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Serving the UMN community since 1900

The Minnesota Daily

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Mbakwe trial date set

The Gophers recruit was suspended for the duration of the 2009-10 season pending the result of his felony assault case.

After a lengthy series of delays, University of Minnesota menâÄôs basketball player Trevor Mbakwe finally received a trial date in his felony assault case Thursday. More than one year after the alleged incident occurred the trial has been scheduled for June 7 . âÄúThe judge really wants this to move ahead,âÄù Terry Chavez , a spokesperson for the Miami-Dade State AttorneyâÄôs Office said. Mbakwe faces an aggravated battery charge stemming from an April 3, 2009 incident in Miami-Dade County , Fla. Mbakwe, who was playing for Miami Dade College at the time, is accused of assaulting a woman who lived in the same apartment complex. MbakweâÄôs attorney, Gregory Samms , said there is no chance that a plea deal will be reached, and the case will definitely go to trial. Mbakwe missed the entire 2009-10 season after being suspended indefinitely pending the outcome of the case. Legal proceedings had been stalled by the difficulty of obtaining depositions from out-of-state witnesses. âÄúItâÄôs typical when you have a lot of people who are involved as witnesses that are all over the country and are in school,âÄù Samms said about the lengthy process. Until ThursdayâÄôs hearing, the last five report hearings dating back to November had failed to produce a firm trial date. The case was originally filed April 28, 2009 . The Gophers missed MbakweâÄôs 6-foot-8, 240 pound frame this season, especially with the suspension and subsequent departure of freshman forward Royce White who made headlines with legal troubles of his own. White and Mbakwe were considered central components to Tubby SmithâÄôs highly touted 2009 recruiting class, but neither took the court for the Gophers this season. Smith, who has already signed the 6-foot-11 Elliot Eliason to his 2010 recruiting class, may look to add more size to the Gophers frontcourt when the late signing period begins Wednesday. According to Rivals, Maurice Walker, a 6-foot-10 high school senior of Brewster Academy in New Hampshire, is scheduled to visit Minnesota on Friday .

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