James Wiseman suspended 12 games by NCAA, must pay back money to charity

The NCAA has made its ruling on the James Wiseman situation.

Wiseman has been suspended 12 games and must donate the amount of money ($11,500) his family received from Penny Hardaway to move to Memphis to a charity of his choice.

Wiseman, a top recruit by Memphis and candidate to go No. 1 in the NBA Draft, was initially cleared by the NCAA regarding his eligibility. However, they later ruled that because Penny had previously donated to Memphis — where he played — that made Hardaway a “booster.” So when Hardaway gave money to Wiseman’s family to move, the NCAA decided that was an example of Wiseman receiving money from a booster, which is against NCAA rules.

Memphis initially received a temporary restraining order against the NCAA’s ruling and defiantly played Wiseman the first three games of the season before the big man decided to drop his lawsuit against the NCAA and sit out.

The Tigers’ most recent game, which Wiseman sat out, will count towards the 12-game suspension, meaning he will be eligible to return to play on January 12 against South Florida.

The 12-game suspension seems excessive to many for a guy whose family accepted $11,500 to move in high school. The NCAA likely issued a harsher penalty than they originally would have levied due to Memphis flaunting the NCAA’s eligibility ruling by playing Wiseman to start the season.