Former Tennessee basketball player J.P. Prince was jailed and released on Thursday morning after being charged with DUI.
The 24-year-old Prince was clocked driving 60 mph in a 35 mph zone at approximately 1 a.m. in Antioch, according to a police report. Antioch is located southeast of Nashville.
Prince was pulled over and denied drinking but subsequently failed a field sobriety test and refused to take a breath test. Prince's girlfriend and her 2-year-old daughter were in the car at the time of the traffic stop.
Prince, who lives in Nashville, had been out to dinner with his girlfriend and visiting at her mother's home, where the child was watched during the dinner date. He and his girlfriend had just left her mother's house with the child, and he was driving them to their home when the traffic stop occured. Prince is scheduled to appear in a Davidson County courtroom on Jan. 3.
At Tennessee, Prince helped lead the Vols to their first Elite Eight in the 2010 NCAA tournament when he blocked a shot in the final seconds against Ohio State. He transferred to UT in 2007 after a brief stint at Arizona, where he signed after leading Memphis' White Station High School to three Tennessee state championships. Prince was selected as Tennessee's 2005 Gatorade Player of the Year and Class 3A Mr. Basketball.
Prince played professionally in Turkey last season and most recently in China. Prince was scheduled to fly to Cleveland on Thursday, and plans to attend the Cleveland Cavaliers NBA camp this weekend, according to his father, John Prince.
Mike Griffith covers Tennessee men's basketball. Follow him at http://twitter.com/MikeGriffith32
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Comments » 43
FearlessFreep writes:
No excuse for drinking and driving. Especially with a 2-year-old and girlfriend in the car.
tonyvick#213307 writes:
C'mon Prince and your girlfriend you all have got to be smarter than that. A two year old child was in the car.
41_14gbo writes:
The two-year old WAS the smartest in the car.
Stokes44yrs writes:
My first time out drinking was in that same area of Nashville and I was only a couple of years older back in the early 80s. I should have been arrested but I was only going about 40 in a 55 mile zone. Later on at home about 3 am I got up to crawl to the bathroom and hugged the commode a while. Then I called a girlfriend of mine in another time zone and woke her up. Not a very good impression on her. The point is drinking can be pretty stupid. Oh well you're still young JP so you can get smarter.
sly_stone99#434111 writes:
Being pulled over may have saved lives that night. Lesson learned from this. Much success in your NBA try outs, but think before getting behind the wheel again.
imw8n4u writes:
I'm sure he has done this numerous times before without getting caught. He's actually pretty fortunate, this could have had a much more tragic ending.
TommyJack writes:
How many of you self-rightous mopes could have had several deweys if not for good luck? Hmmm?
NeylandWest writes:
Amen.
HOSSFLY writes:
many, many, many........ amen brother..........
vols4me247 writes:
The bigger question is why wasnt his girlfriend behind the wheel driving?
CoverOrange writes:
Not me. But I try to be self-righting when I fall over.
martinvol34 writes:
Lord only knows and I say this with the utmost respect for the question and agreement.
FearlessFreep writes:
And that some how makes it acceptable or better?
Sorry. No free pass. For J.P. or ANYONE who drinks and drives.
nocleats writes:
Fire his coach! Players out of control! ( Sarcasm)
clvolfan writes:
Sounds like the possible Mother-In-Law might have turned him in.
Stanman08 writes:
not good, but we are not told how far over the (alcohol) limit he was. still, call a cab!
Chris4Vols22 writes:
A sober woman behind the wheel is more dangerous than an inebriated man.
I kid, I kid.
rtrchatt writes:
Did he salute the officer during the stop? Throw his rearend in jail, and I do not care what color jersey you wear.
VolunteerLifer writes:
C'mon J.P., you can do better than this.
jone8191#247590 writes:
First of all, if your going to drive with beer breath, DO THE SPEED LIMIT. Second, the only one out at that time of night are the cops and drunks.....and one is looking for the other. I hope J.P. learns from this and gets on with his life OK. In Tennessee you can sell crack and get in less trouble that DUI. And if JP, Bruce and gang had beaten Mich State in the Elite 8, I would still be partying!!
