By DAVE CAMPBELL
AP Sports Writer

MINNEAPOLIS(AP) -- Another Minnesota basketball recruit is in
trouble: Freshman forward Royce White faces misdemeanor charges
of theft and fifth-degree assault for allegedly shoplifting and
shoving a security guard at the Mall of America.

Coach Tubby Smith announced indefinite suspensions Tuesday for
White and senior guard Devron Bostick for violations of team
rules he wouldn't identify. According to the Bloomington city
attorney's office, White has a Nov. 17 arraignment scheduled
stemming from the Oct. 13 incident at the mall.

Police Cmdr. Jim Ryan said Bostick wasn't involved in the
incident with Royce at the mall in which Ryan said Royce tried
to shoplift a pair of pants under a pair of sweat pants. When
confronted, Royce allegedly shoved a Macy's security officer
several times and walked out of the store. He was later appended
without incident by Bloomington police, cited and forced to
return the pants and a stolen shirt worth about $100 combined,
Ryan said.

Smith said White and Bostick will be held out of exhibitions
Thursday (against Minnesota Duluth) and Monday (against
Minnesota State Moorhead) and possibly more, until Smith decides
they're ready to return to the No. 25 Gophers.

"It could be two games. It could be five, six. It could be
more," Smith said, adding: "It could be 20. It depends on what I
want, what I decide."

White's campus phone number rang busy Tuesday. Bostick's rang
unanswered.

Bostick is a reserve who averaged 11 minutes per game last
season. White was dismissed from DeLaSalle High School in
Minneapolis last year for academic misconduct before finishing
his prep career at Hopkins.

White is part of a touted recruiting class that includes
transfer Trevor Mbakwe, who is also out indefinitely while a
felony aggravated battery charge against him goes through the
legal process.

"If you do something wrong, our guys know that playing time ...
is a privilege," Smith said. "We expect them to conduct
themselves in a proper way. When they don't, unfortunately they
force our hands and force us to do something we really don't
want to do."

White and Mbakwe were expected to give Minnesota some bulk and
athleticism at the power forward spot. Damian Johnson and Paul
Carter, who are more natural at small forward, will play more
inside while White and Mbakwe are out.

For now, the Gophers are down to 11 players including freshman
walk-on guard Dominique Dawson, who was expected to redshirt but
might be activated instead to provide more depth.

"We still have a really solid group," Smith said.

As for Mbakwe, Smith said he agreed with athletics director Joel
Maturi's decision to keep the junior from playing until he's
cleared in the court system. Mbakwe wasn't at practice Monday or
Tuesday because he was taking care of his legal matters.

"We love Trevor, and he's done everything we've asked him to do
since he's been here," the coach said.

Smith said he wasn't sure when he would decide whether Mbakwe
should be redshirted or not.

"He'll have two years of eligibility left if he does sit out
this year, but if he gets it resolved in his favor he'll be back
on the court immediately," Smith said.

Minnesota's first regular season game is against Tennessee Tech
on Nov. 13.

Mbakwe is scheduled for a Dec. 14 trial date in Miami-Dade
County for allegedly punching a woman in the face in Miami in
April. His attorney, Gregory Samms, said Tuesday he's been told
the case will take priority in court that week and won't be
pushed back. Samms has said his client was mistakenly
identified.