New details surface about recruit Skal Labissiere in report
The NCAA plans to investigate the recruitment of Skal Labissiere, one of the top basketball prospects in the country, according to a report from Gary Parrish of CBSSports.com.
In the report, Parrish quotes an AAU coach who says Labissiere's legal guardian, Gerald Hamilton, asked him, "How can I make money off of a basketball player?"
Late last month, Labissiereannounced that he was attending Reach Your Dream Preparatory Academy, which didn't exist when he made the announcement. Reach Your Dream is also the name of a non-profit organization reportedly run by Hamilton that helped bring Labissiere, a native of Haiti, to the United States.
Labissiere has attended multiple high schools and played for several basketball programs. He was ruled ineligible by the Tennessee School Secondary Athletic Association after transferring from Evangelical Christian School to Lausanne Collegiate School. Both schools are located in Memphis.
Multiple coaches reportedly told Parrish that Hamilton indicated recruiting Labissiere would "mostly be a waste of time" unless they could help fund his organization, the legitimacy of which is under question.
From the report:
"Labissiere told CBSSports.com in July that skipping college and playing a year overseas before entering the 2016 NBA draft is a viable option... To that point, sources told CBSSports.com Hamilton has already tried to gauge what kind of market might exist for Labissiere by talking to people who work for at least three different sports agencies."
The early signing period for basketball recruits begins on Wednesday and runs through Nov. 19. Labissiere, the No. 4 prospect in the class of 2015, according to rankings on the recruiting website Rivals.com, is expected to choose from a group of schools that includes Memphis and Kentucky.
Labissiere is set to announce his decision Thursday on ESPNU.
- Chris Johnson
