Feb. 8, 2000 SportsLine wire reports

LAWRENCE, Kan. -- Kansas forward Lester Earl pleaded innocent in Douglas County District Court on Tuesday to a drunken driving charge.

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Earl, who has been indefinitely suspended by Jayhawks coach Roy Williams, could be placed in a diversion program in which he might not have to go to trial.

Earl was arrested Jan. 23 for drunken driving and driving with a suspended license after he was stopped for speeding about 3 a.m. in Eudora, a small town near Lawrence.

Eudora Police Chief Bill Long said Earl failed a breathalyzer test and was jailed on charges of speeding, driving while intoxicated and driving with a suspended license. He was released and was in school the following Monday.

Williams has not said when Earl's suspension might be lifted.

Earl, whose transfer from LSU in 1997 caused hard feelings between the schools, was arrested in August for missing a court date on earlier charges of speeding and driving with a suspended license.

His career at Kansas has been clouded by the transfer, which came after he admitted taking money while at LSU. The university was penalized by the NCAA in the case.

Last spring the NCAA investigated Earl's ownership of a $30,000 truck while at Kansas, prompting concerns he had received improper benefits. Nothing improper was found.

Earl's playing time has been limited because of a series of knee and ankle injuries over the past two seasons. While Williams respects his defensive intensity, Earl has never regained the leaping ability that made him an offensive threat.