Duke's Redick On DWI: 'I Regret What Happened'

DURHAM, N.C. — Former Duke University men's basketball guard J.J. Redick was arrested early Tuesday and charged with driving while impaired, a Durham police spokeswoman said.

Kammie Michael, with the Durham Police Department, said Redick's blood-alcohol level registered .11. The legal blood-alcohol level in North Carolina is .08.

Michael said the 21-year-old former Duke standout turned away from a police checkpoint at LaSalle Street and Kangaroo Drive shortly before 1 a.m. Officers then followed the 2005 Toyota sport utility vehicle he was driving to Belmont Apartments on McQueen Street, where Redick parked the car in a parking space.

"There wasn't a chase. He didn't run from them," Michael said. "He was pretty cooperative."

Redick, according to the police report, "had very glossy eyes, (and a) strong odor of alcohol coming from (his) breath." He was also charged with unlawful use of highways, and his driving privileges in North Carolina were revoked for 30 days.

"I regret what happened last night, and want to apologize to my family and the Duke community for the incident," Redick said in a written statement released Tuesday afternoon.

Redick, the National Collegiate Athletic Association's all-time leader in free-throw percentage, is currently out of jail after posting a $1,000 bond. His court appearance is scheduled for July 17.

Expected to be a high first-round pick in the first round of the NBA draft, set for June 28, Redick was also named the Associated Press Player of the Year last season, and finished his college career as the leading scorer in Atlantic Coast Conference history. He also set the NCAA record for three-pointers. He also was named the ACC player of the year after averaging nearly 27 points a game.

In a written statement, Redick's agent, Arn Tellem, called Redick "an outstanding student athlete of the highest character," and said Tuesday morning's arrest was "nothing more than an isolated incident."

"Everyone who has come into contact with J.J. as a student and an athlete knows the quality person he is and will continue to be," Tellem said.

Duke men's basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski also released a statement on Tuesday supporting Redick.

"J.J. knows he made a mistake and regrets it," Krzyzewski said. "He represented the very best in college athletics and exhibited outstanding character at Duke the last four years. He is and will continue to be a credit to the Duke basketball family. As his friend and his coach, he has my total support."

Redick talks about the transition from college to professional basketball in an online journal in Duke's student newspaper, The Chronicle, saying that recently he attended a television show season premiere in Los Angeles, flew to Houston for a workout with the NBA team there and was followed around by Men's Fitness magazine.

On Monday, he canceled a scheduled Wednesday workout with the Orlando Magic, who have the No. 11 pick in the draft. Magic spokesman Joel Glass declined to say why Redick backed out, and no workout has been rescheduled.

In April 2003, Redick was cleared of any wrongdoing in connection with a drug-related incident in which Duke campus police found Redick and four other students in a dorm room that smelled strongly of marijuana. No drugs were found in the room, but a homemade device for smoking marijuana was discovered.