James Wiseman will be eligible to return from his suspension in a few weeks, but the star freshman says he has played his last game for Memphis.
On Thursday, Wiseman took to Instagram to announce he has withdrawn from the University of Memphis and will begin preparing for the 2020 NBA Draft. He thanked his coaches, teammates, and Tigers fans for their support during his brief time with the program.
“This was not how I expected my freshman season to be, but I’m thankful for everyone who has supported my family and me throughout this process,” Wiseman wrote.
The NCAA announced last month that Wiseman has been suspended for 12 games and must make a sizable donation to the charity of his choice after his family received money from Tigers coach Penny Hardaway to move to Memphis. He would have been eligible to return on Jan. 12.
Wiseman was a top recruit for Memphis and is considered a strong candidate to be selected first overall in draft. He was initially cleared by the NCAA regarding his eligibility, but officials later ruled that Hardaway was a “booster” for Memphis because he had previously donated to the program, even though he gave the money to Wiseman’s family prior to being named the head coach of the Tigers.
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 NCAA may still be planning to drop the hammer on Memphis for playing Wiseman after he was ruled ineligible.
The NCAA announced last week that Memphis star James Wiseman has been suspended for 12 games and must make a sizable donation to the charity of his choice, and that decision is not going to be overturned.
On Wednesday, the NCAA issued a statement saying the disciplinary action against Wiseman has been upheld after Memphis appealed.
Wiseman has been ordered by the NCAA to donate $11,500 — the amount of money his family received from Tigers coach Penny Hardaway to move to Memphis — to the charity of his choice. He will be eligible to return on Jan. 12 when Memphis takes on South Florida.
Wiseman was a top recruit for Memphis and is considered a strong candidate to be selected first overall in the NBA Draft. He was initially cleared by the NCAA regarding his eligibility, but officials later ruled that Hardaway was a “booster” for Memphis because he had previously donated to the program, even though he gave the money to Wiseman’s family prior to being named the head coach of the Tigers.
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 NCAA may still be planning to drop the hammer on Memphis for playing Wiseman after he was ruled ineligible. As far as Wiseman’s eligibility is concerned, the suspension will be until Jan. 12. However, the school could face other fines or other sanctions for the way the situation was handled.
The Memphis Tigers took a risk and defied the NCAA by playing James Wiseman even after he had been ruled ineligible, and may pay the price for it.
According to Pat Forde of Sports Illustrated, sources familiar with NCAA enforcement procedures said that Memphis is likely to face a “major infractions case” for playing Wiseman despite repeated warnings from the NCAA about eligibility issues.
This stems from the Tigers openly flouted NCAA rulings relating to Wiseman. The NCAA had notified Memphis before their season opener that Wiseman could have an eligibility problem, but played him anyway. Wiseman was then ruled ineligible on Nov. 8 because his family received money from coach Penny Hardaway to move, but Memphis went to court and obtained a temporary restraining order against that NCAA ruling. Wiseman proceeded to play two more games before ultimately dropping the lawsuit and sitting out.
Wiseman was ultimately suspended until January, but that won’t clear the Tigers of potential wrongdoing. Memphis knew the risks of playing Wiseman, a potential No. 1 draft pick, despite those warnings. If the NCAA’s enforcement process isn’t respected, they’re a significantly weaker organization, so this is something they will not take lightly.
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.
Potential top overall NBA Draft pick James Wiseman has dropped his fight against the NCAA, meaning the Memphis star will be sitting out games for at least the near future.
Wiseman was recently ruled ineligible by the NCAA because Tigers coach Penny Hardaway has a history with him and helped finance his family’s move to Memphis from Nashville in 2018. The NCAA ruled that this was against rules because they viewed Hardaway, a previous Memphis donor, as a booster for the program, meaning Wiseman received an improper benefit. A court then granted a temporary restraining order against the NCAA’s decision, so Memphis decided to play Wiseman anyway.
On Thursday, Wiseman announced that he has dropped his lawsuit and Memphis said he will sit out for now.
It could be that the lawsuit only made the issue more complicated and would have potentially resulted in more sanctions against Wiseman and/or Memphis, especially if the Tigers kept playing him while he was ruled ineligible.
Wiseman is one of the best players in the country and could be a No. 1 overall pick, so it is in the interest of both Memphis and the NCAA to have him on the court. This could be a step toward resolving the situation.
Potential No. 1 NBA draft pick James Wiseman has been ruled ineligible by the NCAA.
According to Wiseman’s lawyers, the player was ruled ineligible because current coach Penny Hardaway helped finance Wiseman’s move to Memphis from Nashville in 2018. Hardaway was a high school coach then and Wiseman was initially ruled ineligible before being cleared tp play. Hardaway was deemed a booster in the case.
Wiseman’s attorney filed a lawsuit against the NCAA on his behalf as a result of the ruling and received an injunction. Wiseman played on Friday night in a win over UIC. Hardaway says Wiseman will continue to play until the courts settle the matter.
Wiseman was initially ruled eligible by the NCAA earlier this year, but upon further investigation, the NCAA changed course.
By playing Wiseman while his eligibility status is unclear, Hardway is risking possible NCAA sanctions.
