Former NBA player and University of Cincinnati basketball star Corie Blount has been sentenced to one year in prison on two charges of marijuana possession.

Forty-year-old Blount pleaded guilty in Butler County Common Pleas Court last month to two felony possession charges as part of a plea bargain which saw prosecutors withdraw two trafficking charges.

Bount was arrested on December 4, 2008 after sheriffs deputies intercepted 11 pounds (4.99kg) of marijuana sent to him at a relatives house through the US Postal Service. A search of Blount’s home later unearthed an additional 18 pounds (8.16kg) of marijuana.

Facing a maximum 10-year sentence, Blount’s claim that the marijuana was for personal use was rejected by Judge Craig Hedric, who told Blount at todays sentencing hearing, “Cheech and Chong would have had a hard time smoking that much,”

In addition to being sentenced to one year in prison, Blount was also fined $US10,000 and ordered to surrender two vehicles and $US34,000 cash seized in the bust.

Blount was a first-round draft pick by the Chicago Bulls in 1993. In an 11-year NBA career, he also played for the Los Angeles Lakers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Phoenix Suns, Philadelphia 76ers and Toronto Raptors.