According to a report in Yahoo! Sports, the UConn Huskies may have committed some major recruiting violations in the recruitment of former although brief Husky Nate Miles.
The report states that Nate Miles was provided with lodging, transportation, restaurant meals and representation by Josh Nochimson, a professional sports agent and former UConn student manager, between 2006 and 2008. It also states that five different UConn coaches traded at least 1,565 phone and text communications with Nochimson, including 16 from head coach Jim Calhoun.
The players in the Yahoo! Sports investigation are Miles, Nochimson, Calhoun, former assistant and now Quinnipiac coach Tom Moore, Sean Patterson (Miles’ guardian) and Jerry Easter (Miles’ “uncle”).
As an alumnus and former associate of the men’s basketball program, Nochimson is defined by the NCAA as a representative of UConn’s “athletic interests.” As such, NCAA rules say he could “not be involved in the recruiting process” and could “not make any contact, including telephone calls and letters, to a prospect or the prospect’s family, on or off campus.”
That UConn was aware of the improper Nochimson-Miles relationship could be a further violation, according to the NCAA. Under NCAA rules, UConn is culpable for contact and benefits provided by any representative of its athletic interests regardless of the school’s knowledge. In this case, Moore not only admitted to Yahoo! Sports, “I know that Josh contacted Nate a couple of times,” but documents show pages upon pages of phone and text correspondence.
This is huge folks. If this report turns out to be true, which it seems it will, the Huskies will face major sanctions from the NCAA which could include probation, being barred from the NCAA Tournament and loss of scholarships among other things.
I highly suggest that you read the whole Yahoo! Sports article to get the full grasp of what happened.
UConn officials had no comment on this investigation and you can bet that this will be the big subject of conversation when UConn holds it press conference this afternoon in anticipation of tomorrow night’s game against the Purdue Boilermakers.
Probe: UConn violated NCAA rules [Yahoo! Sports]
