MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Trevor Mbakwe’s yearlong exile from basketball is finally over, which is why he couldn’t stop smiling on Monday.

Mbakwe returned to practice for Minnesota for the first time since he was sidelined by an assault accusation, saying he is relieved to have the case behind him and actually preparing to play in a game again.

“I had the charge lingering over my head for the last 16 months,” Mbakwe said. “I’m glad it’s over with and I’m glad I can finally move on with my life and play basketball.”

Mbakwe missed last season because of a felony assault charge stemming from an alleged incident while he was at Miami-Dade Community College in April 2009. The case dragged on for more than a year and Minnesota athletic director Joel Maturi ruled the power forward could not play until it was resolved.

Mbakwe decided to enter a pretrial intervention program that will result in the charges being dropped upon completion of 100 hours of community service. He maintained his innocence throughout the proceedings, saying it was a case of mistaken identity. The decision to enter the program and avoid trial was not an admission of guilt.

Mbakwe also has to make a donation to a shelter for victims of abuse in Florida, but he said he expects to have all of his conditions met by the start of the basketball season.

He didn’t hide his frustration in the legal process, or in the decision by Maturi and coach Tubby Smith to suspend him until his case was resolved. Mbakwe considered transferring to another school, but in the end decided to stay in Minnesota after a nomadic beginning to his college career that started at Marquette and went through Miami-Dade before coming back to his home state.