NC State receives notice of allegations regarding possible major infractions by hoops program
By Adam Spencer
Published:
As the federal investigation into college basketball continues, the NCAA has made a big move involving allegations surrounding the NC State program.
The allegations stem from Mark Gottfried’s time as the team’s head coach, which ended after the 2016-17 season. He now coaches at Cal State Northridge.
Per Yahoo reporters Pat Forde, Pete Thamel and Dan Wetzel, the Wolfpack are being charged with two Level I violations (the most serious) and two Level II violations:
The charges largely stem from the Wolfpack’s recruitment of star point guard Dennis Smith Jr., who played at the school in 2015-16 before becoming a top-10 pick in the NBA draft. As was detailed in the 2018 federal trial of Adidas executive Jim Gatto, consultant Merl Code Jr. and aspiring agent Christian Dawkins, Smith’s father allegedly was paid $40,000 through a middleman named Shawn Farmer by Early, who received the money from Adidas bag man T.J. Gassnola to secure the player’s commitment to the Wolfpack.
Smith has long since moved on to the NBA, and Gottfried was fired by NC State. However, the Wolfpack are likely to face some penalties if the NCAA decides these allegations are true.
Gottfried was Alabama’s men’s basketball coach from 1998 to 2009.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
