Ahyaro Phillips dismissed from men’s basketball team

By: Juan López

Friday, April 17, 2009 - 1:09 PM

Ahyaro Phillips/ Courtesy of Nevada Athletics

Freshmen forward Ahyaro Phillips has been dismissed from the men’s basketball team following an arrest for the alleged possession of a dangerous weapon, athletics officials announced Friday.

Police said Phillips had a handgun.

The University of Nevada, Reno Police Department received reports of a fight outside of Lombardi Recreation Center on Wednesday. Officers found no one at the scene, UNRPD Director Adam Garcia said. After an investigation, it was determined that Phillips was involved. He was arrested at about 11:30 p.m. Wednesday.

So far, Phillips is the only person arrested in connection with the ongoing investigation, Garcia said. Phillips is charged with possession of a dangerous weapon on school property, Garcia said. Phillips was not under the influence of any illegal substances, Garcia said.

Phillips was booked on two charges of gross misdemeanor of possession of a dangerous weapon at a university campus and is being held in custody at the Washoe County sheriff’s department, where he was booked, Garcia said.

“The young men in our program clearly understand the responsibilities that go along with the privileges of being a student-athlete,” men’s basketball head coach David Carter said. “We have high standards of behavior that we expect in our program. Our student-athletes know that we will not tolerate anything less and that there are severe consequences when they don’t follow those standards. I’m very disappointed in Ahyaro. He was given an opportunity and unfortunately he did not follow the rules of my team and the University, but we wish him well. I also want to offer a sincere apology to the university and our community for this incident.”

Phillips averaged 2.1 points and 2.7 rebounds per game in 29 games for the Wolf Pack this past season. He started three games and averaged 9.0 minutes played per game.

“I fully support coach Carter’s decision to immediately dismiss Ahyaro Phillips from the team,” Nevada Athletics Director Cary Groth said. “Our student-athletes are aware of the standards of conduct they are expected to uphold and the penalties when they violate these standards.”