Heytvelt works toward return

Suspended Gonzaga University basketball standout Josh Heytvelt has completed nearly 300 hours of community service – 57 1/4 hours more than was required when he entered a diversion program last March following his arrest for felony drug possession.

Shortly after their arrest, Heytvelt and GU teammate Theo Davis were suspended indefinitely from the basketball team. They remain suspended, but they are on track to be reinstated, provided they continue to meet legal and school obligations, athletic director Mike Roth said.

Heytvelt coached summer programs, worked with terminally ill children and their families, and assisted with Habitat for Humanity building projects, said Melissa Lewis, Heytvelt’s case manager with Friendship Diversion Services. He also worked at Bloomsday and Hoopfest, Lewis said.

As part of the diversion program, Heytvelt completed drug and alcohol education school and he has passed numerous random urine tests, Lewis said. Heytvelt was tested at least once a week and all of his results were clean, Lewis said.

“When you’re young and going through the court system and facing something as serious as felony charges, it sobers you up a bit,” said Lewis, who estimated 60 of several hundred have performed additional community service since the diversion program began in 2002. “We don’t always see people take it seriously and with the heart to succeed, but he did.”

Heytvelt and Davis were arrested in Cheney in February. Police said they spotted a bag of mushrooms protruding from a backpack inside Heytvelt’s SUV. He struck a deal with prosecutors in March to enter the diversion program, pleading not guilty to the felony charge but admitting to possessing the psychedelic mushrooms found in his car, according to a March 13 article in The Spokesman-Review.

Heytvelt’s felony charge will be dismissed if he abides by conditions of the program. Davis, who faced a misdemeanor marijuana possession charge, agreed in April to perform 10 hours of community service and take life skills classes. His case would be dismissed in May if he isn’t arrested on similar violations by then.

“It’s a good sign, but that’s external,” Roth said of Heytvelt’s situation. “Internally, he’s doing all the right things here, but we’re not ready to make an announcement yet. He’s been dotting his i’s and crossing his t’s with student life and he’s doing well academically. We just have a couple more things to take care of and at that point we’ll be able to make an announcement one way or the other.”

Regarding Davis, Roth said, “Theo and I talked the other day and he’s been meeting with folks at Student Life. It’s not completed yet, but it’s definitely in the process.”

Roth added that he believes the two student-athletes have been treated the same as any other GU student facing similar situations.

Heytvelt, a 6-foot-11 junior forward, averaged 15.5 points and a team-high 7.7 rebounds in 25 games prior to his suspension. Davis didn’t play last season because of a shoulder injury suffered in an October practice.