NCAA Upholds James Wiseman's 12-Game Suspension After Appeal

The NCAA announced it has upheld Memphis forward James Wiseman's 12-game suspension following his appeal hearing on Wednesday.

Wiseman received the ban on Nov. 20 after the NCAA discovered his mother accepted $11,500 from coach Penny Hardaway to help the family relocate from Nashville to Memphis in 2017. Wiseman was still in high school at the time. The NCAA also ordered him to donate $11,500 to a charity of his choice.

Hardaway was an assistant coach at East High School in Memphis at the time he made the payment to Wiseman's mother. The NCAA determined he was a University of Memphis booster because he donated $1 million to the school in 2008 to help establish its Penny Hardaway Hall of Fame.

Last week, Memphis announced it would appeal the suspension.

"We expect a more fair and equitable resolution, and we will exhaust all avenues on James' behalf," the school said in a statement.

Wiseman, the potential No. 1 pick in the 2020 NBA draft, was first ruled ineligible by the NCAA on Nov. 8, hours before Memphis' game against Illinois-Chicago. However, a Tennessee judge put the ruling on hold pending the outcome of a lawsuit filed by the forward against the NCAA. The forward later withdrew his lawsuit because it became "an impediment" to Memphis' efforts to reach a resolution with the NCAA on his eligibility status, his lawyers said.

Wiseman is eligible to return from his suspension on Jan. 12, 2020, when Memphis faces South Florida.