Former Memphis Tigers freshman James Wiseman opened up to ESPN about his short time at Memphis, the NCAA punishment that he deemed as “unfair” and his decision to leave the school.
“I was really in the middle of a hurricane,” Wiseman said to ESPN. “That’s like the worst place you could possibly be. Just having the mental agony and the suffering, crying every night because I just wanted to get on the court so much.”
Wiseman was punished and suspended by the NCAA because he accepted $11,500 for moving expenses in 2017 from Penny Hardaway, a former Memphis player and the coach of Memphis East High School, where Wiseman would eventually enroll.
Hardaway was not yet the coach of Memphis, but he was ruled a university booster because he had donated $1 million in 2008.
On Nov. 20, Wiseman was suspended 12 games and told to pay back the $11,500. The next month, he announced he had left Memphis.
“I was getting depressed. It was dehumanizing for me … When I got suspended for 12 games and had to pay back the money, that was kind of surreal. I didn’t really have any knowledge of (the violation) or all the ramifications behind it,” he said.
He also told ESPN he didn’t have a way to pay back the money.
“I couldn’t use a GoFundMe page that Jay Williams put out for me, obviously,” Wiseman told ESPN. “I couldn’t use any outside sources. I had to get [the money] on my own, and that was pretty impossible because I didn’t have the money. I was just a regular college student.”
Wiseman, listed at 7-foot-1, dominated in high school and was widely regarded as a potential No. 1 pick in the 2020 draft, which still remains a distinct possibility.
He played three games for Memphis, during which he averaged 19.7 points, 10.7 rebounds and three blocks in 23 minutes per game.
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