RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — The grandson of Duke Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski and potential NBA lottery pick Paolo Banchero face charges after the two Blue Devils basketball players were arrested over the weekend, North Carolina Highway Patrol officials said.
First Sgt. Chris Knox told CBS 17 on Tuesday that Michael Savarino, 20, was charged with driving while impaired, driving after consuming while under the age of 21, and a stop-sign violation.
Knox said Banchero, 19, who was a passenger in the car, faces a charge of aiding and abetting DWI. He was released at the scene.
Krzyzewski said in a statement distributed by Duke spokesman Mike DeGeorge that “we are reviewing a legal matter involving two members of the men’s basketball team.
“Any further actions as a result of this situation will ultimately be determined by the Vice President/Director of Athletics and University officials,” Krzyzewski said in the statement.
Knox said Savarino was pulled over at 1:10 a.m. Sunday near Brushy Creek Road west of Hillsborough for a stop-sign violation.
He was taken into custody and a breathalyzer test showed a blood-alcohol level of 0.08, Knox said. In North Carolina, the legal limit is 0.08.
Savarino was released under a written promise to appear in court and is due in court Dec. 9, Knox said, while Banchero has a court date of Dec. 8.
Banchero, a Seattle native, is one of the centerpieces of the latest star-studded freshman class for the seventh-ranked Blue Devils (3-0) and a likely one-and-done. The preseason player of the year in the Atlantic Coast Conference appears among the first few picks of most mock drafts for 2022.
He has averaged 19.3 points and 8.7 rebounds in three games and had 18 points in a 67-56 victory over Campbell on Saturday night, hours before the incident.
Savarino spent the past two seasons as a walk-on for the Blue Devils before earning a scholarship before this season. He has played in one game this season.
The 74-year-old Krzyzewski, the winningest men’s basketball coach in Division I history with 1,173 career victories — and 1,100 of those coming at Duke — is retiring at the end of his 47th season as a head coach.
The Blue Devils play Gardner-Webb on Tuesday night.