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DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke's second-place finish in the 1999 NCAA
tournament is in doubt after former player Corey Maggette admitted
he took cash payments from a summer league coach while in high school.
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| Maggette |
Maggette signed a sworn statement reversing earlier denials and
admitting he took $2,000 from Myron Piggie, his summer league coach
for a Kansas City-based AAU team, Duke said Tuesday.
Piggie pleaded guilty in May to a conspiracy charge after being
accused of defrauding Duke and three other colleges. He faces 3-5
years in prison for paying Maggette and four other high school
players on his team $35,500 from 1996-98.
Duke officials have said they were not aware of the payments,
but the admission jeopardizes the Blue Devils' program. In addition
to possibly forfeiting the runner-up finish for using an ineligible
player in the 1999 NCAA tournament, Duke also might have to return
up to $226,815 in tournament revenue.
An NCAA spokeswoman said officials planned to review Maggette's
statement Wednesday.
Precedent for situations in which an ineligible athlete played
in a postseason game and the university was unaware of the
violations calls for the school to return 45 percent of its game
revenue and give up any title it won, spokeswoman Jane Jankowski
said.
Duke requested the statement to resolve questions about
Maggette's eligibility after claims surfaced that he accepted the
money from Piggie.
"Clearly, this is not what we wanted to hear, but we are
pleased at least we have the facts now," Duke spokesman Al
Rossiter Jr. said.
The next step for the NCAA is to see if rules were violated, not
if Duke tried to cover up the payments, he said.
"Clearly, we weren't aware of it," Rossiter said. "The issue
is, was this in fact a violation of NCAA rules, and what do they do
about it."
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski was told of the statement but had no
comment. He has also denied knowledge of the payments.
Maggette had been subpoenaed by federal prosecutors to testify
about the payments. He already testified before a grand jury about
Piggie.
The statement Duke received Tuesday was also sent to the U.S.
Attorney in Kansas City. The U.S. attorney's office in Kansas City cancelled a scheduled federal court hearing scheduled for Wednesday.
The federal indictment against Piggie claimed he paid the
players in exchange for agreements that they would pay him once
they received pro contracts and signed endorsement deals. It also
said he used the players to secure money from a booster and Nike.
The other players were JaRon Rush of UCLA; his brother, Kareem,
of Missouri; Korleone Young, who entered the NBA draft without
playing in college; and Andre Williams of Oklahoma State.
Partly in response to issues raised by the investigation, the
NCAA recently moved to eliminate its 24-day summer recruiting
season, when coaches like Piggie parade their players before
college coaches. The NCAA has approved trimming the summer
recruiting season to 14 days, and then cutting it altogether.
Maggette left Duke after his freshman year and was selected by
the Seattle SuperSonics in the first round of the 1999 draft. He
was traded to the Orlando Magic, where he played last season.
Maggette was dealt, again on draft day last month, to the Los
Angeles Clippers.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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