NCAA Rumors
The NBPA has been communicating with NCAA officials in recent weeks about a way to work together, league sources tell ESPN. NBPA executive director Michele Roberts declined to comment for this story.
NBA agents refuse to register for NCAA certification process
Adrian Wojnarowski: The NBA’s agents have signed a letter that informs the NCAA that player agents will not register for the NCAA’s proposed agent certification process, according to the letter obtained by ESPN. The @TheNBPA will transmit letter to the NCAA soon, per sources.
Adrian Wojnarowski: NBPA has been talking with the NCAA on finding common ground on behalf of the agents, sources said. In letter, agents are willing to take bi-annual online seminar on protecting players amateurism. Entire discussion has been centered on players “testing the waters” of NBA Draft.
Adrian Wojnarowski: Contents of signed letter the NBPA will send to NCAA on behalf of player agents refusing to be a part of NCAA certification process to advise undergrads testing draft waters.
Dave McMenamin: This letter was signed by virtually every major player agent. One notable name absent was Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, sources told ESPN.
More than five months after Virginia won its first basketball national championship, the school hosted a celebration Friday night, raising a banner to the rafters of John Paul Jones Arena as thousands of boosters and fans showered the players and coaches that made it happen with cheers and adoration.
Among the players in attendance were De’Andre Hunter, Ty Jerome and Kyle Guy, all of whom left with eligibility remaining for the NBA. Jerome and Guy met with the media before the celebration and agreed that the reality of their accomplishment has still not set in, with Jerome surmising ”I don’t think it ever will.”
A New Jersey financial adviser was praised for his cooperation and a judge spared him from prison Thursday after he admitted his role in a college basketball scandal. Munish Sood, 47, was fined $25,000 but was not sentenced to prison or forced to be supervised by probation authorities. U.S. District Judge Kimba M. Wood said she’ll rule on restitution at a later point.
During testimony at a trial last October, Sood said he gave about $19,500 in 2017 to the father of top recruit Brian Bowen Jr. to get him to commit to the University of Louisville. After the payments were revealed, Bowen left Louisville. The school also fired coach Rick Pitino. Last year, Sood was among defendants sued by Bowen in federal court in South Carolina.
Gassnola also testified he made payments of $40,000 to people close to Dennis Smith Jr., a former five-star recruit who spent one-and-a-half seasons at NC State before being a lottery pick in the 2017 NBA draft.
Additionally, Gassnola testified he gave $15,000 to a family friend of former Arizona star Deandre Ayton in 2015, when Ayton was in high school, to establish a relationship between Adidas and the Ayton family.
Shams Charania: Sources: There are NBA representation agencies — from major firms to others — planning to boycott the NCAA’s new mandatory agent testing in Indianapolis. NCAA sent memo to agents today about Sept. 30 deadline to apply but there are top agencies not planning to participate.
Shams Charania: In August, the NCAA reversed its requirement for player agents to have bachelor’s degree — six hours after an op-ed in @TheAthletic. Now, agents — both top and small firms — are preparing not to participate in NCAA’s in-person exam on Nov. 6 in Indianapolis.
Ramsey Nijem, the Sacramento Kings’ head strength and conditioning coach the last three seasons, says he wasn’t actively looking to leave the NBA for college basketball when a similar position opened at Kansas on Aug. 15. Yet the more he thought about it, the more the NBA’s youngest head trainer (at the age of 28) desired to be the person to replace Andrea Hudy, Texas’ new basketball trainer who spent 15 seasons at KU..
“Ultimately it’s an opportunity to work alongside a Hall of Fame coach in coach (Bill) Self and his staff,” Nijem told The Star in a phone interview Wednesday, the day he was hired as new men’s basketball director of sport performance at KU.
Gary Neal to start coaching career
Jeff Goodman: Towson coach Pat Skerry has added former Towson star and NBA veteran Gary Neal to his staff, he told @Stadium.
Shams Charania: Six hours after agent Rich Paul’s piece in @TheAthletic, the NCAA has amended its criteria and no longer requires a bachelor’s degree for NCAA agents. Here is link to today’s piece: theathletic.com/1128759/2019/0…
Rich Paul: Folks threatened by Rich huh?
