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Message: [QUOTE="Mike9904111, post: 3323664, member: 10239"] That's the thing though. You're assuming intent. Let's look at the facts. This was in 2017. Penny who never wanted to coach at all and only did so because of his friend Dez asking him too was the high school coach at East. He also ran an AAU team. Penny at this point had no clue, he would be the Memphis head coach, This was a while before it happened and Tubby Smith was still the Headcoach going into his 2nd season. Tubby Smith stated that he couldn't recruit locally because Penny was locking him out and the local kids were listening. Penny was pushing them to go elsewhere. Hence; Alex Lomax (Wichita State), Ryan Boyce (UAB), Tyler Harris (Baylor), James Wiseman (Kentucky), DJ Jefferies (Kentucky), and Dandridge (Alabama). It wasn't until Penny got the job that these players even considered Memphis. Two of them even had to get out of LOI's and those respective schools (Wichita State and UAB) allowed those players out due to the situation. If Penny thought he was going to be the head coach, why would he go out of his way to steer those players elsewhere and then go through all the hassle of putting this all together once he was hired? Also, Penny has helped hundreds of kids in the Memphis area as well as others outside of the area. This is the exact same reason UNC got off with the academic scandal. (They stated those classes were available to all students, not just athletes). Penny even let Alex Lomax move in with him and covered his day to day living expenses. So there is a history of Penny doing good deeds for multiple kids, not just Wiseman. Lomax's expensive for several years would have been in the 100+ thousand range. (Food, travel, bills, home, etc..) I think what we need to do is sit back and look at the entire situation here. Not for Penny and for Memphis but because of the way this played out. Regardless of what happened, there seems to be no intent and Wiseman was not given a dime. (That we know of) and neither was anyone else. This was Penny helping out a mother. Her daughter/Wiseman's sister lived in Memphis, attended the University of Memphis and she wanted to be closer to her. Am I or is anyone else too dense to realize that basketball didn't have anything to do with it? Of course not. Wiseman playing for Penny at the AAU/High School level probably had a lot to do with. She moved from a much better Nashville area to crappy Memphis. (Sorry if any Memphis fans read this, I have been there and outside of like 3 areas it wasn't great). Also, stated, Wiseman had zero knowledge of this until the paper work was submitted. The TSSAA (Tennessee's Athletic Association) originally declared Wiseman ineligible, after an appeal and a bit of work he was cleared to play. He played for East for two seasons. Once he committed to Memphis and enrolled, they sent up the paperwork that stated ALL of this information. The NCAA cleared him on May 29, 2019. Following that Memphis received a second verdict that stated, " We made an error, but will honor our original eligible verdict." Prior to this, I am assuming Wiseman and his lawyers had an appeal ready to go, which is why they moved so quickly. At this point, having been cleared twice. Wiseman was good to go. Then on Friday afternoon randomly the NCAA states "They changed their mind" after the season had started and he had already played a game. This obviously isn't going to fly with anyone. Outside of Gary Parrish and Bilas and a few other small-time media guys, no one is in support of the NCAA here that matters. If people want to be taken seriously on this matter, and people want to have a respectable opinion they need to be more educated or at least list all of the facts concerning the situation. As I stated I do not care if he ever plays another game for Memphis, but at a minimum, I think the NCAA needs to pay him. Period. Had they declared he was ineligible two things could have happened. 1. He is completed banned for college basketball for his lone season. In which case he probably goes overseas and a player of his caliber makes 500k-1 mil+. 2. His mom pays the $11,500 back and he is suspended a number of games. Had they declared him just ineligible at Memphis. He could have gone somewhere else. (Kentucky) 3. Since they declared him eligible twice, he was good to go at Memphis and neither of the above scenarios played out. Which ultimately, in the end, costs him. The NCAA messed up here. Whether anyone likes it or not, they messed up by declaring him eligible twice and since no new information has arisen their argument shouldn't hold up in any court anywhere regardless of where it's located. I think everything ends up getting settled. Wiseman's mom agrees to pay the $11,500 back. He gets suspended a few games and the NCAA pumps their chest, Memphis lets them, and by conference season all of this is just a memory. [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach