Larry Brown Has Been Suspended for NCAA Rules Violations
[Editor’s note: – giggle -]
Former Sixers and Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown – who, if you’ll recall, called out Sixers leadership for their methods – has been suspended by the NCAA for 30% of SMU’s games this year due to rules violations. SMU has also been banned from the postseason and will lose nine scholarships over the next three years.
According to USA Today, Brown was hit with an extremely poetic “lack of coach control” charge, while the program was also charged with “academic fraud and unethical conduct.” Brown, who again said the Sixers weren’t doing things the right way, “failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance when he did not report violations and was not initially truthful during an interview with NCAA enforcement staff.” He’ll be required to attend an NCAA Regional Rules seminar for the next two years. SMU now becomes the third Brown-led program to receive NCAA sanctions. But what is this all even about?
Part of the investigation at SMU focused on whether former assistant coach Ulric Maligi and a former basketball administrator helped former McDonald’s All-American Keith Frazier with coursework to become eligible to play at SMU.
Maligi left SMU in the middle of last season; Frazier missed the second half of last season after being ruled ineligible. The former basketball administrator did not agree to speak with the NCAA during its investigation.
The postseason ban — if not appealed (and then subsequently overturned) — is the most damaging part of the sanctions. This season, the Mustangs are likely to be ranked in the preseason Top 25, and they’re expected to be a contender for the American Athletic Conference title.
Brown, the self-appointed arbiter of “how things should be done,” will be 78 by the time SMU regains all of their scholarships… and probably still openly pining about Aaron McKie.