Head Coach Tom Izzo talks to then-senior guard Keith Appling during the game against Connecticut on March 30, 2014, at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The Spartans lost in the Elite Eight, 60-54. Julia Nagy/The State News
Former Michigan State basketball star Keith Appling was arrested on drug charges last Saturday in Warren, Michigan.
On Feb. 8, Appling, 28, was reportedly stopped for improper lane use while driving on Dequindre Road, according to Assistant Macomb County Prosecutor Derek Miller, as quoted by WXYZ Detroit. A preliminary search of the car revealed reportedly 19 grams of heroin packaged in a sandwich bag behind the passenger seat.
Appling was named Mr. Basketball of Michigan in 2010 during his senior year at Pershing High School in Detroit, Michigan. The 34th ranked recruit in the nation according to Recruiting Services Consensus Index, or RSCI , he later went on to play at Michigan State University, earning second-team All-Big Ten honors as a junior en route to a Big Ten Tournament championship and Elite Eight appearance in the NCAA tournament.
Appling went undrafted in the 2014 NBA Draft and currently plays with the Pallacanestro Piacentina in Italy. His career was interrupted in 2017 when he was sentenced to one year in prison on gun charges.
Other charges were placed against him in 2016 after he was stopped by police and tossed a handgun out of his car window.
Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith said Appling was charged with possession with intent to sell due to the significant amount of heroin he had. Smith added that Appling was very uncomfortable during the arrest.
“Mr. Appling was sweating," Smith said according to WXYZ Detroit. "Shaking. Very nervous. Appeared unsure and unsteady."
Currently free on bond, Appling is set to appear in court on Feb. 25.
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