NCAA suspends deadlines in corruption cases

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• ESPN News Services https://www.espn.com/mens-college-b...5213/ncaa-suspends-deadlines-corruption-cases

RALEIGH, N.C. -- The NCAA is suspending its deadlines for schools to respond to charges levied by the governing body in the wake of college basketball's corruption scandal.

In a letter obtained by The Associated Press in a public-records request, infractions committee member Carol Cartwright wrote NCAA vice president of enforcement Jon Duncan last week to say the committee "will not act" on cases until Nov. 20. She also wrote that all "briefing deadlines" are on hold during that time, such as the 90 days schools or individuals have to respond to charges outlined in a Notice of Allegations (NOA).

NC State and Kansas both face discipline from the NCAA after being named in a federal criminal case involving improper payments to recruits and their families, which grew out of an FBI investigation into apparel company Adidas.

Sources have told ESPN that NCAA investigations are also underway at Arizona, Auburn, Creighton, Louisville, LSU and USC.

Kansas said it received a notice from the NCAA just this week, and NC State was charged in July. Hall of Fame Kansas coach Bill Self and former NC State coach Mark Gottfried both face possible top-level counts.

Cartwright's letter states the committee's "preference" is for no additional notices to be filed before Nov. 20, even while acknowledging "more cases will follow in the coming months."

NC State released a copy of the letter Tuesday evening among numerous case documents in response to a records request. The NCAA charged the school in July with four violations, including the potential top-level counts against Gottfried and former assistant coach Orlando Early tied to guard Dennis Smith Jr., who played one season for the Wolfpack before leaving for the NBA.

The school was due to file its response Oct. 7 as the first of the cases to come through the NCAA infractions process.

"We will follow the guidance and recommendation of the NCAA," NC State athletics spokesman Fred Demarest said when asked about Cartwright's letter.

NCAA spokeswoman Emily James declined to comment when reached by the AP on Tuesday night.

Cartwright's letter states it will "apply to all infractions cases connected" to the federal corruption investigation into the sport, which became public in fall 2017. The same deadline stipulations will apply to any related notices issued by the NCAA enforcement staff before Nov. 20, while she will determine "next steps" in pending cases after that date, according to the letter.

Cartwright, the former president of Bowling Green and Kent State universities, wrote the letter as part of an effort to "better manage" the complex cases following the federal criminal case that touches numerous schools including Arizona, Auburn and Louisville.

Most notably in NC State's case, the NCAA alleged that Early provided Smith and his associates with about $46,700 in improper inducements and benefits -- including $40,000 that a government witness testified he delivered to Early, intended for Smith's family, in 2015.

Gottfried was charged under the NCAA provision of head-coach responsibility for violations within his program.

The documents released by NC State also included a memo summarizing school officials' April interview with Smith, who's now with the New York Knicks.

"He said neither he nor his family ever received any cash from anyone at N.C. State," the memo states, adding that Smith said he "would not have been driving his grandmother's car" had he accepted money.

Additionally, the school said it had planned to release phone records for Gottfried, now the head coach at Cal State Northridge. But attorneys for Gottfried successfully obtained a temporary restraining order in a Wake County court Tuesday afternoon preventing the release of the records.

In a court filing, Gottfried's attorneys argued the records shouldn't be released without Gottfried being able to first review and redact records of personal calls unrelated to his job as NC State's former coach.

Elliot Abrams, a Raleigh-based attorney representing Gottfried, declined to comment Tuesday night. A court hearing in that matter is scheduled for Monday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

 

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https://www.espn.com/mens-college-b...9388/smith-jr-denies-being-paid-play-nc-state

Smith denies being paid to play for NC State

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  Mark SchlabachESPN Senior Writer

New York Knicks guard Dennis Smith Jr. told NC State officials that neither he nor his family was ever paid by Adidas or anyone else to ensure that he played for the Wolfpack for one season.

Smith, the ACC freshman of the year in 2016-17 and the No. 9 pick in the 2017 NBA draft, told NC State officials that he didn't know former Adidas consultant T.J. Gassnola, whom the NCAA has accused of providing $40,000 from Adidas to former Wolfpack assistant Orlando Early to give to Smith's family in October 2015.

Smith told NC State officials that he wasn't aware of the payment Gassnola allegedly made or any payments from Early or former Wolfpack coach Mark Gottfried, who is now coaching at Cal State Northridge.

NC State received a notice of allegations from the NCAA in July, in which the Wolfpack were charged with two Level I violations, the most serious, including a failure-to-monitor charge against Gottfried. The NCAA said Smith was ineligible while competing in 32 games for the Wolfpack during the 2016-17 season.

The allegations regarding Smith's recruitment were revealed in a federal indictment and criminal trial in New York last year. Gassnola testified during the October trial that he made two payments to people close to Smith.

Gassnola said the first payment, of an unspecified amount, came during Smith's junior year of high school after Andy Miller, who ran the ASM Sports agency, informed Gassnola that Smith wanted to leave the Adidas grassroots circuit.

The second payment came in the fall of 2015, after Early reached out to Gassnola to say there were issues surrounding Smith, who had committed earlier in the fall.

NC State deputy athletic director Chris Boyer, assistant AD for compliance Steve Shults and senior associate AD for compliance Carrie Doyle interviewed Smith on April 30, when he was working out at NC State's practice facility.

According to a memorandum summarizing the interview, which was obtained by ESPN from the university on Wednesday, Smith told the NC State officials "if he had accepted money he would not have been driving his grandmother's car."

The Associated Press and The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina, first obtained the memo.

Smith also said he "knew how to help himself financially." Doyle asked what he meant, and Smith told them that he received exclusive shoes and gear from Adidas, which sponsored his grassroots team, and that he sold the shoes and apparel to family and friends. Smith said he sold "Yeezy's for like $300." Smith initially said he didn't sell the gear until after he turned pro, but later admitted that he'd been doing it since high school.

NC State officials also asked Smith why he chose to play for the Wolfpack.

"Smith said that was easy," the memo said. "He said his grandmother was a long-time fan of NC State and wanted him to attend. Smith said that he only took one official visit, which was to NC State. He said that his final two schools were Duke and NC State and when Duke signed a point guard that clinched it for him that he would attend NC State."

Smith also denied that he ever wavered in his commitment to the Wolfpack.

ESPN reported in March that court filings in the federal criminal case linked Gottfried to direct payments to Smith's family.

According to a disclosure from federal prosecutors, Early's attorney said his client disclosed that Gottfried on two occasions gave him envelopes -- containing what Early believed was cash -- to deliver to Smith's trainer, Shawn Farmer, to ensure Smith signed with the Wolfpack in 2015.

Gottfried's attorney, Scott Tompsett, disputed the veracity of the disclosure.