investigation, he was dismissed from the basketball team by coach Steve Alford on February 2, with Alford saying that [Pierce had] betrayed the trust they placed in him when he was given a second chance two years prior. At the time, Pierce was the leading scorer on the team averaging 17.8 points per game, the third-best in the Big Ten Conference, and led the Hawkeyes with 16.1 points a game as a sophomore in 2003–04. Pierce met with Alford for about 15 minutes on February 15, and Pierce's appeal to have his dismissal reconsidered was rejected by Alford. Pierce remained on scholarship and was still attending classes. Pierce's attorney Alfredo Parrish sought dismissal of the most serious of the charges, first-degree burglary, a felony that carries a maximum penalty of up to 25 years upon conviction. On February 28, 2005, Pierce pleaded not guilty to two charges of first-degree burglary, assault with intent to commit sexual assault and fourth-degree criminal mischief. Because the first-degree burglary charges and the assault charges are felonies, a conviction would mean Pierce could have been sentenced to up to 56 years and fined $9,000. In March, he waived his right to a speedy trial, delaying it from mid-May to a later date. Months later, fresh evidence surfaced that Pierce made more than 200 phone calls to his ex-girlfriend in March and April, which violated a no-contact order. In May 2005, a judge allowed Pierce to travel outside of Iowa to attend a Chicago, Illinois-based camp in preparation for June's 2005 NBA Draft. Strict conditions were placed on Pierce, including the posting of a $30,000 cash bond, that he stay with his parents in the Chicago area and that he submit a plan outlining his supervision while attending the camp. In August 2005, he reached a plea bargain and pleaded guilty to third-degree burglary, assault with an intent to commit sexual abuse, false imprisonment, and fourth-degree criminal mischief in Dallas County District Court. He was originally charged with two counts of first-degree burglary, but prosecutors agreed to dismiss these, which would have carried a 25-year sentence. He was sentenced on October 28, 2005 to a five-year suspended sentence on the burglary charge, two years on the assault charge and one year each for false imprisonment and criminal mischief, the sentences to be served concurrently. Pierce served 332 days (11 months) of a 2-year sentence at Iowa's