Penny Hardaway, Memphis Face $5K Fine, Probation over James Wiseman Recruitment

The University of Memphis men's basketball program received a $5,000 fine for Level II and Level III recruiting violations by the NCAA, and was placed on a three-year probationary period.

Matt Norlander @MattNorlander

News: Here are the penalties levied by the IARP against Memphis in the James Wiseman case.

Relatively light, on first glance. pic.twitter.com/aDh77ZKw8H

The penalty was imposed because of allegations that head coachPenny Hardaway paid a former player and his family to move to Memphis while he was still in high school.

The Independent Resolution Panel ruled that Memphis must give back all of the wins it had.

The Golden State Warriors recruit was the second highest ranked recruit in the class. He played in three games before the NCAA suspended him for recruiting violations.

When Hardaway was a coach at East High School in Memphis, the NCAA considered him a booster since he had given money to his alma mater. He became the Memphis coach in the middle of the year.

He left school to get ready for the NBA draft.

"I wanted to go to college and have a great career," he said. I wanted to win a title. Everything went down in my mental well-being during the first two games. I was going through a tough time. I found it dehumanizing.

His professional career has been limited by injuries since he was the second pick of the NBA draft.