophers assistant men’s basketball coach and Tubby Smith’s son, was placed on indefinite unpaid administrative leave Sunday after being arrested on suspicion of drunken driving early Saturday morning.

Saul Smith, 33, registered a 0.18 blood-alcohol level after being pulled over for “speeding and driving on the shoulder,” said Lt. Eric Roeske of the Minnesota State Patrol. The legal limit is 0.08.

Roeske said Saul Smith was headed westbound on Interstate 394 near Theodore Wirth Parkway just after 2 a.m. when he was stopped.

He was pulled over after leaving a downtown Minneapolis restaurant, according to a University release. He was booked at 3:59 a.m. and released less than four hours later, according to the Hennepin County sheriff’s jail roster.

“While we do not want to rush to judgment before the legal process proceeds, coach Tubby Smith and I are taking this matter seriously,” athletics director Norwood Teague said in the release. “University of Minnesota values dictate that our coaches and staff be positive role models for our student-athletes. As such, we are taking disciplinary measures while the legal system takes its course.”

Saul Smith came to Minnesota with Tubby Smith in 2007 and is entering his sixth season as an assistant coach.

He is scheduled to appear in court Dec. 3.