He almost came here. Thank goodness he didn't.

Eastern Michigan will withhold junior center James Still from competition as it awaits the final resolution of a legal issue that developed when he was a freshman at Providence in 2010.

Still pleaded guilty to felony assault this week in a Rhode Island court. He faces a prison term of up to 20 years after declining a plea agreement, according to the Detroit Free Press, and will be sentenced Jan. 8.

Along with then-Friars teammate Johnnie Lacy, Still was charged in April 2010 with attacking a fellow student, according to police and university officials. According to Providence’s WPRI-TV, the victim in the case sustained a broken nose and eye socket. Lacy accepted a plea agreement and is to serve three years of a 10-year sentence for his role.

A 6-10 native of Detroit, Still scored six points in a 23-minute appearance in EMU’s opening win over Rochester College, but in the team’s second game, against Jacksonville State, he fouled three times in five minutes and did not score.

Eastern Michigan officials said in a release that they were aware of Still’s legal issues when they accepted him as a transfer from Henry Ford Community College, taking him “based upon numerous positive recommendations† and the completion of his associates degree.