Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 22, 1994 TAG: 9407200021
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WINSTON-SALEM, N. C. LENGTH: Medium
The sanctions are the first ever levied against the school, but will not keep the Demons Deacons off live television or out of the NCAA Tournament.
The NCAA's decision ended a 20-month investigation into the basketball program's relationship with Ndiaye and a man that coach Dave Odom asked to serve as an interpreter.
``While the penalties in this case are significant, they are also limited because of the limited nature of the violations,'' David Swank, chairman of the NCAA Committee on Infractions, said during a telephone conference call describing the penalties.
The investigation was a distraction during Wake Forest's 1993-94 season, which included a sweep of the season series against national runner-up Duke and ended with a fourth-straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Also impeding the team's focus was an investigation of Ricardo Peral and payments he received while playing semipro basketball in his native Spain. Peral will return next season with three years' eligibility remaining.
``No one is more relieved than I that this matter has come to a conclusion and that we can now concentrate on the future of our basketball program,'' Odom said at a news conference.
Odom said he thought the program was acting within NCAA guidelines in dealing with Ndiaye, who transferred to Michigan after he was declared ineligible to play at Wake Forest.
The school imposed its own set of penalties on Odom, including a reprimand for a failure to control James Davies, a linguist from Greensboro. Odom's salary also was frozen for the college basketball season just concluded, and the Wake program lost a scholarship for the 1994-95 season, reducing the total available to 12.
The NCAA, in addition to imposing the probation, cut the number of expense-paid visits recruits can make to Wake from 12 to 10. Odom is prohibited from recruiting players from outside the United States for the rest of the year, beginning July 5.
Odom and his program came under scrutiny when Ndiaye came from his native Senegal to attend Wake Forest. He participated in what was later determined to be an illegal workout at a local high school that Odom and assistant coach Ricky Stokes attended.
The more serious charge stemmed from the school's involvement with Davies. He was brought on to be an interpreter for Ndiaye's parents, who speak French. ``Davies was asked to interpret telephone calls and nothing more,'' Odom said.
Davies later told Odom that he had become close to Ndiaye's family and that the recruit's father has asked him to be a friend, mentor and confidant.
``After some time, I began to get the sense that he no longer viewed himself as a simple translator,'' said Odom, who finally reported problems with Davies in November 1992 to the Wake Forest NCAA compliance officer.
Eventually, Davies was making phone calls to Ndiaye's family. The investigation also showed that Davies and his wife flew to New York City to greet Ndiaye upon his arrival in the United States.
The NCAA infractions committee determined that Davies engaged in improper activities as a representative of Wake Forest.
``For a period of time, I viewed him as the young man's representative, not the university's'' Odom said. ``I can see how the NCAA enforcement staff could say `That's not possible because you brought him into the equation.' I didn't make that connection at the time.''
by CNB