Rich Paul’s peers are coming to his defense in the wake of a new NCAA rule that seems to be aimed at him … with NBA agent Daniel Hazan saying the NCAA is making a terrible mistake. The NCAA’s new rule — dubbed the “Rich Paul Rule” — is geared toward dissuading players from working with agents who don’t have a bachelor’s degree, among other requirements.
Enter Hazan — who at the beginning of his career was the youngest NBA agent to sign a client — and currently reps a slate of pro ballers. Not only does Hazan explain why the rule is bad for young agents, but says it will ultimately hurt the NCAA by driving players out of college basketball. Hazan thinks young players will be more motivated to find other avenues to the NBA — whether it’s playing overseas or other semi-pro leagues in the U.S. […] Hazan says he doesn’t think the rule will last more than a year before the NCAA realizes its mistake.
LeBron James: #TheRichPaulRule
Wilson Chandler: S/o to Rich Paul
Evan Turner: The “rich Paul” rule tho 🤦🏽♂️ smh
Tristan Thompson: Rich Paul 🐐
Jon Rothstein: Sources: The NCAA has officially added criteria for agents who wish to represent student athletes testing the waters for the NBA Draft. Criteria: Bachelor’s Degree; Certified with NBPA for a minimum of three years; Take an in-person exam at the NCAA Office in Indianapolis.
Four-star point guard R.J. Davis was in town Friday on an official visit to Pitt, just one stop on his college tour as he decides what university he wants to attend in 2020. During his visit, Davis ran into three-time NBA champion Steph Curry, who just happened to be hanging around the Pitt facilities. Davis posted a photo of himself and the Golden State Warriors point guard to his Instagram story Friday evening.
Former Washington State men’s basketball standout and NBA veteran, Craig Ehlo, will join the Voice of the Cougars, Matt Chazanow, on select Washington State men’s basketball broadcasts this season, Learfield IMG College announced Tuesday. Ehlo is set to serve as the color analyst for Washington State men’s basketball home games during the 2019-20 season.
Marc J. Spears: Two-time #NBA All-Star @David West and his fellow executive members of the @hb_league offered an update and game plan today on their upstart professional college-aged basketball league paying $50K-$150K over the summer months that they plan to debut in 2020.
Through dozens of interviews over the past two years with NBA team and league officials, current and former players, AAU coaches, parents, youth players, researchers, medical and athletic training officials in and around the NBA, as well as those intimately involved with youth basketball, one possible answer repeatedly emerged: Players, they say, are physically broken down by the time they reach the NBA. “It is grave,” says one NBA general manager, who says his team’s injury databases on players entering the draft, dating back decades, leave “no question” that there are more orthopedic issues among young players in recent years. “It’s very sad, where a kid has an NBA body, he’s got NBA talent, he’s got even an NBA mentality, but he doesn’t have a body that can withstand the rigors of the training and the actual games, whether it’s to get to the NBA or just to hold up. It’s a tough deal.”
“It’s an epidemic,” says Leo Papile, who founded and has coached the Boston Amateur Basketball Club on Nike’s Elite Youth Basketball League circuit — arguably the most prestigious grassroots circuit — for four decades. “I have many kids who are going to go play in college next year,” says Dr. Neeru Jayanthi, the Director of Sports Medicine Research and Education at Emory Healthcare in the Atlanta area and one of the leading researchers on youth sports, “and this whole year has just been about trying to get healthy so they can step on that doorstep as a freshman and actually have a chance to participate.” Says Jayanthi: “Kids are broken by the time they get to college.”
