James Wiseman, we hardly knew ye.
And yet, the now-departed Memphis big man may leave a mark – on his school, albeit perhaps unwittingly.
The talented big man officially withdrew from Memphis on Thursday and will prepare for the NBA Draft outside the confines of the Memphis program. Wiseman was serving a 12-game suspension after the NCAA learned that head coach Penny Hardaway gave his family moving expenses to move to Memphis while in high school. He was set to return in less than three weeks, but decided it was better to move on.
It is a puzzling move considering the timing. No one would have been surprised if he did this as soon as the suspension came out, or even when the NCAA said he was likely ineligible, but having served some of the suspension and watched his school take a big risk for him, it’s a little surprising. And no one would have been surprised if he didn’t even enroll at the school in the first place, instead opting to go overseas or to the NBA G League.
How does this affect Memphis this season? If we assume the Tigers are eligible for the NCAA Tournament, they should still be in the field. They have won every game without him and have loads of talent, though not having him reduces their potential. The biggest question will be injuries, as they are without Lester Quinones right now due to a broken hand, and another one could always come up. That’s about all that could stop them from putting forth a good NCAA Tournament resume. It likely also gets interesting in the American Athletic Conference, although the Tigers were not perceived as prohibitive favorites there to begin with.
In the bigger picture, the NCAA is almost certainly not done with Memphis. Wiseman was played while ineligible and Hardaway, a booster to the school, admitted to the payment to the family. It may take some time, but it would be a real surprise if the NCAA doesn’t come forth later on with a notice of allegations. That’s a lot to endure for someone who ultimately played just three games for you.
Wiseman is certainly a promising enough talent, but his brief college career gives us little to go on in projecting how good he might be. He averaged under 19.7 points, 10.7 rebounds and three blocked shots per game in three games, only one against significant competition. In that game, against Oregon in Portland, he played 22 minutes in part because of early foul trouble and had 14 points and 12 rebounds, but you also never felt like he was a game-changing factor in the Ducks’ win. He will almost certainly be one of the first three players selected in June nonetheless. Three games is too small a sample size whether he looked like an all-time great or just ordinary.
There will be a lot of chatter about compensation, with some surely saying that paying him would have changed this. As is all too often the case, a facile one-liner like that misses so much. He was deemed ineligible for something that happened before he ever got to school – he didn’t accept money from an agent or booster once the season got going. This is a different situation, and the issue of player compensation aside from their scholarships is a little more complicated.
All the same, James Wiseman is now part of college basketball’s past. We wish him well in the future while we speculate on what happens from here on out for Memphis both on the court and off the court.
Side Dishes
We learned on Thursday that we won’t see Joshua Langford take the court this season, as the Michigan State guard underwent surgery on his left foot. Langford only played 13 games last season, and while the thought was that he would return this season, he had a setback in his recovery, which put that in doubt. The Spartans adjusted to life without him a year ago and have never played with him this year, so in terms of on the court, the adjustment likely will be minimal, but this does lower their ceiling a bit.
Maryland went to Newark to take on a Seton Hall team that was in a bind. The Pirates really needed a quality non-conference win, but were without their top two scorers. Myles Powell was out as he is in the concussion protocol, and it’s easy to forget that the Pirates don’t have Sandro Mamukelashvili due to injury. The Pirates shut down the Terrapins by holding them under 27 percent from the field and forcing 17 turnovers, then held off a late rally for a 52-48 win. The Pirates didn’t exactly shoot the lights out (37.3 percent), but it was enough to overcome being out-rebounded 42-33. Also of note: Maryland’s two losses have come in their only true road games of the season.
Later, NC State visited Auburn and gave the Tigers all they could handle before succumbing 79-73. The Tigers remain undefeated, this time around by making all the big plays late as the game was tight most of the way. Auburn is really carrying the flag for the SEC as Kentucky and Florida have been relatively unimpressive and Tennessee and LSU have been just okay.
Other results of note: Duke blew out Wofford 86-57 behind 20 points and 10 rebounds from Vernon Carey Jr.; Houston handled UTEP 77-57; and in the Sun Belt opener for both teams, Appalachian State went on the road and beat preseason favorite South Alabama 81-71;
Tonight’s Menu
We’ve got a light slate ahead of the weekend, with a couple of doubleheaders highlighting the action.
- In the D.C. Holiday Hoops Fest, Akron takes on Tulane (2:30 p.m.) and Towson battles Liberty (5 p.m.)
- Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City is home to Battle at the Boardwalk, where Quinnipiac plays Drexel (4:30 p.m.) and Bowling Green takes on Norfolk State (7 p.m.)
- Penn State tries to stay hot as they host winless Central Connecticut (7 p.m.)
- The best early matchup is probably SMU visiting Georgia (7 p.m.)
- North Dakota heads east to visit Marquette (9 p.m.)
