Today’s column from CBS Chicago …
(CBS) Jereme Richmond could have been spending this weekend preparing to start his junior season at the University of Illinois.
Instead, he’s spending it in jail.
And for that sorry fate, he has no one to blame but himself.
On Thursday afternoon, I wrote a “What if” column about Ben Wilson, the Simeon High School basketball phenom who was tragically slain in 1984 at the age of 17 before he had a chance to fully mature – both as a player and a man.
Ironically, less than two hours after that story was published, we learned “What is” with Richmond, the onetime Waukegan High School phenom who, at the age of 20, still hasn’t matured as a man – and by this point, is unlikely to ever do so as a player, either.
Richmond, whose celebrated commitment to Illinois as a 14-year-old ended up lasting four times as long as his hoops career there, added to his criminal record on Thursday when he was sent back to Lake County Jail. Officials said that the wayward baller had failed to meet multiple conditions of his probation related to his guilty plea in January on charges of unlawful use of a weapon.
According to the Chicago Tribune, Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Jim Newman told Judge John Phillips that on Oct. 19 Richmond tested positive for marijuana use, failed to comply with a 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew, and did not attend required orientation for domestic violence treatment.
To continue reading, visit CBSChicago.com …