Trial date delayed for Mbakwe

University of Minnesota men’s basketball player Trevor Mbakwe saw another court date come and go without a resolution, all but ensuring that the junior-college transfer will not play this season.

Monday’s proceedings surrounding a felony aggravated battery charge resulted in another status report being set for March 8 in Miami-Dade County, Fla.

No official trial date has been scheduled.

Mbakwe has been suspended indefinitely since the beginning of the season pending the outcome of the case. The status report date would be one day after the Gophers’ regular-season finale against Iowa, and it is now highly unlikely he would be activated for the Big Ten Tournament or beyond.

Mbakwe faces the felony aggravated battery charge for allegedly assaulting a woman who lived in the same apartment complex he did, on April 29.

The trial has been delayed several times because both prosecutors and defense have had difficulty obtaining depositions from out-of-town witnesses, according to Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Terry Chavez.

“It’s been a rough road,” Chavez said. “It’s not been your typical case [where] everybody’s local and we just bring them into the office.”

University Athletics Director Joel Maturi said last week that he doesn’t expect Mbakwe to play this season.

“If this issue’s resolved, then it’s a decision that Coach [Tubby] Smith will have to make, and my guess is he would probably want to redshirt him at this stage in the season,” Maturi said.

Smith declined to tip his hand after last Friday’s practice as to what he planned to do with the 6-foot-8-inch, 240-pound forward.

“You don’t have to redshirt anybody ‘til the end of the year,” Smith said. “I don’t have to announce anything to anybody.”

Maturi said that if redshirted, Mbakwe would have two years of eligibility remaining.