UCLA freshmen LiAngelo Ball, Cody Riley and Jalen Hill are back in the United States, but it remains unclear when they'll be back on the court.
Upon their return to the country after being arrested for shoplifting in China, coach Steve Alford announced the trio has been suspended indefinitely and will not be permitted to practice, work out, travel with the team or suit up for home games while banned.
According to ESPN, which cited unidentified sources, the three players could be suspended anywhere from half the season to up to the full season, and university officials are debating the length of the suspension. Multiple major donors have called the school with their thoughts on the situation, ESPN's sources said.
"I don't know of any internal debate going on," Alford said. "The indefinite suspension is what it is — it's indefinite right now until the school goes through what they have to go through. They do that with every student, and when that happens, then we'll sit down and we'll make the best judgment call we can about the length of that suspension."
Ball, Riley and Hill returned to Los Angeles on Tuesday after being detained by police in Hangzhou, China, on Nov. 7 for shoplifting from three different stores during their trip for a game against Georgia Tech. They were not permitted to play in the game or return to the United States with the team.
The players held an on-campus news conference Wednesday to deliver statements about their arrests. They apologized for their actions and thanked President Donald Trump for intervening.
Trump had worked with Chinese president Xi Jinping to have the players returned to the United States and sought appreciation from the Bruins for his help once the issue was resolved.
"Do you think the three UCLA Basketball Players will say thank you President Trump?" he tweeted. "They were headed for 10 years in jail!"
The No. 23 ranked Bruins (2-0) are scheduled to host South Carolina State (0-3) at 9 p.m. ET Friday.
