Former University of Hawaii basketball player Yves “Tes” Whitlock will not go to prison for selling marijuana to an undercover police officer.

Circuit Judge Steven Alm today granted Whitlock’s request for a deferral of his guilty plea to first-degree promotion of a detrimental drug.

If Whitlock stays out of trouble for five years, the court will erase the guilty plea and the charge from his criminal record. He had been facing a prison sentence of up to five years.

Whitlock said he plans to use the experience as a teaching tool. He coaches kids in his basketball skills and fitness program, Off the Bench. Many of their parents wrote letters of support and showed up in court for Whitlock’s sentencing.

Police said Whitlock sold a total of eight ounces of marijuana for $3,600 to an undercover officer on three occasions in February 2007.

His lawyer said Whitlock was doing a favor for a friend and did not benefit from the transactions.