NCAA Reaches Decision on Wiseman; Won't Play vs. Wolfpack

The Memphis star must sit out 12 games and won't be available when the Tigers play NC State in Brooklyn next Thursday

Soobum Im/USAToday sports

The NCAA reached a final decision on the status of Memphis star freshman James Wiseman on Wednesday.

The potential No. 1 pick in next summer's NBA draft, who was ruled ineligible earlier this month for accepting an impermissible recruitment inducements, has been suspended for 12 games and ordered to pay $11,500 to the charity of his choice.

The suspension means that the 7-foot-1 center will not be avilable to play against NC State next Thursday when the Wolfpack and Tigers meet at Barclay's Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Wiseman was originally ruled ineligible on Nov. 8, but continued to play after filing suit against the NCAA and receiving a temporary restraining order from a Memphis judge. He played in two more games before dropping the suit and withdrawing from competition while awaiting a ruling on his status.

Memphis issued a statement shortly after the NCAA decision was announced, saying that it planned to appeal in an effort to gain a "more fair and equitable resolution.

The NCAA's ruling is based on its findings that Wiseman's mother had accepted $11,500 in moving expenses from Memphis coach Penny Hardaway, prior to Hardaway being hired to his current position. Because Hardaway had donated $1 million to help build the university's athletic hall of game, Hardaway was classified by the NCAA as a booster.

"The benefit was impermissible because of Hardaway's status as a Memphis booster," the NCAA said in a statement. "Boosters cannot provide financial assistance to prospective student-athletes, their family members or friends unless that assistance is generally available to other members of the student body and is not given based on athletics ability."