Jereme Richmond arrested for assault, threatening with a gun

In one fell swoop, Jereme Richmond may have made himself completely undesirable to any professional basketball team as well as every potential girlfriend he may have.

The former Illinois forward was charged with three felonies stemming from a series of incidents the past two days -- aggravated battery, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and aggravated assault, as well as misdemeanor charges of domestic battery, battery, and two counts of disorderly conduct.


The specifics are unclear as of now -- ESPN Chicago, the Daily Herald, and the Chicago Sun-Times have slight differences in their reports -- but essentially what happened is that Richmond had a confrontation with a 17 year old girl he had been dating at her house, in front of her parents. From the ESPN report:

According to [Waukegan police commander Gabe] Guzman, Richmond, 19, was involved in a confrontation with a woman on the 3000 block of Golfmoor in Waukegan on Monday. When a Waukegan police car arrived on the scene, Richmond was in the resident's yard.

According to the police report, Richmond made a statement to the resident, "You looking for me? I'm here now. I'll shoot your [expletive]."

Three of Richmond's friends were found in a car outside the resident's home. A loaded .40 caliber Smith and Wesson handgun was discovered in the car, and all three passengers were taken into custody.

There's more.

The Daily Herald is reporting that on Sunday, the woman drove to Richmond's house to get her cell phone and the two had a confrontation that ended with Richmond shoving the girl into her car.

This isn't the first time that Richmond has been in trouble, either. He missed a game against Wisconsin during Big Ten after skipping two days of practice to return home for unspecified personal reasons. He was suspended for the Illini's two NCAA Tournament games after a reported fight with a teammate following their loss to Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament.

Its a sad ending that should serve as a cautionary tale for every elite recruit in the country.

There is no question that Richmond is an immensely talented basketball player. A 6'8" small forward, he has a versatile skill set that should have allowed him to be a weapon at both the college level and potentially the NBA. But Richmond, who committed to Illinois when he was a freshman and went on to make the McDonald's all-american team, bought into the hype. He believed -- more than likely due to the influence of his family -- that the NBA was a foregone conclusion, not a goal that he had to work to achieve.

And now, not only did he lose his collegiate eligibility by foolishly entering the NBA Draft after one year in college, he is now facing as much as 14 years in prison.

Destiny is a fickle bitch, ain't she.