When DaJuan Gordon chose to transfer from Kansas State to Missouri, he anticipated he would make his debut with the other three incoming Tiger transfers on Tuesday night against Central Michigan. So did Cuonzo Martin. But as the rest of his teammates beat the Chippewas 78-68 in the season opener, Gordon was on the bench in street clothes serving a one-game suspension imposed by the NCAA. On Friday morning, Martin explained what led to Gordon sitting out.
“He played in a game that was certified,” Martin said. “Then he played in another tournament, pro-am, and a coach from another program called one of our coaches, said, ‘just want to give you some insight’ and once we found out and we let him know, then he stopped playing. He was like, ‘Oh, I didn’t know that.’”
Martin said the event in question was sanctioned by the NBA, but not the NCAA. The NCAA rule book has long been a confounding labyrinth with more rules than anyone could possibly follow. Martin said neither Gordon nor the Missouri staff knew he was doing anything wrong by playing in the summer league game.
“It wasn’t like some mischief under the table, it was a certified event, but pro-am and he played in it but we were done,” Martin said. “I wouldn’t even consider him making a mistake. I would put that on me because again, we didn’t know. We just figured one was sanctioned because he did follow the rules and we followed protocol and procedure here, but you take a game away from a young man. This is who he is. Often times perception is why is he out? You assume certain things, but he’s a wonderful man and we’re happy to have him back in the fold.”
Gordon will be back in the lineup for Missouri on Monday when the Tigers play Kansas City and the coach indicated he will likely be a starter. In the end, the penalty isn’t that harsh and Gordon will still play better than 95% of the season for the Tigers. But even one game seems a bit unnecessary, especially when the entire sport has been embroiled in a years-long FBI investigation that includes wiretap evidence indicating illegal payments made to recruits. While schools involved in that march on so far unscathed, players like Gordon are being penalized for minor infractions. It’s not going unnoticed.
“(With) all the stuff we have going on in our game, we have some cleaning up to do and we’re working hard toward it,” Martin said. “I’m on the oversight committee so I understand, I’m behind the scenes so I see how hard they’re trying to work to try to make stuff happen the right way. But that’s a tough one because this is life, this is what he does. He plays basketball, he’s a student-athlete.
“If that’s the rule, I’m still waiting on other rules. And we’ve been waiting for a while and it’s very disappointing when you look at it from that standpoint.”
Martin referenced his spot on the oversight committee for college basketball and repeatedly stated on Friday that the rules in place need to be followed. At the same time, he expressed frustration at the recent ruling that barred Mike Boynton and Oklahoma State from the NCAA Tournament in 2022 for violations that had nothing to do with anyone currently involved with the program.
“There’s right and wrong, just my two cents, I think it’s wrong what happened to Oklahoma State,” Martin said. “I’m not behind the scenes. I don’t have footage behind the scenes. I’m not with the infractions committee. But I thought that was wrong, especially when the guy that’s coaching the program had nothing to do with the whole situation. That’s mind-blowing.”
A widespread point of view even if it wasn’t particularly surprising given the track record. Every day seemingly brings another reason to question the judgment of the NCAA and its ability to oversee and adjudicate its members adequately and fairly.
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