Pierre Antoine Pierce (born June 7, 1983) is an American professional basketball player. A former member of the University of Iowa Hawkeyes men's team, Pierce was convicted of several crimes relating to a violent incident with a former girlfriend, leading to his dismissal from the Hawkeyes and eventual imprisonment. The 6-foot-4-inch (1.93 m) and 195 lb (88 kg) point guard/shooting guard was the highest scoring player on the team at the time of his dismissal. Pierce was born in the Chicago, Illinois suburb of Westmont, and he played competitive basketball for Westmont High School. He began attending the University of Iowa in 2001. College career In his freshman season (2001–02), in which he started 32 of 35 games, mostly at point guard, Pierce averaged 7.1 points (4th on the team), 3.3 rebounds (4th on the team) and a team-leading 3.3 assists per game, while making 16.7% of his three-pointers. As he was suspended for the entire 2002–03 season, Pierce's sophomore season commenced in 2003–04. In 29 games, he averaged a team-leading 16.1 points, 5.7 rebounds (3rd on the team) and 3.7 assists (2nd on the team). A highlight was a 28-point performance in a 79–70 loss to Michigan on March 12, 2004. In his final season (2004–05), up until it had been cut short, the junior had been leading the team with 17.8 points, while averaging 5.2 rebounds (2nd on the team), 4.2 assists, and for a team-high 2.5 steals, this was a marked improvement from 2001–02 and 2003–04, when he averaged only 0.9 steals in each of those seasons. He had a career-high 31 points and a team-high 3 steals in an 81–69 loss to Ohio State on January 8, 2005. Legal troubles 2001 and 2002 charges According to DuPage County (Illinois) court records, in June 2001, Pierce was arrested and had to post bail on charges of criminal defacement and mob action for allegedly spray-painting his high school, although Pierce disputes the records. In September 2002, Pierce was charged with one count of third-degree sexual assault in Iowa City. He was arrested on October 1. On September 7, a report was filed by a woman who was treated at a hospital emergency room the day before. She accused Pierce, an acquaintance, of performing unwanted sex acts on her at a party at his Iowa City apartment on September 6. According to records, Pierce held the woman's hands over