The University of Akron point guard who was arrested after police seized more than five pounds of marijuana pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Friday morning.

Alex Abreu, 21, of Akron, pleaded not guilty to drug charges including trafficking at Akron Municipal Court. His bond was set at $5,000.

Narcotics officers arrested Abreu and 18-year-old Austin L. Durgala at Durgala's residence on East Dartmore Street on Thursday.

The University has released a statement, saying Abreu has been suspended from the team until the case has been resolved. The UA athletic office has confirmed that Abreu was also suspended for a game for violating team rules. Details on the incident were not released.

Alex Abreu's attorney Bob Meeker tells AkronNewsNow the arrest has had  an impact not only on Abreu " It's obviously a sad day for the University, the basketball team, the coach, the overall communtiy and for Alex."

Meeker says he hyasn't had a chance to talk in-depth with Abreu about the events that led to his arrest but will do so now that he's out on bond.

" Here he's leading a team hopefully into the NCAA tournament, and has had a great athletic career at the university, and now to have this happen. It's unclear whether he'll ever have a chance to continue that. So it's sad from that perspective. He in my mind was the person, the glue that held the team together and coach Dambrot had a wonderful relationship with him, so I'm so sorry that all that has been compromsied at this point, but I'm hoping for the best as we get down the road," says Meeker..

Abreu's next court appearence is scheduled for March 22.

The Zips are coming off their 2nd straight MAC regular-season championship, and will likely be without Abreu for next week's conference tournament.