Oklahoma State Basketball Gets One-Year Postseason Ban from NCAA

A worst-case scenario punishment for Oklahoma State’s basketball program has become reality.

The NCAA’s Committee on Infractions announced Friday that after an investigation into misdeeds committed by former OSU assistant coach Lamont Evans, who was ensnared in the FBI’s college basketball corruption investigation, it has levied a one-year postseason ban on the program to be served in the 2020-21 season.

OSU intends to file an appeal.

Evans was accused of steering players to certain financial advisors in exchange for monetary kickbacks. He served time at a federal prison, and his actions also triggered a Level I violation for unethical conduct in the NCAA rulebook — the most harsh violation.

“The conduct at issue in this case was related to a broader scheme that involved money and influence at the intersection of college and professional basketball,” the committee said in its decision. “The scheme resulted in the arrest and prosecution of multiple individuals — including college basketball coaches — on conspiracy and bribery charges, and it led to significant NCAA reforms.”

Additionally, OSU received the following punishments.

• A reduction of men’s basketball scholarships by a total of three during the 2020-21 through 2022-23 academic years.

• Three years of probation.

• A $10,000 fine plus 1 percent of the men’s basketball program budget (self-imposed by the university).

• Several smaller recruiting reductions (example: A prohibition of men’s basketball telephone recruiting for a one-week period during the 2020-21 academic year).

The NCAA’s brutal verdict shows it offered no leniency regarding the facts of the case: that the coach was fired by OSU after the revelation, that no current player or coach was involved, or that OSU proactively withheld one player, Jeffrey Carroll, from several games of competition in 2017-18 after his name surfaced in court testimony linked to Evans.

Oklahoma State can (and will) appeal the decision but it is unclear if the effort will be successful. Over the last five years, multiple schools have received postseason bans, most notably Louisville in 2016 and Georgia Tech this past school year.

The news is a devastating blow for an OSU program that ended its season on a high note, returns a strong core and has a top-10 class coming in. OSU is set to enroll No. 1 recruit Cade Cunningham and four other players — Rondel Walker, Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe, Donovan Williams and Montreal Pena — that could make the Cowboys a contender both in the Big 12 and beyond.

With the decision being revealed today, it’s possible contingency plans for Cunningham and other incoming recruits could be deployed if an appeal comes up empty for Mike Boynton and Co.