In his career, Jordan battled the hard-hitting “Bad Boys” Pistons and legendarily played through most any injury. In Jordan’s day, the gold standard for durability was simple: start all 82 NBA regular-season games, which he did in eight of his 13 seasons in Chicago. But it’s not as if Jordan was a relentless baller all year long. “When the season ended, Michael left and played golf and didn’t pick up a basketball again until probably a little bit before training camp [in September],” says Wally Blase, a Bulls athletic trainer from 1993-2000. “He might have played pickup ball with some friends, but he wasn’t working eight hours a day at some gym with some shooting coach.” (And in contrast to the myth that has grown around him, Jordan, Blase notes, didn’t treat every practice as if it were Game 7: “There were days when Michael would show up, put ice on his knees, go smoke a cigar and then go play 18 holes of golf.”)
Lawyers for former Auburn assistant basketball coach Chuck Person said Tuesday the 13-year NBA veteran was broke and financially desperate when he joined a bribery conspiracy that cheated young athletes by steering them toward bribe-paying advisers and managers.
“Chuck recognizes that his failure to manage his money responsibly led him to make the worst decision of his entire life,” the lawyers said. “He grew up poor and suddenly came into millions of dollars without a clue how to manage it. Chuck spent too freely, gave to anyone who asked, made dreadful investment decisions, and turned to high interest loans as his financial circumstances deteriorated.”
Brendan Quinn: Can confirm the news of Charles Matthews’ turn ACL. I was told the date of return being batted around is January, at the earliest. I am told Matthews did consider the possibility of returning to U-M for his final year after learning the severity of the injury.
The NCAA cleared Glenville State’s Phil Bledsoe for his senior season after the Division II college basketball player mistakenly used a new rule permitting only Division I players to declare for the NBA draft and sign with an agent while maintaining college eligibility.
In a revealing profile written by ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, there’s an anecdote from his assistant coach at Saginaw High School, Bruce Simmons, where Draymond called him after a game against Ohio State his freshman year and told him he intended to leave Michigan State and transfer to another school. “He called and said, ‘Coach Bruce, I’m going to transfer. (expletive) this (expletive).’ And I said, ‘Noooo. We don’t do that. This is what you’re going to do. You’re going to go into practice. (Senior) Marquise Gray is getting your minutes. Bust his ass. Talk (expletive) to him. And then when you’re doing that, look at Izzo, because Izzo is putting this (guy) on the court instead of you.'”
Brendan Quinn: Michigan and Knicks assistant Howard Eisley are expected to complete a deal within the next 24 hours. He will finalize Juwan Howard’s coaching staff, joining Martelli and Saddi Washington.
Paul Pressey will be a special assistant to St. John’s basketball coach Mike Anderson, his former teammate at Tulsa. The school made the announcement Friday. The longtime NBA player and assistant coach was a teammate of Anderson’s under Tulsa coach Nolan Richardson.
Jeff Goodman: Arkansas will hire Clay Moser from the LA Lakers as an assistant coach, source told @Stadium.
SMU guard Jimmy Whitt has entered the NCAA transfer portal, sources told Pony Stampede. Whitt announced on March 18 that he was entering the 2019 NBA Draft, but it appears he’ll head elsewhere for his final year of eligibility as a graduate transfer.
Kansas got a major dose of good news Friday when Silvio de Sousa won his NCAA appeal and was declared eligible for the 2019-20 season. “I’m so excited to be able to come back to Kansas to play and to continue my education,” De Sousa said in a statement.
Juwan Howard is coming home. Howard has been hired as Michigan’s next head men’s basketball coach. The school made it official on Wednesday night.
“I am very excited about the opportunity to lead the University of Michigan’s storied basketball program,” Howard said, per the release. “I have been very fortunate to be part of a great championship organization in the Miami Heat for the last nine years — three as a player and six as a coach. It was always going to take something incredibly special to for me to leave Miami; however, I know in my heart this is the right place and the right time.”
Tim Reynolds: Heat president Pat Riley: “I’m happy for Juwan, Jenine and his family. … He is going back to a school and a conference in which he is revered. I think it is a great step forward for him and the university, and I wish him nothing but the best, because that’s what he’s given us.”
Tim Reynolds: Spoelstra statement: “Juwan is an absolute star as a person, player and coach. I feel he is more than ready. He is a terrific leader and mentor, which translates very well to the collegiate level. … He will forever be a champion and part of the Heat family.”
