Memphis Involved In Possible NCAA Recruiting Violation

The 2008 NCAA runner up Memphis Tigers may have committed an NCAA recruiting violation, the university reported on Thursday. The school has reported that a booster, who is also a president of a FedEx in Memphis, contacted another FedEx employee, who is the mother of a top high school player that Memphis is recruiting. The recruit, Abdul Gaddy, a five star from Tacoma, Washington, said that the booster told his mother, "I heard about your son, how good he is." The Athletic Director at Memphis R.C. Johnson said that he was not aware of the phone call until he was contacted today to comment about the incident. The phone call will probably be considered a secondary violation and Memphis will not be punished.

As for Gaddy, he is easily a top fifteen player in the class of 2009, and is a top three point guard. About two months ago Gaddy took back his solid verbal commitment to Arizona, but the U of A is still considered the favorite for Gaddy's college destination.

Illinois Dismisses Junior Guard Jamar Smith

Only two days after a prosecutor asked a judge to revoke Jamar Smith's probation for supposedly drinking alcohol, the Illinois junior shooting guard was dismissed from the team. Bruce Weber made the decision after Smith violated the terms of the probation and felt that Smith needed to focus on the conflict at hand, rather than basketball. Smith is currently serving two years of probation after driving under the influence in 2007 and injuring former Illini teammate Brian Carlwell. Smith's hearing will be on September 17, and the judge will decide whether Smith should have his probation revoked. Under the probation, Smith was not allowed to drink, even though he is 21. Smith sat out all of last season and was supposed to return as a starter for the 2008-09 season. He averaged 8.o PPG in 53 games for Illinois over two seasons.

Ex-Indiana Guard Jordan Crawford Transfers to Xavier

Made official today by Xavier, freshman Indiana guard Jordan Crawford will transfer to the Musketeers. Crawford played in 30 of 33 games for the Hoosiers last season, starting in eight and averaging 9.7 PPG, 3.4 RPG and 2.3 APG. Crawford helped Indiana finish third in the Big Ten with a record of 25-8 and an appearance to the NCAA Tournament. As for Xavier, they finished ranked eighth in the nation with a record of 30-7, advancing to the elite eight. Tom Crean should be ready for a tough first season at Indiana, who will be returning only two players from last season. Kyle Taber, who averaged 1.3 PPG and 2.5 RPG and walk-on guard Brett Finkelmeier, who played in only 11 minutes and had two points all season.

Crawford will be a significant addition to Xavier, the team that dominates the A-10 conference almost every year. I expect Crawford to see an increase in playing time and should start in a couple of seasons. With a couple of four star recruits coming in next season, Xavier should win the A-10 and win a game or two in the tournament.

UNC's Ty Lawson Charged With Drunk Driving

North Carolina point guard Ty Lawson was charged with driving after drinking alcohol. Lawson was stopped by the police in downtown Chapel Hill in the morning because of loud music and after being checked, the car smelled of alcohol. Charges were given to Lawson following a sobriety test. Lawson was also charged with driving a suspended or revoked license and for violating a Chapel Hill noise law. Lawson as a sophomore averaged 12.7 PPG, 5.2 APG, 2.7 RPG and 1.6 SPG and has entered the 2008 NBA Draft.

Kelvin Sampson May Be Clean Of One Recruiting Violation

A high school coach has provided phone records that prove Kelvin Sampson is clean of one of ten three-way phone calls, that were all determined violations by the NCAA. Sampson was forced to resign as Indiana head coach in February due to being charged with over 100 phone call violations, including three-way calls. Because of Sampson's recruiting violations at Oklahoma State, he was prohibited to be involved in three-way calls if they started with a member of his coaching staff. The original violation was that a former Indiana assistant coach Rob Senderhoff was visiting a recruit and phoned Sampson from the recruit's high school. Than Senderhoff gave the phone to the recruit so that he was talking directly to Sampson, which is a violation. However, the high school coach has provided phone records that he called Sampson, not Senderhoff, which is clean. The NCAA Committee on Infractions is scheduled to hold a hearing with Sampson next Friday.

South Carolina's Devan Downey Has Assault Charges Dropped

South Carolina's leading scorer Devan Downey had his assault charges dropped today at the court hearing. A student at the University of South Carolina filled a simple assault warrant against Downey in May and asked at the hearing that the charge be dropped. Downey started all 32 games for the Gamecocks in 2007-08 averaging 18.4 PPG, 5.4 APG, 3.2 RPG and 3.2 SPG as a sophomore.

Arizona's Nic Wise Will Return For Junior Year

It took Nic Wise two months to ponder where he was headed for next season and Wise has decided that he will stay at Arizona. Wise considered leaving the Wildcats for Houston, Rice or Texas for his last two seasons of eligibility. As a sophomore, Wise averaged 9.2 PPG, 4.4 APG and 2.3 RPG. Wise is expected to be a captain for Arizona next season and wanted to make sure that Lute Olson would be the Wildcats head coach all season long before returning.