Camden wrote:I empathize with the argument pertaining to the small sample size of games that we have of James Wiseman playing against collegiate competition, but the knocks on his character or how he handled his situation at Memphis seems very off to me. Not only was Wiseman suspended for 12 games in part because of a wonky classification that his former high school coach Penny Hardaway was a booster, but the NCAA also stipulated Wiseman was required to donate $11,500 to a charity of his choosing. He could not receive outside help nor could he accept any money from GoFundMe pages set up in his support -- including the one ESPN's Jay Williams created and used his platform to push forward. As he puts it in the following video link, he just didn't have that kind of money being a regular college kid. A weird punishment for the "crime" if you ask me, but it is what it is.
Additionally, you cannot say this kid doesn't love basketball. In that ESPN sit-down with Wiseman, he says that everything was sad for him because he just wanted to play with his teammates and help the team. In regards to someone saying he was traumatized by these happenings, I think that's more so that he was upset he couldn't play what was likely going to be his only year of college basketball -- not that he's in any way mentally weak or unstable.
This guy is the clear-cut best prospect in this draft. He's a physical freak with skills and attitude to match. Areas of his game aren't refined yet, obviously, but his strengths are very real and translatable. He could step on an NBA court tomorrow and be legitimate factor. Also, the kid turns 19-years old in March. Plenty of maturing for his body and game left. High ceiling and high floor, in my opinion.
[youtube]https://youtu.be/dPrHow9uUBo[/youtube]
To be fair... that $11,500 didn't come out of nowhere.
May 2017: Wiseman leaves current AAU team to join Hardaway's AAU team.
September 2017: Wiseman leaves his Nashville high school to play for Hardaway's Memphis East High School.
September 2017: Hardaway gave the Wisemans $11,500 to move to Memphis... all the while claiming he was not affiliated beyond sponsorships with Team Penny AAU, never really spoke to Wiseman and certainly didn't recruit him.
November 2017: Wiseman ruled ineligible for the shady stuff with Hardaway + recruitment. Overturned.
2018: Hardaway becomes coach at Memphis.
October 2019: The initial ruling about Wiseman being ineligible in high school is determined to be the correct one... they rule after the fact.
November 2019: The NCAA "finds out" about the $11,500 Hardaway gave the kid who played for his AAU team but who he barely knew and definitely didn't recruit...
At some point in the timeline: Wiseman changes his story repeatedly with many inconsistencies during legal depositions about the case.
So, that's a bit more context... and should help explain where the $11,500 comes from.
Personally, I wouldn't call it some "wonky" rule. We all know the NCAA recruiting trail is shady. Very shady. We should all know AAU ball is shady. Very shady. Just the fact that Wiseman joined Team Penny AAU in the middle of the circuit ("but wasn't recruited") is so ridiculous that it's pretty insulting.
All that being said, do I blame Wiseman or consider him a bad kid? No. I don't know him as a person, only that he's been a "star" for years and treated as such. It's the name of the game for these kids. Personally, I just don't dig having two 7 footers in a small man's game. I'd prefer to trade down...