2 Duke basketball players charged following DWI incident

Two Duke basketball players were charged on Sunday morning, according to a report. 

It was a Tuesday morning to forget inside the Duke basketball program as Stephen Wiseman of the News & Observer reported that two Blue Devils face legal charges from the weekend.

Junior guard Michael Savarino and freshman forward Paolo Banchero were the two players involved in the incident.

Savarino, 20, was arrested for DWI while Banchero, 19, was charged with aiding and abetting DWI.

Michael Savarino is the grandson of men’s basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski and the son of Debbie Krzyzewski, the Assistant Director of Athletics at the university.

Paolo Banchero is projected as a Top-3 pick in this summer’s NBA Draft.

ALSO READ: Duke head coach could soon depart after another blowout

Wiseman reports that the court records show the incident occurred at 1:10 a.m. Sunday morning, hours after Duke defeated Campbell for its third straight victory to begin the season.

“We are reviewing a legal matter involving two members of the men’s basketball team. Any further actions as a result of this situation will ultimately be determined by the Vice President/Director of Athletics and University officials,” Krzyzewski said in an exclusive statement to the News & Observer.

Police say that they halted the vehicle after a stop sign violation and that is when officials noticed Savarino was showing signs of impairment. The Durham, North Carolina native took a breathalyzer test, which showed a blood-alcohol level of .08.

Banchero, according to the report, was released at the site of the incident, although the vehicle stopped was registered to him.

Paolo Banchero has a court date of December 8 while Michael Savarino has a court date of December 9.

Discipline for Duke basketball players still uncertain

The Blue Devils will play Gardner-Webb tonight at Cameron Indoor Stadium, and the status of the two players is still unknown.

There have been other impairment-related issues in college basketball this season. Both have resulted in different penalties.

Gonzaga head coach Mark Few was arrested for driving while under the influence this fall and was suspended one game by the school as well as having to pay a $1,000 fine, perform 24 hours of community service, and his driver’s license was suspended until November 5.

Kansas sophomore forward Jalen Wilson was arrested two weeks ago for suspicion of DUI and was suspended for four games, one exhibition and three regular season, while doing community service during his time away from the team.

It is still unclear what penalties the Duke basketball players will face.