Gary Parrish: Former NBA Coach of the Year Sam Mitchell is no longer on the Memphis staff, according to head coach Penny Hardaway.
Jeff Goodman: Three names that have emerged as serious candidates for the Michigan job, sources told @Stadium: Former Michigan star Juwan Howard, Providence head coach Ed Cooley and Michigan assistant Luke Yaklich.
The Michigan Insider has learned from multiple sources that Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel and former Wolverine Juwan Howard have a meeting planned for Tuesday to discuss the Wolverines’ vacant head coaching position.
The Washington State Cougars have added another player to their 2019 class, as DJ Rodman has signed financial aid paperwork with the school, a source confirmed to CougCenter. You might recognize the name — he is, in fact, the son of NBA hall of famer Dennis Rodman. But at 6-foot-6, his game is a bit different; he’s got a great feel as an all-around player and features a good three-point shot.
Jordan Schultz: Juwan Howard tells me #Michigan has retained Turnkey Sports for its coaching search. Howard has spoken with them and has been informed that Wolverines AD Warde Manuel is very interested in speaking with him.
Hoiberg, who accepted a seven-year, $25 million deal March 31, insisted it didn’t feel strange to stop by the combine. He even said he has had sporadic contact with Bulls executive vice president John Paxson, who fired him as coach Dec. 1. In fact, the two were seen chatting at the combine Thursday.
“I’ve talked to John a few times. I’m very thankful for the opportunity I got in Chicago,” Hoiberg said. “I learned a lot there and am a better coach because of that experience. I’m doing everything I can to make the most of my new opportunity. I’m excited about it. And that’s all I’m looking forward to.”
Sean Deveney: There’s absolutely zero chance Zion Williamson goes back to Duke. Zero. Remember when people were saying Luka Doncic would stay in Europe if someone he didn’t like drafted him? That was never true. This stuff about Zion is not true either.
John Beilein: Thanks to everyone at the Univ of Michigan for their incredible support these last 12 years. Our fans , alums , leaders, players and students are AMAZING It has been a heck of a ride and I hope you enjoyed our teams and staff as much as I did !Go Blue Forever ! #GoBlue
Mitch Lawrence: John Beilein’s surprise move to Cavs isn’t such a surprise: Cavs Ass’t GM Mike Gansey played for Beilein at West Virginia. Beilein’s strengths as player-development guy/shooting expert/offensive coach have always registered with Gansey, per sources.
Marla Ridenour: League source confirms multiple reports that #Cavs interviewed John Beilein in Ann Arbor early last week, then @Dan Gilbert met with him there Friday. Blazers’ assistant David Vanterpool was also interviewed in Denver.
Marla Ridenour: League source said it’s possible one of NBA assistants interviewed by #Cavs could be hired as associate head coach under John Beilein.
According to sources, Beilen, the previous head coach at the University of Michigan, will receive a five-year deal. He interviewed with the Cavaliers early last week in Ann Arbor and the two sides agreed to keep those conversations quiet out of respect for the university. After that meeting, the Cavs continued with the rest of their interviews. Beilein talked face to face with Cavs owner Dan Gilbert on Friday and Cleveland moved forward with the remainder of the schedule interviews. Following meetings with Denver’s Jordi Fernandez and Wes Unseld Jr. along with Portland’s David Vanterpool, the Cavs believed Beilein was the best person for the job.
Cavaliers hiring John Beilein as head coach
University of Michigan coach John Beilein has agreed to a five-year contract to become the Cleveland Cavaliers coach, league sources told ESPN. Beilein reached a deal with the Cavaliers on Sunday and informed Michigan’s administration of his decision to leave for the NBA on Monday morning, sources said.
Beilein, 66, has been entertaining thoughts about the NBA for several years and had detailed discussions with two franchises a year ago — Orlando and Detroit — before deciding to return to Michigan. Beilein didn’t want to move his wife that far from Michigan, and the Pistons borderline playoff roster with little financial flexibility to make changes made staying in-state less appealing. Cleveland’s rebuild status, based on point guard Collin Sexton and a 14 percent chance — along with New York and Phoenix — to earn the No. 1 pick in Tuesday’s NBA draft lottery were appealing to Beilein.
