Kansas guard Arterio Morris charged with rape, dismissed from men’s basketball team

Kansas basketball player Arterio Morris was charged Friday with one count of rape and dismissed from the Jayhawks’ program, the latest in a string of legal trouble that has followed the former prep standout from his days at Texas.

Morris was booked in Douglas County and his bond was set at $75,000, public records showed.

His arrest came after an incident report came to light this month that detailed an alleged rape that occurred at McCarthy Hall, which houses the men’s basketball team along with other residents and is located near Allen Fieldhouse. The criminal complaint alleged that a sexual assault involving an 18-year-old victim occurred on Aug. 26.

Morris was not named in the incident report, but he was subsequently suspended from the basketball program.

“We are now aware he has been arrested and charged, and he was dismissed from the program,” Jayhawks coach Bill Self said in a statement to The Associated Press. “As this is an ongoing legal matter, we are not able to comment further at this time.”

No attorney is listed for Morris in online court records and he didn’t have a listed phone number.

Morris transferred to Kansas despite facing a misdemeanor assault charge in Texas, where he spent his freshman season playing for the Longhorns. According to Frisco police, he was arrested after officers were called to his ex-girlfriend’s house, where she told police that he had grabbed her arm, pulled her off a bed and caused an injury to her neck.

The 20-year-old Morris was scheduled to appear at a jury trial next week, but it was canceled earlier this month, when he entered a no contest plea to a Class C charge and ordered to pay a $362 fine.

In announcing that Morris had transferred to Kansas, Self said the school was aware of the charges he was facing in Texas, and that school administrators had spoken with compliance officers at the University of Texas and within its athletic department.

“Based on these discussions, we are comfortable welcoming Arterio to the University of Kansas,” Self said at the time, “and he is well aware of the high standards and expectations that come with being a member of the Kansas men’s basketball program. We fully expect him to meet those daily.”

Morris was a top-20 recruit coming out of Kimball High School in Dallas. He signed with the Longhorns and appeared in 38 games last season, helping beat them Kansas in the Big 12 title game and advance to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.

But the 6-foot-3 guard never made the impact that most expected in Austin, averaging just 4.6 points, and Morris hoped that by transferring to Kansas his basketball career would get off to a fresh start.

Even without him on the roster, the Jayhawks are likely to be preseason No. 1 when the AP Top 25 debuts next month. They return starters Dajuan Harris Jr., KJ Adams and Kevin McCullar Jr., welcome a trio of elite freshman recruits and landed two of the nation’s top transfers in former Michigan forward Hunter Dickinson and Towson sharpshooter Nick Timberlake.

Kansas begins the season Nov. 6 against North Carolina Central.

___

AP reporter Heather Hollingsworth contributed to this report from Mission, Kansas.

___

AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll