HAMILTON, Ohio — A standout athlete has been ordered to stay on the sidelines by a judge after pleading guilty to felonious assault.

Dwayne "Deejay" Hunter, 19, was sentenced to 180 days in jail, five years of probation and 500 hours of community service. Among terms of his probation, Hunter — who once was a highly recruited football player — cannot play organized sports.

Butler County Common Pleas Judge Andrew Nastoff told Hunter his athlete status had given him a sense of entitlement.

"We're going to see who Dwayne Hunter the person is, not the star athlete," said Nastoff. He said, though, that Hunter could use his sports knowledge for community service such as helping with the Special Olympics or youth football.

Hunter pleaded guilty in July to felonious assault, for shooting a 15-year-old boy twice in the face with a BB gun. He faced a maximum eight years in prison. Nastoff warned him he will go to prison for six years if he violates probation.

Hunter, a defensive back and wide receiver for Middletown High School, had been recruited last year by the University of Tennessee and several Big Ten and Big East schools. They backed away after his legal problems surfaced — he also faces sentencing in municipal court for misdemeanor charges involving an ex-girlfriend.

Hunter was also a track star but missed Ohio's state finals his senior year because he was in jail.

Nastoff said he didn't care about any recruiting offers.

"Do you know what I care about? How are you going to live — are you going to shoot people in the face?" Nastoff said.

Hunter, who will get out of jail by Thanksgiving because of time already served, read a statement in court Thursday expressing remorse.

"I never meant any harm. ... I stand before you all, hoping and praying that you give me another chance to make things right," he said.

The judge said Hunter nearly blinded his victim, who was struck in the eyelid. Yet the victim's family had written the judge asking leniency for Hunter.

A dozen family members and other supporters cheered when Nastoff told Hunter he wouldn't send him to prison, but there were gasps when he announced the sports ban.

An aunt, Rita Hunter, said the family was pleased that he will soon be home, but not that he can't play sports.

"I'm kind of happy and sad at the same time," she said. "It's kind of strict, but the judge had to do what he had to do."

Attorney Frank Schiavone said Hunter had to accept the unusual sentence.

"If you don't like the terms of probation, you don't have to take them — you can go to prison," he said.

Nastoff told Hunter his sentence was meant to help him develop as a person.

"Find out who you really are without this whole aura of the athletics around you, because quite frankly, in some ways, it's made you a Frankenstein monster," the judge said.