RE: Hardaway, Memphis face multiple Level I, II charges by the NCAA
It has been a month since the college basketball world was rocked when Memphis released the Notice of Allegations (NOA) it received as a part of the NCAA investigation into its program.
The charges were numerous and significant, with the dreaded “lack of institutional control” being one of the allegations the university and coach Penny Hardaway face.
As one of the six cases being handled by the Independent Accountability Resolution Process (IARP), the Tigers’ infractions case is one of the major storylines of the offseason — and potentially going into the coming season.
Only one of those cases has been resolved: North Carolina State was investigated for an impermissible payment of $40,000 to point guard Dennis Smith. The Wolfpack was placed on probation, had to pay a fine and dealt with recruiting restrictions.
The coaches involved were hit with harsher penalties. Former head coach Mark Gottfried received a one-year show-cause penalty. Former assistant Orlando Early received a six-year show-cause.
At Memphis, according to the NOA, Hardaway was involved in at least one Level I and two Level II infractions stemming from the NCAA’s investigation that ran from May 2019 to February 2021. These are the most severe violations and are considered a significant breach of conduct.
National analysts like ESPN’s Myron Medcalf and Fran Fraschilla certainly have taken notice.
Medcalf has been covering college basketball for more than two decades. Fraschilla spent 10 years as a head coach and is one of the lead college basketball broadcasters at ESPN.
The two sat down with The Daily Memphian to give their perspectives and weigh in on the case.
What stood out initially
Medcalf: The amount of charges. And I think just the fact that it looks like the NCAA is really zeroing in on Penny. We put all these cases in the same boat in the same pile. But they haven’t been that way.
I mean, there have been cases where it was more about the school, there have been cases where it was more about maybe an assistant coach who is no longer there. These allegations really involve Penny.
I think Memphis will fight. I just wonder how long and what that fight looks like, when you consider the allegations. But at the same time, a lot of people didn’t think (Kansas coach) Bill Self would be around to win a championship, and there he was.
Fraschilla: Total confusion. I’ve been around college basketball for 40 years. Been around and seen rule breaking many, many times. But in this case, because the NCAA has done a Keystone Kops investigation of all these schools, I don’t know what to think. I don’t know to feel sorry for the schools. I don’t know whether to feel sorry for the NCAA.
<strong>“I’m sure the charges seem serious, as is the case in many of the other investigations,” said Fran Fraschilla, who spent 10 years as a head coach and is one of the lead college basketball broadcasters at ESPN. “But I just don’t know who to believe.” </strong>(AP file)
“I’m sure the charges seem serious, as is the case in many of the other investigations,” said Fran Fraschilla, who spent 10 years as a head coach and is one of the lead college basketball broadcasters at ESPN. “But I just don’t know who to believe.” (AP file)
So I’m sure the charges seem serious, as is the case in many of the other investigations. But I just don’t know who to believe. And I didn’t say that for the first 35 years I was involved in college basketball.
For the most part, I was big on punishing rule breakers. But the NCAA and the recent FBI investigation into the NCAA has given me no reason to have any confidence that the enforcement branch of the NCAA either knows what they’re doing, or they’re just so hamstrung that they can’t do their job.
Why ‘lack of institutional control’ is such a serious charge
Medcalf: That’s the NCAA’s way of saying that you are responsible for everything that happens within your program, that even if you don’t know what’s going on, you have to know. They’re coming in and saying, you weren’t the manager you could have been, you weren’t the leader that you could have been.
And these things happen not only on your watch, but they happen because of the culture you created. Now, that may not be fair. But that’s what they’re saying.
Fraschilla: It’s possible suspensions. It’s possible removal from any NCAA Tournament opportunities the next couple years. In some cases, firings. It’s a serious charge. But it’s been made less serious because of the lack of confidence that we all have in the NCAA, in this case, and in other similar cases.
Is there preferential treatment for blue bloods?
