Tigers basketball
Memphis coach Penny Hardaway gives update on NCAA infractions case.
The interview phase of the Memphis basketball program's pending NCAA infractions case concluded last month, coach Penny Hardaway told The Commercial Appeal this week.
In March 2020, the Tigers' case — which involves former star player James Wiseman's eligibility status — became the first one approved for adjudication by the Independent Accountability Resolution Process. Once accepted by the Infractions Referral Committee, it was sent to the Complex Case Unit for further investigation.
“At least we have all the interviews out of the way and that (part of the) process is over,” Hardaway said. “I think the latest interviews ended like a month-and-a-half ago — maybe a month ago. So, the rest is on them. We know they have to do their due diligence and turn over every stone to make sure nothing crazy happened or whatever.”
Hardaway, who added all interviews were conducted virtually due to COVID-19 precautions, also said he did not receive any updates on a possible timeline for the IARP to complete the process.
“They didn't say anything,” Hardaway said. “We just have to assume we'll see them when we see them.”
NCAA vice president of hearing operations Naima Stevenson Starks, who declined to discuss any specifics of Memphis' pending case, neither confirmed nor denied whether the interview phase has officially concluded. But she told The Commercial Appeal the IARP'S structure dictates that once all of the CCU'S interviews are complete,
“there will be a time frame by which they would have to issue their Notice of Allegations, and that would be provided to the Independent Resolution Panel.”
Once the Notice of Allegations is sent to the school as well as the IRP, Memphis will be given time to respond. At that point, the IRP will review both the CCU'S allegations and the school's response. That is followed by a hearing, the IRP'S decision and, finally, the penalty phase.
Starks said while it's possible the IRP could decide to dismiss a case based on the CCU'S investigation, it's “highly unlikely.”
“You could expect that if a case is accepted into the process … they have already determined that there are certain factors that have been met for the case to come into the independent structure,” Starks said. “So, again, there's not really a lane that's contemplated in the legislation or the procedures for a case to basically be dismissed based on a determination by the Complex Case Unit.”
Wiseman, now a rookie with the Golden State Warriors, was ruled ineligible by the NCAA prior to Memphis' 2019-20 season opener. The ruling stemmed from the $11,500 Hardaway provided Wiseman's mother, Donzaleigh Artis, to help the family relocate from Nashville in 2017. Hardaway, the coach at East High at the time, has been classified as a booster by the NCAA since 2008, when he donated $1 million to help fund the Penny Hardaway Hall of Fame.
All of which added up to what the NCAA has deemed a violation when Wiseman signed with Hardaway to play for Memphis in 2018.
Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @munzly.