Wiseman ruled ineligible prompting Memphis vs NCAA

Overtime Heroics Editorial

1297 days ago

The #1 recruit in the nation, James Wiseman, was ruled ineligible by the NCAA less than two hours ago. The NCAA claims that coach Penny Hardaway provided financial help to the Wiseman family during their move from Nashville to Memphis. However, if you were to turn your TV to ESPNU right now, you’ll see that Wiseman is currently on the court. Go ahead and look. I’ll wait.

Back? Perfect. So he’s playing as you can see. Thanks to an emergency restraining order, he was ruled eligible. For now. Remember, the NCAA is saying Hardaway provided financial assistance to the Wiseman family during their move from Nashville to Memphis. This, according to the NCAA, makes Wiseman ineligible. Even if this is the case, it’s hard to fully understand what the motive is here for the NCAA here. Even if Coach Hardaway provided financial support, neither Hardaway nor Wiseman was associated with the NCAA during this time. The NCAA also claims that since Penny provided the university with a donation in 2008, that makes him an official donor.

Again, this comes across as a strange reach. Why would you try to tie in two very different events that are ten years apart? Because he provided financial assistance to a player TWO years ago, you rule him ineligible? This comes across as a personal vendetta and does not hold much merit in much of the college basketball world.

Image courtesy of Local 24/abc24.