Memphis isn’t the only school in the crosshairs of the IARP and NCAA. Big-time programs like Kansas, Arizona and Louisville, as well as LSU, are also having their cases resolved through the IARP.
There are prevailing questions from Memphis fans about how the NCAA will treat the bigger brands. Will they get off with a slap on the wrist while Memphis is crushed?
Fraschilla: (Legendary UNLV coach) Jerry Tarkanian said something to the effect that because UCLA has broken some rules, Cleveland State is going to get two more years of probation.
I would be more concerned if I were Memphis than if I were one of the blue bloods under investigation, I would say that. I think they can make an easier example of Memphis than say, the defending national champions currently, or other programs at a higher profile.
I would say the NCAA has, at least on the surface, shown to be inconsistent in its enforcement. Now, they would probably make the argument that hey, every case is different. And all the evidence in these cases are different. But from the outside looking in, and especially from someone who’s been a part of college basketball for 40 years, I would say that each case is handled in a way that it makes it seem like there’s no consistency.
Medcalf: Will they treat Memphis differently than they’ll treat Kansas? I mean, I think they’re just different cases. I think that’s what fans miss. Kansas is being involved in something that involves Adidas.
Whereas this case feels more like the individual things we’ve seen like Rick Pitino at Louisville. He got hit with a lack of institutional control for things that happened under his watch. That to me is what this comes down to. They decided Penny broke the rules with James Wiseman and that there are other violations that have happened since then. That’s a lot of Level I charges, that’s a big deal. I think it’s harder to compare that to Kansas.
Recruiting impact?
Recruiting is the lifeblood of any successful program, and it seemed Memphis’ recruiting cachet would take a hit with an investigation. Especially if it results in a show-cause penalty or a postseason ban.
However, it didn’t stop the Tigers from landing former SMU guard Kendric Davis. Rated by at least one outlet as the No. 1 transfer on the market, you could say Davis is another five-star caliber commitment for Hardaway.
The Tigers also signed former Georgia Southern guard Elijah McCadden.
Memphis mailbag: Recruiting, chances of Quinones returning?
Medcalf: I think there will certainly be some recruits who won’t want to be a part of it. And I understand why. I think the fear is going to be Oklahoma State and what happened to them (in a non-IARP case). Just before the season ends they get hit with this gut punch that they’re not gonna play in the postseason.
At the same time being a basketball player in a place like Memphis, under Penny, the fans, the tradition and all those things, there’s still going to be a lot of players that want to be a part of that despite the cloud.
Concern level going forward?
It’s hard for Medcalf, Fraschilla, or anyone else for that matter, to really know what potential penalties could come, especially with there being so much redacted information in the NOA documents that were released. The unknown and lack of consistency from the NCAA are the most concerning things to consider.
Fraschilla: Oklahoma State, they committed jaywalking, compared to some of the other allegations charged versus other schools. And they had a group of kids that had nothing to do with something that took place in 2017. And they got a postseason ban (last) year.
Given what happened to Oklahoma State, and what seemed to be on the surface a lack of severity of the allegations, anybody who’s coming into the crosshairs of the NCAA right now should be concerned simply because the punishment just seems to be arbitrary at times or inconsistent at times.
Nine pressing questions in the wake of Memphis releasing its Notice of Allegations
Medcalf: I mean, typically in a case like this, coaches are fired, removed, sometimes head coaches are fired. So there can be a show-cause attached to a coach. But I mean, I think we thought a lot about what happened to (current Auburn coach) Bruce Pearl and he was suspended for a few games and kind of kept moving right along, but this feels like this is a big case, because of Penny’s direct involvement.
We don’t know what the scale is with them. And that’s kind of the fear of the unknown if you’re Memphis. But it feels like this could be one of those cases that rocks Memphis to its core and the program is dealing with the aftermath for years to come.
It could also ultimately be a slap on the wrist, and Memphis, like a lot of schools, says whatever you think happened, we’re not moving our coach, we’re not changing everything.
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Hardaway, Memphis face multiple Level I, II charges by the NCAA
