NCAA strikes Georgia Tech with playoff ban and four-year probation

Georgia Tech coach Josh Pastner still has the support of his sporting director even after the Yellow Jackets basketball team was struck Thursday by NCAA sanctions, including a ban playoff games for the upcoming season.

Bearing a blow to Pastner's efforts to rebuild the struggling program of the Atlantic Coast Conference, the NCAA has sentenced Georgia Tech with four years of probation for major recruitment violations committed by Pastner's former assistant coach and an ex-friend.

The sanctions imposed by the NCAA also included a reduction in the number of scholarships, a limitation of recruitment and a fine of $ 5,000 plus 2% of the program budget,

Pastner was not named directly in the NCAA's findings and was largely endorsed by Georgia Tech's own investigation.

"We reprimand Josh for his poor judgment" by allowing his former friend, Ron Bell, "to get closer to the program in the first place," said sports director Todd Stansbury.

That was the magnitude of any punishment for Pastner.

"I continue to support Josh as a men's basketball coach," said Stansbury.

While Georgia Tech was considering an appeal, the lead investigator said the sanctions could have been more severe.

"Frankly, if you look at the penalties that have been prescribed, they are … in most cases at the lowest level of level one standards," said Joel Maturi, Hearings Officer for the Offenses Committee of the United States. NCAA. "We try to be as fair and consistent as possible."

But Stansbury said some sanctions could unfairly affect current players. He is waiting for a decision on a possible appeal within 10 days.

"I think the magnitude of the penalties as well as the duration, in my opinion, are more severe than I thought," Stansbury said. "We are digesting sanctions to determine which ones can be appealed."

The NCAA said former assistant coach Darryl LaBarrie gave $ 300 to a highly-prized prospect for a visit to an Atlanta strip club and allowed him to meet a former Georgia Tech athlete having played for the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA, including a visit to the player's home. and a free meal in a living room belonging to the player.

The NBA player was not identified, but Jarrett Jack was part of the Hawks roster in 2016. He never played for Atlanta, who gave it up during training camp when he had struggling to recover from a serious knee injury.

Maturi said that the use of a striptease club for recruitment purposes was troubling.

"It goes without saying that as a committee, we firmly believe that adult entertainment does not have a place in university sport," he said.

LaBarrie has been banned for three years from giving prerequisites for refusing to cooperate in the investigation. The NCAA said it had denied any involvement during its first interview with law enforcement personnel and had also tried to make people believe in the possibility of lying about what was wrong. had passed. LaBarrie later admitted that he had arranged the illegal benefits, according to the survey.

The committee stated that Bell provided $ 2,244 in footwear, clothing, meals, transportation and two-player accommodations, and a transfer candidate athlete.

With respect to Bell, the NCAA found that Pastner had repeatedly warned against any illegal performance, although the coach allowed him to continue to interact with the program. According to the report, Bell warned the three players never to talk to Pastner about the gifts and benefits offered.

The NCAA report also indicated that Pastner had reported the violations after they had been disclosed by Bell.

Georgia Tech has definitely cut the links with the booster.

The post-season ban seems largely symbolic, although it also includes the ACC tournament. The Yellow Jackets have not appeared in the NCAA tournament since 2010 and made their last appearance in the playoffs in 2017, in the first season of Pastner at Georgia Tech. This team has won 21 games and reached the final of the NIT, but the Yellow Jackets have dropped to 13-19 and 14-18 records in the last two years, including a 12-24 mark in the US. ACC.

Recruitment restrictions for each year of probation include:

– The loss of a purse.

– A ban on unofficial visits of eight weeks and a reduction of three visits in the number of official visits.

– Prohibition to recruit communications for eight weeks.

– A reduction of 19 person-days of recruitment compared to the authorized number.

Some of the allegations were made public during the 2016-17 season, Pastner's first year at Georgia Tech. LaBarrie was put on leave early this season and resigned in February 2017.

Two former players, Josh Okogie and Tadric Jackson, were suspended for six and three games, respectively, for accepting benefits such as clothing, meals and transportation.

The NCAA decided that Georgia Tech should also cancel any winnings in which non-eligible players were used. The school had 14 days to provide this information to the governing body.

The allegations against Bell resulted in an exchange of lawsuits between Pastner and Bell and his girlfriend, Jennifer Pendley.

Pastner filed a defamation suit against Bell and Pendley in early 2018, claiming that the Tucson area couple were trying to defame him and blackmail him for not complying with the NCAA rules. .

The counter-suit of Bell and Pendley asserted that Pastner had sexually assaulted Pendley in February 2016 while he was head coach in Memphis.

Pastner denied the accusations, saying there was "no truth to these disgusting and factitious accusations".

The lawsuits were dropped this year. Bell and Pendley now face charges for attempting to extort Pastner.

The NCAA sanction against the men's team is a tumultuous year for both of Georgia Tech's basketball programs.

MaChelle Joseph, a long-time coach, was suspended at the end of last season and then dismissed after the school had learned that she had learned of the mistreatment of the players and staff, as well as the Possible NCAA violations. Joseph denied the charges, claiming that she had been punished for filing a complaint for gender equity issues and had been a victim of double standards given that Pastner was still at work despite his well-documented problems with the NCAA.