BARELY NEWS: J.R. RIDER ARRESTED AGAIN

Former NBA player and UNLV basketball star, Isaiah Rider was arrested AGAIN this weekend.

The 37-year-old Rider was arrested early Saturday morning for investigation of auto theft and was released from Los Angeles County jail in the afternoon. The sheriff’s department Web site said he had been held in lieu of $25,000 bail.

He was arrested in the Skid Row ditrict of downtown Los Angeles.

Rider’s NBA career was littered with incidents including marijuana charges, shooting dice, and receiving stolen cell phones. There were also more serious arrests for drug use and assault. Rider also spit at fans and kicked a Minnesota woman in the stomach.

His off-field behavior in Portland helped lead to the team’s moniker “Jail Blazers.”

In January, Berkeley police answering a report of a confrontation between a taxi driver and a passenger arrested Rider on Oakland warrants alleging unlawful firearm possession and grand theft. Last year, he pleaded guilty in Marin County to several charges, including felony cocaine possession, battery and evading a police officer.

I once did a radio talk show bit where we called the Alumnus Associations of various colleges. We asked each school, “Who’s your most famous graduate?”

The University of Virginia said, “Thomas Jefferson.”

Duke University said, “Richard Nixon.” (He went to law school there.)

When asked who their most famous alum was, UNLV said, “J.R. Rider.”

This despite the fact that Rider ended up being kicked out of UNLV for turning in a term paper with his own name misspelled on the cover.

Tags: NBA