06-29-2017, 04:46 PM
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#793
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Bamma
OVR: 36
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: DC/MD
Posts: 63,584
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Re: College Basketball Off Topic
Damn, his own Brother though?
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Mohamed Bamba, the No. 2 basketball recruit in the class of 2017 and likely a future NBA lottery pick, announced via a Players Tribune essay last month that he planned on attending Texas for what probably will be his only college season. It was a major coup for Coach Shaka Smart, the linchpin of a recruiting class that ranked sixth nationally even though the Longhorns struggled to an 11-22 season in his second year in Austin.
But now Bamba’s path to Texas is being called into question by his very own half brother, of all people. Ibrahim Johnson, himself a former college basketball player, accused Bamba of accepting illicit money, trips and other benefits from an adviser, with the expectation that Bamba continue their relationship when he becomes a professional.
“Long story short, we let some guy into our family named Greer Love,” Johnson said in the profane, 22-minute-long poolside video he posted on Facebook. “This guy, Greer Love, he’s the vice president at Huron Capital Group, which is some financial group in Detroit. He’s a financial adviser, basically. He was Mo’s teacher back in the fourth grade or whatever, but long story short, now he’s Mo’s pimp. Mo’s his, basically.”
Johnson went on to assert that Love drove a wedge between him and his younger brother to the point where he reported Bamba to the NCAA over the gifts he received from the adviser, including vacations, money and other benefits. Johnson said he had planned on becoming a sports agent was upset that his brother had sided with Love instead of him.
“He’s not going to play this year in the NCAA because I already reported him to the NCAA and I’m already going to meet with the NCAA,” Johnson said in the video. “He’s not going to play this year. I’m not going to lie to you. I exposed that kid.”
Johnson’s claims perhaps have to be taken with a sizable amount of skepticism, considering his run-ins with the law and the questions he’s faced about his own role in his brother’s recruitment. He’s facing separate felony and misdemeanor charges in five states and “was long rumored to be a figure looking to exploit his five-star half-brother’s recruitment in the grass roots, college, and professional community,” 247 Sports’ Andrew Slater writes, adding that he was removed from Bamba’s recruitment process by his own family because they were worried about NCAA compliance issues.
In response, Love told Slater that he has known Bamba for nine years after the Harlem native took part in an after-school program Love founded and funded. Everything he did for Bamba was on the level and cleared by someone who’s worked in NCAA compliance before, he said, adding that he gave academic and financial support to nearly every student who passed through the program.
“When Mo asked me to guide him and help coordinate the logistics of his recruitment,” Love told Slater, “I immediately engaged the former Chief Compliance Officer of two Big Ten/Big 12 schools, who provided frequent consultation on a variety of matters. Doing things the right way has been our top priority since day one. Mo’s got way too much to lose to take any chances on anything even remotely impermissible. With my nine-year, preexisting relationship on the line with Mo personally, let alone his college eligibility, I took several additional measures to ensure that Mo was fully compliant every step of the way.”
NCAA rules prohibit most athletes from entering into agreements with or accepting benefits from anyone who would represent them in their future professional sports careers, which is what Johnson is accusing Love of doing.
Texas also issued a statement to Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Eisenberg.
“As is usual practice by the NCAA, Mo’s amateur status was previously reviewed and final certified by the NCAA Eligibility Center,” it read. “The NCAA has not informed us of any pending issues or eligibility concerns at this time regarding Mo. If there are further questions, we certainly will cooperate with the NCAA to the fullest.” |
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...=.c10d3b85bf0f |
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