UCLA coach Steve Alford watches his No. 23 Bruins fall to the Creighton Blue Jays 100-89 during a game at the Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City, Mo., on Nov. 20.
UCLA men’s basketball coach Steve Alford said Monday he has had no update on the status of three freshmen players who are suspended indefinitely after being detained in China.
LiAngelo Ball, Cody Riley, and Jalen Hill were held on suspicion of shoplifting at three luxury stores in Hangzhou during the Bruins’ visit in conjunction with the season opener against Georgia Tech. The case made international headlines, especially with President Trump in China for a highly publicized tour of Asia.
Alford said he doesn’t know how long Ball, Riley and Hill will be suspended.
The disciplinary case is being handled by UCLA’s Office of Student Conduct, which gives dean of students Maria Blandizzi wide latitude to determine the appropriate punishment.
“It’s still [with] Student Conduct … we have no control over that,” Alford said.
Trump has said he helped secure the players’ release after a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
All three players apologized for the incident and thanked Trump at a news conference upon returning to UCLA, but that didn’t stop the drama.
LaVar Ball — the father of LiAngelo and his older brother, former UCLA star and Laker first-round pick Lonzo Ball — has questioned Trump’s role in the matter, and gone back-and-forth with the president through the media.
Alford said he hasn’t paid attention to the Ball-Trump bickering.
The second trip of the season for the UCLA men’s basketball team, a 1,600-mile journey to the Hall of Fame Classic, was considerably shorter than its season-opening trip.
UCLA (3-1), which is ranked No. 23 by the Associated Press, suffered its first loss of the season 100-89 on Monday against Creighton in Kansas City.
Junior Aaron Holiday shrugged off the suggestion that it’s been a challenge to block out the early-season distractions, including Trump’s tweets.
Still, the suspensions leave an already young Bruins squad shorthanded during a tedious stretch of the games.
In addition to logging more than 7,000 travel miles through China and making the trek to Kansas City for two games this week, UCLA also plays at Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich., and tussles with Kentucky in New Orleans before Christmas.