Report: Memphis, NCAA Moving Toward Resolution Regarding James Wiseman’s Status

Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

Memphis has been in contact with the NCAA and is in the progress of resolving the situation surrounding the team’s star forward James Wiseman, according to CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish.

Parrish notes that while “no decision is imminent at this time,” the various parties involved are working together to reach an agreement rather than undertake a legal battle. The number of games Wiseman might have to sit out is the biggest issue to resolve, according to Parrish.

Last Friday evening, Wiseman, the top-ranked prospect in the 2019 class and potential No. 1 pick in the 2020 NBA draft, played in the Tigers’ 92–46 win over Illinois-Chicago on Friday night after a local court granted him a hold on the NCAA’s ruling that would have ruled him ineligible.

Although the NCAA has not issued a final ruling on Wiseman, it appears to have determined that Memphis head coach Penny Hardaway paid for Wiseman and his family to move from Nashville to Memphis in 2017. Hardaway, who was not Memphis’s coach at that time but was nonetheless considered a booster of the Tigers' basketball program, allegedly paid $11,500 for those expenses.

Following the team’s victory last Friday, Hardaway addressed the news surrounding his top recruit, saying on ESPNU that the decision to play Wiseman Friday was “up to the school.”

“We’re just going to go about it legally moving forward,” he added. “James has a right to do what he did, and we’re moving forward from it.”

When asked about the NCAA’s statement—which said the “university chose to play [Wiseman] and ultimately is responsible for ensuring its student-athletes are eligible to play”—Hardaway responded, “no comment.”

Wiseman played again Tuesday night, finishing with 14 points and 12 rebounds in Memphis’s loss to No. 12 Oregon. The Tigers’ next game is Saturday afternoon against Alcorn State. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. ET.