Trevor Mbakwe avoids jail time, gets slapped with additional probation and community service

Minnesota Golden Gophers forward Trevor Mbakwe was facing possible jail time after an offseason arrest violated the terms of his parole, but he avoided jail time as a Miami-Dade court judge instead elected to extend his probation by two years and ordered Mbakwe to perform community service and attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

Mbakwe missed the 2009-10 season due to legal trouble and he only played in seven games last season before he tore his ACL. So by avoiding jail time, he is still on schedule to start his sixth season of men's college basketball this fall.

The troubled, but talented forward was dealing with felony assault case in Florida and was then convicted of a DUI in September, but both issues have been dealt with for the time being according to an e-mail statement sent to ESPN by Ed Griffith, a spokesperson for the Miami-Dade state attorney's office:

"The Judge was asked (by the victim's attorney) to extend probation to 4 years with early termination upon satisfaction of the civil settlement. The Judge decided to [give] him 2 years' probation and did not make the confidential civil settlement part of the criminal court probation. The judge indicated that if the defendant does not comply with the civil settlement, then the victim's attorney should go to civil court to enforce the settlement, not the criminal courts."

The 6'8 forward is still considered an NBA-caliber player, but his off-the-court issues have continued to pile up and his future has turned cloudy heading into 2012-13.