South Carolina Receives Notice of Allegations

[Paladin 3,305]

Will Auburn be next?

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South Carolina men’s basketball receives NCAA notice of allegations

BY BEN BREINER AND GREG HADLEY

FEBRUARY 13, 2020 06:41 PM 

 

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced charges stemming from an FBI investigation into top NCAA basketball programs that also involved a corrupt scheme with a major sportswear company. 

The South Carolina men’s basketball program has received a Notice of Allegations from the NCAA related to the actions of former assistant coach Lamont Evans.

Sports Illustrated first reported the news Thursday. The notice was dated Jan. 31, 2020.

The allegation is of a Level 1 violation, the most serious possible. The notice includes nothing that reflects on the university or coach Frank Martin, i.e. failure to monitor the program, head-coach responsibility or any lack of institutional control violations.

After his appearance on the weekly Carolina Calls call-in show Thursday night, Martin said: “It’s real simple. It has nothing to do with my staff, with our players, present and past, with Ray Tanner, with the university. We don’t cheat. It’s all based on one individual and that person doesn’t work here.”

The violation is related to a bribe received by former assistant coach Lamont Evans from runner Christian Dawkins in exchange for arranging a meeting between Dawkins and former USC guard P.J. Dozier, in hopes of persuading Dozier and his family to sign with the agency Dawkins worked for. The NCAA alleges Evans was paid at least $5,865. There is no mention of allegations that Dozier actually accepted money, which likely sidesteps questions of vacating wins.

“The University of South Carolina has received a Notice of Allegations from the NCAA related to a former men’s basketball assistant coach. As expected, this does not involve any institutional, current coaching staff or former or current student-athlete eligibility issues. We will continue to defend our program and institution in this process with the NCAA,” athletics director Ray Tanner said in a statement.

According to SI, South Carolina is at least the sixth school to receive a notice.

Evans coached at South Carolina under head coach Frank Martin from 2012 to 2016 before leaving for Oklahoma State. While with the Gamecocks, he was cited as a key figure in the recruitment of Dozier, a McDonald’s All-American, and Sindarius Thornwell, who went on to become SEC Player of the Year.

Evans was at Oklahoma State under former Gamecocks assistant Brad Underwood until he was arrested in 2017 as part of the FBI’s probe into corruption in college basketball. He was one of four assistant coaches and 10 total people who were arrested in the scandal, with the coaches accused of taking bribes to guide players to certain managers and advisors.

“This university is not being investigated. Lamont is being investigated. Frank Martin is not being investigated. Lamont is being investigated. Our basketball team is not being investigated. Lamont is being investigated,” Martin said went news of his arrest first broke.

In 2019, Evans pleaded guilty to charges of bribery and was sentenced to three months in prison.

Oklahoma State previously received a Notice of Allegations from the NCAA, also alleging a Level 1 violation. It has appealed.

According to the notice, the violation rose to Level 1 because the violations “(a) provided or were intended to provide a substantial or extensive impermissible benefit to a staff member, (b) involved unethical conduct, (c) were intentional or showed reckless indifference to the NCAA constitution and bylaws, (d) seriously undermined or threatened the integrity of the NCAA Collegiate Model and (e) demonstrated egregious conduct inconsistent with the affirmative responsibility and behavioral expectations of college coaches.”

The notice lists a possibility of a show-cause order, which would bar Evans from college coaching for an extended period. The notice also lists South Carolina’s history of violations, which only includes two smaller ones since 2012 and only three total since 2005.

Dozier played two seasons for South Carolina, starting the majority of both. As a sophomore, he averaged 13.9 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 28.7 minutes a game and helped lead the Gamecocks to their first Final Four.

He is currently a member of the Denver Nuggets. Across 15 games, he has averaged 5.5 points in 14.7 minutes.

 

[AlaskanFAN 1,665]

This is what I expect Auburn to receive.

[Paladin 3,305]

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Ex-South Carolina basketball assistant gets 10-year show cause; Gamecocks avoid major penalties

Updated 1:47 PM; Today 1:47 PM

By Creg Stephenson | cstephenson@al.com

South Carolina avoided additional penalties for the role of a former assistant coach in the college basketball corruption scandal.

In an NCAA infractions report issued Thursday, Lamont Evans was found to have violated ethical conduct rules when he received bribes to steer players toward prospective agents. Evans, who left South Carolina for Oklahoma State prior to the scandal breaking, also received a 10-year show cause penalty from the NCAA.

Evans pleaded guilty to federal charges in 2019 and was sentenced to three months in prison. Evans accepted approximately $3,300 and $5,800 in bribes from prospective agents and financial advisors in exchange for brokering meetings with South Carolina players.

Evans coached at South Carolina for four seasons before leaving for Oklahoma State in 2016. He also worked at Kansas State under current Gamecocks coach Frank Martin, who was not named in any of the NCAA allegations.

“We move forward and I am thankful to have this situation behind us,” Martin said in a statement.

South Carolina self-imposed a number of other penalties, which the NCAA accepted. The Gamecocks were given two years of probation and a $5,000 fine, and also saw a reduction in recruiting visits and prospect contacts.

Oklahoma State received a one-year postseason ban as a result of Evans’ actions, though the Cowboys have appealed and currently remain eligible for the 2021 NCAA tournament. Evans was fired by the school shortly after his arrest.

Evans was among four Division I assistant coached arrested in September 2017 as part of the federal probe, which also ensnared Arizona’s Emanuel “Book” Richardson, USC’s Tony Bland and Auburn’s Chuck Person. Richardson also got three months in prison, while Bland and Person received probation and community service but no jail time.

Several other schools have also been investigated by the NCAA as a result of the federal investigation. Louisville fired coach Rick Pitino and athletics director Tom Jurich in 2017, while Auburn and Arizona have both self-imposed postseason bans for 2021.

Alabama received three years of probation — but no postseason ban or scholarship reductions — due to the actions of former staffer Kobie Baker. LSU, Kansas and North Carolina State, among others remain in the investigative stages, with no formal NCAA penalties issued as of yet.

 

[ellitor 33,091]

On 2/14/2020 at 2:14 PM, AlaskanFAN said:

This is what I expect Auburn to receive.

@AlaskanFAN Per people close to AU the 2 situations aren't comparable. Supposedly our situation is worse & we still expect to lose 1-2 schollies next year & may lose 1 the year or 2 after that.

[tgrogan21 6,198]

1 hour ago, ellitor said:

@AlaskanFAN Per people close to AU the 2 situations aren't comparable. Supposedly our situation is worse & we still expect to lose 1-2 schollies next year & may lose 1 the year or 2 after that.

Haven't been keeping up with it that much, have we expected that for awhile? I'll take it as long as we don't get another postseason ban.

[keesler 5,924]

15 hours ago, ellitor said:

@AlaskanFAN Per people close to AU the 2 situations aren't comparable. Supposedly our situation is worse & we still expect to lose 1-2 schollies next year & may lose 1 the year or 2 after that.

It'll be tough to lose that many schollies, after already self-imposing severe recruiting restrictions and a post season ban.  I expect to get a few yrs probation on top add, but hopefully that will be all we get.   

[ellitor 33,091]

16 hours ago, tgrogan21 said:

Haven't been keeping up with it that much, have we expected that for awhile? I'll take it as long as we don't get another postseason ban.

@tgrogan21 For a good number of months yes.

[ellitor 33,091]

3 hours ago, keesler said:

It'll be tough to lose that many schollies

@keesler it depends on what we do with those spots. At least three are expecting to leave off the current roster. With a two Scholly reduction that will  still give us room to add Scoot Henderson or another player to the roster.