Kentucky's Morris ruled ineligible for entire season
Kentucky's Final Four chances were dealt a serious blow late Thursday when the NCAA suspended sophomore center Randolph Morris for the entire 2005-06 season.
The ruling, released by the NCAA, came after an appeal was sent to the Student-Athlete Reinstatement Staff, located in Indianapolis.
Morris will also lose a season of eligibility and must repay $7,000 in expenses. He would have two seasons of eligibility remaining, beginning in 2006-07.
Morris declared for the 2005 NBA draft, stayed in the draft, but wasn't drafted. SFX put out a press release on Morris' behalf saying he would stay in the NBA draft.
SFX also paid for a workout in front of NBA scouts in Chicago at the Lakeshore Athletic Club. SFX maintained that it didn't sign Morris to a contract, which does jive with the NCAA's ruling. But SFX was acting as the contact for NBA teams to set up workouts. At least one team, Houston, told ESPN.com that it did pay for Morris' expenses in advance. A year ago, Mississippi State's Lawrence Roberts was suspended for one game for not paying in advance for a workout at Portland.
High school seniors are allowed to have their workouts paid for by NBA teams but the ruling is different for college underclassmen.
NBA spokesperson Tim Frank told ESPN.com that Morris is considered a free agent and can sign with any team because he already went through the NBA draft. Players cannot go through the draft twice.
The NCAA ruled last month that Morris' relationship with the agency during his NBA draft experience last spring was a violation, forcing Kentucky to submit an appeal to reinstate the sophomore. It was then up to the NCAA's reinstatement committee to determine if Morris should be ineligible as a college athlete, or subject to a game penalty.
Morris returned to Kentucky for the fall semester and has been practicing, but not playing with the team. He can still practice this season.
Kentucky spokeswoman Mandy Polley said the school plans an immediate appeal.
"We're disappointed with the ruling because we don't feel that the punishment is consistent with past precedent. The NCAA has tried to become more student-athlete friendly but this decision is a significant step away from that direction. We will appeal this to the student-athlete reinstatement committee," said Scott Stricklin, Kentucky's assistant athletic director in charge of media relations.
Kentucky coach Tubby Smith was informed of the decision at 4 p.m. Thursday and then told Morris. Smith was expected to comment on the ruling at a previously scheduled news conference at 5 p.m. in advance of the Kentucky-Indiana game in Indianapolis Saturday.
When told of the news, Morris told Smith that at least he could still play college basketball again, according to Stricklin.
Kentucky (6-2) has been struggling to score inside without the 6-11 Morris (8.8 ppg, 4.2 rpg as a freshman). The Wildcats have three 7-footers in 7-3 junior Shagari Alleyne (3.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg), 7-foot junior Lukasz Obrzut (2.6 ppg, 1.6 rpg) and 7-2 freshman Jared Carter (1.3 ppg, 1.4 rpg) but none have been consistent this season. The Wildcats have tried more undersized post players in 6-8 JC transfer Rekalin Sims (8.8 ppg, 5.1 rpg) in place of Morris.
The NCAA statement on the ruling said:
"The agency marketed the student-athlete's skills to NBA teams and served as the teams' point of contact for Morris. The agency scheduled, arranged and confirmed workouts with NBA teams and sought feedback from teams on the student-athlete's draft status. The Division I Legislative Review and Interpretation Committee confirmed that these activities represented an implicit agreement with the agency.
"The student-athlete also received more than $7,000 from nine NBA teams for expenses related to tryouts. NCAA legislation clearly states that summer tryouts are permitted, but that student-athletes may not receive expenses or other payment from NBA teams.
"The reinstatement staff did not declare the student-athlete permanently ineligible because there was no explicit written or oral agreement with an agent. However, based on the nature of the Morris family's relationship with the agency and the agency's involvement throughout the draft process, the reinstatement staff determined a significant reinstatement penalty was warranted.
"When deciding to test the professional waters, a student-athlete should work closely with his or her institution to ensure compliance with NCAA rules, steps which Morris did not take.
"The reinstatement staff's decision may be appealed to the Division I Student-Athlete Reinstatement Committee, which has five members from Division I conferences and institutions."
By MURRAY EVANS, Associated Press Writer
December 15, 2005
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) -- Kentucky center Randolph Morris' season-long suspension for his attempt to enter the NBA draft was reduced to 14 games Thursday by the NCAA.
The NCAA cited new information for softening its punishment after Morris tried to go into the draft. Additional information provided by the school showed that Morris clearly intended to retain his collegiate eligibility while declaring for the draft, the NCAA said in a statement.
The new information "provides additional understanding of Morris' original intent to enter the NBA draft as well as his mind-set during that process," the NCAA said.
Morris, a 6-foot-10 sophomore, also must repay expenses related to the tryouts -- which amounted to more than $7,000 from nine NBA teams, the NCAA said.
"In exploring my NBA options, I made poor choices," Morris said. "Those choices included accepting bad advice while putting distance between me and my coaches and teammates at UK. I take full responsibility for those actions.
"It wasn't obvious to me as I was going through this process, but looking back, I now see how my actions were disrespectful to coach (Tubby) Smith and the University of Kentucky. Playing basketball at the University of Kentucky is a privilege that few athletes get to enjoy. I intend to make the most of this opportunity to be a part of the greatest basketball program in America."
Kentucky provided the NCAA the original copy of a fax sent by Morris to Smith, notifying the coach of his plans to enter the draft. In the one-paragraph fax -- released by the university on Thursday -- Morris told Smith that "my intent is not to obtain an agent so as to maintain my collegiate eligibility."
Smith said he had misplaced the fax and only found it last week.
Morris will miss all of Kentucky's nonconference schedule, including a showdown with No. 4 Louisville on Saturday, but will be available for the Southeastern Conference opener against Vanderbilt on Jan. 10.
He can continue to practice with the Wildcats in the interim and will have two years of eligibility remaining after this season.
"Based on all the information we had and all the extenuating circumstances, both Randolph and we have been very patient waiting for this opportunity," Smith said. "I'm very happy for Randolph, his family and our basketball program."
The Wildcats (6-3) have struggled with their inside game without Morris. Smith has rotated a trio of 7-footers -- Shagari Alleyne, Lukasz Obrzut and Jared Carter -- and used a smaller starting lineup without a true center in several games. That strategy worked against the lesser teams but not so well in losses to Iowa, North Carolina and Indiana -- the last a 26-point blowout.
Morris started 33 of 34 games last season, averaging 8.8 points and 4.2 rebounds per game as Kentucky finished 28-6.
"Kentucky provided the NCAA the original copy of a fax sent by Morris to Smith, notifying the coach of his plans to enter the draft. In the one-paragraph fax -- released by the university on Thursday -- Morris told Smith that "my intent is not to obtain an agent so as to maintain my collegiate eligibility."
Smith said he had misplaced the fax and only found it last week. "
SBR Top-Rated Sportsbooks
Kentucky's Morris ruled ineligible for entire season
Reply With Quote