Joe Vardon: The Cavs’ next coach is Michigan’s John Beilein, league sources said.
Jeff Goodman: John Beilein to the Cleveland Cavs, sources confirmed to @stadium. This does not completely surprise me. Remember, Mike Gansey is the No. 2 guy in the Cavs organization … and played for Beilein at West Virginia.
Jeremy Woo: Cavs owner Dan Gilbert went to Michigan State and has tried to hire Tom Izzo in the past. Asst GM Mike Gansey played for Beilein at West Virginia. Michigan’s player development has long been held in high regard by NBA types. With Poole/Brazdeikis likely gone to pros, all adds up.
Rick Bonnell: Beilein’s offensive mind will be a good fit to the NBA. Guessing he welcomes getting out of the recruiting cesspool. Will be interesting how he adapts to coaching pros.
University of Arkansas Little Rock graduate transfer Rayjon Tucker was torn between staying in college for another season or going to the NBA, but he chose to stay in college and play for coach Penny Hardaway and his staff. Tucker chose Memphis over Auburn, Kansas, West Virinia and Iowa State.
On the first day of May, a hush fell over a Manhattan federal courtroom as wooden doors opened and lawyers and defendants entered and took their seats. Soon after the judge ordered the day’s proceedings to begin, defense attorney Steve Haney said, “Thank you, your honor, and at this time, we would call Christian Dawkins.” It was a surprising development in a trial that had been highly anticipated in college basketball circles for months. Everyone directed their gaze toward the defense counsel’s table as Dawkins, 26, slowly rose from his seat and approached the witness stand. He would make a case for his innocence to the jury; the cost of failure could mean a prison sentence. Dawkins stood trial alongside Merl Code, a former Adidas consultant. Federal prosecutors were accusing the men of conspiring to bribe assistant basketball coaches to influence players to sign with Dawkins’s management company once they turned professional. The trial was the result of a three-year FBI investigation into corruption in the sport.
As I watched Dawkins testify, I saw him as a cautionary tale for the consequences of sidestepping a system designed to keep NCAA basketball players from being paid for their labor. In the prosecution’s opening remarks, Assistant U.S. Attorney Eli Mark said: “This is a case about money, bribes, and basketball. It’s about the seedy underground of college sports and two insiders who are looking to cheat to get ahead.”
In an appearance Thursday on MSG Network’s “MSG 150,’’ Boeheim said Williamson is a “once-in-a-lifetime player in college basketball.” However, Boeheim cautioned: “He’s physical and you can’t match him. I think the NBA will match him a little bit better. I think he won’t be able to do some of the things he did in college.”
Boeheim said the “greatest thing’’ about Williamson is his defensive tenacity. But the coach wondered whether Williamson, who has an average 3-point shot and is a mediocre free-throw shooter, can be dominant in the NBA playoffs
Mullin is uncertain what the future holds, but hinted that he would like to return to the NBA, where he spent five years as an executive in the front office with the Golden State Warriors, then worked with the Sacramento Kings as an advisor and even did some broadcast work. “I’m not 100 percent sure what direction I’m going to go, but having all those different experiences I think will help moving forward,” Mullin said. “One thing I’ve always focused on is who is around me, who I’m with, so that’ll become clear in due time.
“I spent my whole adult life with the NBA so that’s more natural for me. Over time, the game maybe became a little closer because of the age of the players. There’s an overlap there. I’ve always found myself watching the NBA game more, even when I was coaching college. So I’ll probably gravitate toward doing something in the NBA.”
Now, after more than 19 months on the sidelines waiting to fully engage the broadest scandal to ever hit college hoops, NCAA Enforcement personnel is in the game. Can they win it? The definitive answer to that question likely won’t be known before 2020, but the legwork has begun and will soon accelerate. The credibility of the NCAA as an investigative body is at stake. “For all the good in college basketball, we’ve had this cloud over our head for too long,” said the Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione. “As I talk to people throughout the industry, this is our one opportunity to aggregate our resources and address those who have tried to cheat their way through the business. I understand there are many complexities, I understand it’s going to require some time, but it’s time to get this right.”
