Starters Suspended for Georgia Tech and Auburn Basketball Due to Eligibility Questions
[AJC Sports] - According to the school’s findings, Jackson received benefits totaling less than $525. Okogie received benefits totaling less than $750. They received the benefits from the same individual, who was determined to be neither a Tech employee nor a booster.
Coach Josh Pastner first became aware of the violations in early October and immediately reported them to the athletic department’s compliance office. Less than a week later, the school’s compliance office determined that violations had occurred, declared them ineligible and contacted the NCAA.
So two major stories are starting to come out just a week before games start in college basketball. It started this morning when Auburn announced they were suspending Austin Wiley and Danjel Purifoy due to the FBI investigation. If you remember, Auburn assistant coach Chuck Person was one of the four coaches arrested in connection to the FBI documents that came out about eight weeks ago or so.
It’s not a surprise to see a school like Auburn do something like this. They aren’t going to compete for a national title this year, although Wiley and Purifoy are two of the three best players on the team and a team that some thought could be a NCAA Tournament team.
Wiley was supposed to have a breakout year this year after enrolling early at Auburn last year and playing in the U-19s this year. The 6’11” post player is thought of as a potential first round pick who averaged 8.8 points and 4.7 rebounds last year after he started playing in January. Purifoy is coming off a year where he scored 11 per game.
For Georgia Tech it’s way different. This is a self-imposed penalty as you can see in the report above. They are suspended for the regular season while they await the NCAA ruling on the case. The two player, who are starters and Okogie might be their best player (him or Ben Lammers), are suspended over a combined $1300, which is just ridiculous. It’s why there needs to be a change of some sort when it comes to the NCAA and rules in terms of stipends, etc.
The key thing here with Georgia Tech is the person who supplied the money is not associated to the school as a coach, employee or booster. That may help them in the long run, but with the NCAA who knows?
Again, this comes just a week before the season starts, which is something that unfortunately will be talked about all year long. Don’r be surprised to see a school like Oklahoma State do something like Auburn did as they are also linked to the FBI. However, I said this numerous times. If you’re Arizona, USC or Miami, all schools named in the FBI documents. You play this season and wait for the NCAA to figure shit out. Go win a title, because taking away titles/wins is just a bullshit penalty anyways. Everyone remembers what happened, so go get the title.
Either way, this is something to keep an eye on. Right now college basketball is without Josh Okogie and Austin Wiley – two top-100ish players in the country. These two bubble teams are also now without two starters a piece. It’s going to be a weird year.