AUSTIN, Texas (AP) The NCAA announced Tuesday that Texas basketball recruit Mo Bamba remains eligible after reviewing the assistance the incoming freshman received from a Detroit financial adviser.
Bamba’s older brother, Ibrahim Johnson, released a Facebook video last month in which he said that Greer Love gave Bamba money and gifts . Love previously worked in New York and was involved in youth sports in Harlem, where he got to know Bamba’s family.
”After evaluating all available information, the NCAA determined the assistance Greer Love provides to Mohamed Bamba does not violate rules,” NCAA officials said. ”Bamba remains certified by the NCAA Eligibility Center.”
Bamba, a 6-foot-11 forward, is rated as the nation’s No. 2 overall prospect in the incoming freshman class according to composite rankings of recruiting sites compiled by 247Sports .
Johnson claimed that Love gave his brother $200 a week, paid credit card bills and paid for a trip to California. Johnson, a former Division II player at the University of Montevallo in Alabama, also complained of a falling out with his brother and said Bamba wouldn’t help him get into graduate school at Texas.
NCAA officials said Bamba was in fourth grade when he developed a relationship with Love through an after-school mentoring program.
”Although the mentoring program had both an academic and athletics purpose, their relationship was not established based on (Bamba’s) ability or reputation as an athlete,” NCAA officials said. ”Further, the pattern of communication between (Bamba) and Mr. Love has been continuous and the benefits provided to (Bamba) have been consistent since the establishment of their relationship.”
NCAA officials also noted that Love had a pattern of offering comparable benefits to other people in the mentoring program, including students who weren’t pursuing athletic careers or opportunities.
The NCAA also found no evidence that Love met its definition of an agent.
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