Davis, Ibeh, Taylor among players named in probe documents
Alleged payments from agents discovered during FBI’s ongoing investigation
AUSTIN — The names are right there on the March 2016 expense report submitted by former ASM Sports associate Christian Dawkins.
Dinner with former Texas center Prince Ibeh at Lava Café on March 1. A meeting with former Texas guard Isaiah Taylor at PF Changs on March 2. A $500 advance paid out to current Texas guard Eric Davis sometime between March 2 and 25, part of $1,500 in loans he received from the agency. All this according to documents obtained by Yahoo Sports and dropped like a nuclear warhead Friday morning.
The expense reports and balance sheets were obtained from ASM Sports by the FBI as part of its ongoing probe into the seedy underworld of college basketball. Founded by now-disgraced NBA agent Andy Miller, who was forced to surrender his NBA Players Association agent certification, ASM at one time represented the likes of Kristaps Porzingis, Kyle Lowry and former UT star Myles Turner.
Documents show Dawkins filed expense reports detailing loans and advances paid out to many current and former players, including North Carolina State’s Dennis Smith Jr. ($43,500), Kentucky’s Bam Adebayo ($12,000) and Washington’s Markelle Fultz ($10,000), the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft. Dawkins last year was charged by the U.S. Attorney’s Office with three counts of wire fraud and one count of money-laundering conspir-
acy.
At least 20 Division I programs and upwards of 25 players are now facing serious rules violations, placing into question the eligibility of those named as the NCAA tournament approaches. Players from Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky, Michigan State, USC and Alabama were identified as having received payments from ASM.
San Diego State wasted no time in suspending star senior Malik Pope from all team activities after he allegedly received a $1,400 loan from ASM.
The NCAA considers loans or advances granted to studentathletes from agencies an impermissible benefit and a violation of “amateurism” rules.
Davis out pending review
Texas vice president and athletics director Chris Del Conte said Davis would not play pending a review of the situation.
“We have initiated an internal review of the recent report that included allegations involving current and former University of Texas men’s basketball players. We are in the process of gathering facts, but I did meet with Eric Davis Jr. this afternoon and let him know we are withholding him from competition for precautionary reasons until further notice, pending the review of this situation,” Del Conte said in a statement.
Texas coach Shaka Smart also released a statement.
“I became aware of the report late last evening. I had no previous knowledge of the alleged extra benefits described in the report. I am working with our athletic department staff and am prepared to cooperate fully with the investigation into this matter,” Smart said.
Ibeh and Taylor were nearing the end of their respective college careers at the time they individually met with Dawkins. Though it appears the payments were made to steer them toward signing with ASM out of college, neither did.
Davis is now in his third season with UT. All three were recruited by Rick Barnes, who was ousted in 2015 and currently coaches Tennessee.
“What I was told today by one of my (graduate assistants) was that happened — the money that I guess those guys received — happened after I left,” Barnes told local media. “That’s all I know.”
Yahoo said Friday that the documents obtained in discovery during the investigation link current players including Michigan State’s Miles Bridges, Duke’s Wendell Carter and Alabama’s Collin Sexton to potential benefits that would be violations of NCAA rules.
Duke officials said Friday they didn’t believe their players did anything wrong, and Alabama coach Avery Johnson said Sexton will play Saturday against Arkansas.
A pair of players drafted by the Spurs were also implicated. According to documents, 2017 second-round pick Jaron Blossomgame received a $1,100 advance while still playing for Clemson. Dejounte Murray, selected 29th overall out of Washington in the 2016 draft, was not directly named in the Yahoo article, but his name is handwritten onto Dawkins’ March 2016 expense report, tied to what appears to be a $500 payment.
NCAA’s Emmert responds
In a statement released Friday morning, NCAA president Mark Emmert said the allegations, “if true, point to systematic failures that must be fixed and fixed now if we want college sports in America.”
Documents also said Brooklyn Nets guard Isaiah Whitehead received $26,136 while a freshman at Seton Hall, and Tim Quarterman, now playing for the Agua Caliente Clippers of the NBA G League, received at least $16,000 while a junior at LSU.
Current Kentucky player Kevin Knox and Carter are listed among players or families meeting or having meals with Dawkins.
The story said Cynthia Bridges, mother of the Michigan State star, received $400 in a cash advance.
“While we will cooperate with any and all investigations,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said, “we have no reason to believe that I, any member of our staff or student-athlete did anything in violation of NCAA rules.”
Lawyers for two of the 10 defendants arrested in the federal cases said it was inappropriate for Yahoo to have the documents.
Dawkins attorney Steven Haney Sr. said the report doesn’t mean Dawkins broke the law.
“In the most simple of legal terms; prove it,” Haney said in an email.