Illinois Basketball dismisses Darius Paul following latest arrest

Darius Paul has squandered his second chance with Illinois basketball. Following his latest arrest in France during the program's overseas exhibition trip, the junior forward was officially dismissed from the team on Friday night.

John Groce issued the following statement:

"After further review of the situation, Darius has been dismissed from our team," Groce said in a statement. "Although his playing days here are over, we are committed to helping him move forward."

Paul has been disciplined for similar issues before: after transferring to Illinois from Western Michigan in 2013, Paul was arrested in Champaign for underaged drinking and resisting arrest (a story would come out later that he had attempted to evade cops after being approached by one).

Paul was subsequently suspended for the entire 2014-15 season, and elected to transfer to JUCO college Lamar State-Port Arthur, where he played out the season before returning to the Illini. Paul recorded 12 double doubles with Lamar State-Port Arthur and averaged over 17 points with the team.

Paul has been on scholarship at Illinois for three years, but he didn't make a single appearance in a regular season game.

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