San Diego State's Malik Pope suspended amid NCAA college basketball scandal
The first shoe dropped following Yahoo Sports’ publication of documents detailing alleged financial improprieties involving college basketball prospects, and it landed at San Diego State University.
The school “provisionally suspended” senior forward Malik Pope from all team activities, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune. Aztecs coach Brian Dutcher said the team is uncertain whether Pope will be cleared to return for the Mountain West Conference tournament in Las Vegas next month.
“I don’t know at this time,” said Dutcher. “We’re going to do an internal investigation and where that leads, and how quickly it leads, will be based on what the athletic department discovers and how quickly they act on it.”
Yahoo’s Pat Forde and Pete Thamel detailed potential NCAA violations involving 20 Division I college basketball programs and more than 25 players resulting from a federal investigation into former NBA agent Andy Miller, associated Christian Dawkins and his agency, ASM Sports. Financial records seized in the investigation detail cash advances and benefits allegedly given to players and their families.
The documents revealed a $1,400 payment listed next to Pope’s name for his sophomore season at San Diego State, where he was garnering some interest as a potential NBA draft pick. It is unclear whether Pope received the payment. The university is currently conducting an internal investigation.
And you can be sure this only the first shoe to drop as a result of the scandal.
– – – – – – –
Ben Rohrbach is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at rohrbach_ben@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @brohrbach
