A day after Memphis’ prize 7-1 freshman center James Wiseman officially dropped his lawsuit against the NCAA, his coach Penny Hardaway said the university and the basketball program are stuck in limbo.
Memphis (2-1) declared Winston ineligible Thursday, announcing the school’s young star will not play until the NCAA’s reinstatement staff hands down his decision on its action after Winston’s mother was given $11,500 for moving expenses by Hardaway in 2018 to move from Nashville to Memphis so he could play for Hardaway, who was then coaching Memphis East High School’s Tennessee prep power. Hardaway, a former Memphis All American and NBA All Star guard, was declared a booster in perpetuity after he donated $1 million to the university in 2008 to help build the Penny Hardaway Hall of Fame on campus.
“We haven’t heard a thing,” Hardaway said in a Friday press conference. “That’s the biggest problem. We’re still waiting to hear from the NCAA on Isaiah Stokes (a transfer from Florida), too.”
Hardaway said he felt sympathy for Wiseman, the likely No. 1 pick in the 2020 NBA draft who has the potential to lift the Tigers into the Top 10 stratosphere. “He’ s just really confused,” Hardaway said.. “Like, really confused. Like I said, He’s an 18-year old kid. He’s really, like hurt that they are trying to take games away from him. All he wants to do is play basketball. He tells the players and has told me plenty of times through this entire process that he’s happy for his brothers and his family and ‘We’ll get past this.’ James is a very brilliant kid. He understands what going on, but it still hurts.”
Hardaway is hoping for a swift resolution., Memphis officials are reportedly hoping Wiseman will miss no more than nine games. Hardaway is hoping for three, maybe six games.
