NCAA cloud not a distraction for 2019-20 Wolfpack
Amid the optimism of a new season and the quest to get back to the NCAA tournament, the NC State basketball team's future is clouded by the spectre of potential sanctions hanging over the program because of the previous staff’s recruitment of one-and-done star Dennis Smith Jr. in 2015.
State received a Notice of Allegations from the NCAA in July accusing former coach Mark Gottfried and assistant Orlando Early of two major violations. The charges were first uncovered by the FBI in an investigation that led to the convictions of two Adidas operatives and a business manager.
Although the nature of the infractions are serious, the university has moved to distance itself from Gottfried and Early, who were fired after the 2016-17 season, and is hoping to avoid severe punishment.
In the meantime, coach Kevin Keatts said Thursday at the Wolfpack's preseason media day that he isn’t concerned about the situation becoming a distraction.
"I've left everything up to our compliance office and our general counsel," Keatts said Thursday at the Wolfpack's preseason media day event. "From where I look at it with our players, we don't concentrate on it. We don't talk about it. Our guys are locked in."
While the NCAA situation might not be an issue for this year's team, Keatts said that it's already beginning to rear its ugly head for future squads.
"From a recruiting standpoint, it's been a little bit of a challenge," the coach said. "As you know, anytime any of your competitors can use something that may happen or may not happen against you, then they do."
State was the first of the programs named in the FBI's investigation to receive an NCAA Notice of Allegations. The assumption is that its case was the least complicated of the bunch since it involved only one player.
Kansas has since received its more detailed notice while Arizona and Auburn are still awaiting theirs.
It's unlikely that any of the cases will be decided between now and the end of the upcoming season, especially now that the NCAA has pushed back the date for which schools are required to submit their official responses to the allegations.
According to Keatts, who was not yet at State when the alleged violations took place, it's not something he and his players talk about.
"We can't control what we can't control," he said. "We don't know what the situation is. We feel good as a program because there's a new staff here. That's all I can say."