Yahoo Sports spoke to a pair of former NCAA investigators who expressed general pessimism about how this investigation will play out in terms of the NCAA enforcement staff being able to achieve significant results. Even with the help of evidence, documents and testimony from the federal trials and the ability to directly import such information, they predicted the NCAA will struggle to find cooperative witnesses and corroborating evidence. (Also, there is little chance the court will accede to a motion from the NCAA asking for access to government evidence that was not entered into court.) “In terms of bringing down big-name coaches or putting big-time programs on probation with significant penalties, I am less confident that’s going to happen,” said Dan Matheson, a professor of sport management at the University of Iowa and a former NCAA associate director of enforcement. “I have not got the impression, at least from what’s available publicly in the news, that there’s been a lot of individuals that are offering up the big-name coaches. Going back to when this case was announced a couple of years ago, I don’t think you’ve seen the wide net being cast that’s brought in the number of big-time coaches that were originally expected. The damage is being limited to some of these assistant coaches.”
A former NBA ref who went into the bespoke suit business pleaded guilty on Tuesday to paying bribes to former Auburn coach and professional player Chuck “The Rifleman” Person as part of the massive NCAA basketball bribery scandal that has resulted in prison time for several participants. Rashan Michel, 44, pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court to conspiracy to commit bribery.
An FBI-intercepted phone call from June 2017 between basketball middleman Christian Dawkins and then-Arizona associate head coach Emanuel “Book” Richardson was played in federal court Wednesday morning. On the call, Richardson tells Dawkins that Arizona head coach Sean Miller was paying, or had promised to pay, $10,000 a month for Deandre Ayton, who would go on to become the No. 1 pick in the 2018 NBA draft.
On one call between Dawkins and Richardson, the two discussed Ayton and the possibility of Dawkins’ management company eventually signing Ayton. That’s when Miller came up. “You know what he bought per month,” Richardson said on the call concerning what Richardson believed was Miller’s agreement with Ayton. “What he do?” Dawkins asked. “I told you, 10,” Richardson said. Later, Dawkins said, “Hey, he’s putting up some real money for them [racial slur].”
In an interview with Sirius XM, former Duke Basketball star Jayson Tatum admitted that he was close to a return to Duke for his sophomore season.
One of the driving forces for Tatum in his near return to Durham was not winning a National Championship and getting the chance to play for Mike Krzyzewski once again. Tatum said that while it was a touch choice, Coach K fully supported his decision and still checks up on him once in a while to see how he’s doing.
Former NBA All-Star Jerry Stackhouse’s first signee as Vanderbilt’s head coach is the son of a Hall of Famer. Vanderbilt announced Thursday that Scotty Pippen Jr., the son of six-time NBA champion Scottie Pippen, has signed a letter of intent to play for the Commodores.
According to multiple reports, former A&M assistant Amir Abdur-Rahim allegedly met with agent Christian Dawkins, former financial advisor Marty Blazer and an undercover member of law enforcement to discuss payments to former A&M player Robert Williams.
According to Blazer’s testimony in federal court, Abdur-Rahim shipped a pair of shoes stuffed with $11,000 to Williams in 2017.
The recruitment of Zion Williamson by Duke, North Carolina and Clemson was a hot topic Thursday in the federal college basketball bribery trial in New York, and Marvin Bagley III’s name came up as well, but there was no evidence provided that Williamson or Bagley or their families received any improper benefits.
Three assistant coaches were shown on FBI videotapes receiving cash in the Las Vegas hotel room: former TCU assistant Corey Barker received $6,000, former Creighton assistant Preston Murphy received $6,000 and former USC assistant Tony Bland received $13,000, which he claimed he needed for the recruitment of Bagley. “He wasn’t going to go to UCLA and he wasn’t going to go to Duke,” Blazer testified Bland had told them. “Tony was very confident that he had Marvin locked in with USC.”