ProfessionalHandicapper writes:
Maybe Dooley will bring him in as an example of what it means to be a Vol like he did Leonard Little. At least JP got lucky enough not to kill anyone, and get caught again 4 years later like Dooley's example of a Vol. Man that was just plain stupidity letting Little even come close to the program...
GreerVol22 writes:
...and he still can't dribble
Bubba_Knows writes:
Citizens arrest! Citizens arrest!
abnermc writes:
Fulmer's fault.
Bubba_Knows writes:
Could have been only 2 beers. Will not get you buzzed but will get you arrested.
Bubba_Knows writes:
Now that's funny right there. I don't care who you are.
Bubba_Knows writes:
Unless of course you are a two beer Barney and then it will get you buzzed and arrested.
vol4gzus writes:
PT Barnum left you in town by mistake. Said one less CLOWN the crowd won't miss.......ewe are a wonder of creativity as to how many ways you can speak negatively of Coach Dooley and his handling of situations....Again I'm reminded by your moniker that you are professionally handicapped. Take a breath and try and find something meaningful in your life since spewing sarcasm/hatred/negativity seems to be the only things on your plate.
keepitreal4vols writes:
He should fit in well in the NBA
Vols4Ever writes:
Stan, read before writing ..
"...failed a field sobriety test and refused to take a breath test."
Means that when asked to perform various demonstrations of physical and/or mental agility on the side of the road early in the morning, did not achieve the required "standard", and was determined solely by the subjective observation of the officer that has made the stop and administered the test. His blood alcohol content could have been zero or .35 (higher usually would lead to stupor). No one knows and the legal system, where constitutionally he remains innocent of any criminal activity, will decide.
Digital5000 writes:
no, but seriously...
-Enjoy Yoselves
Digital5000 writes:
Live and learn J.P. This could have happened to anybody.
Used to love watching J.P. baseline cut, alley-oop, BOOM!!! salute sir!!!
-Enjoy Yoselves
-JP- keep 'em up
johnnyvol writes:
The Truth was spoken!
jjhvols writes:
vandy cops upset they cant beat us in basketball is what I bet it was
us43137415#376444 writes:
Hahaha, Antioch, Tennessee should be renamed Cracktown, Tennessee. The majority of drug busts, drug abuse and drug arrests in all of Nashville-Davidson County happen in that crack haven. Look it up... it's all in the police records.
Antioch used to be a nice quiet suburb right off I-24 with decent, God-fearing people who watched out for each other.. Now, it's nothing but a bunch of low quality people living in low income housing.
If JP's mom still lives anywhere near Antioch, and he got stopped there for DUI, that tells me a lot.
He can forget the NBA. He won't pass the drug test.
JoeVols writes:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
VOODOOley-2011 (Inactive) writes:
In the MUG shot, I noticed that JP is not wearing his usual "Look at me I have Diamond Stud" earings. Has he lost his "Bling" now, as well as his driver's license?
GreerVol22 writes:
Thanks Bubba. Merry Christmas to the fam-o-lee.
MemphisHog writes:
Pipe down, Gomer.
illinoisvolfan writes:
That's why I speak out against it, TJ. I know how lucky I was not to get one. Fortunately, I realized quickly how stupid it was to drink and drive, but not everyone has been as lucky as me. I would hate to see a student or former student of mine involved in a DUI-related accident, so I speak out against it.
illinoisvolfan writes:
Just about as stupid as KNS still allowing you to post your daily nonsense.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
Let's hope JP has learned a relatively cheap but vitally important lesson. I have to wonder what he was doing out drinking with a 2-year-old in tow at 1:00AM, which sounds phenomenally stupid on the face of it, but maybe there was an actual reason. In any case, I hope it won't happen again.
John_10065 writes:
And hallelujah.
It's always good to know which posters are willing to pick up the first stone and throw it.
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