Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Report: Myck Kabongo to be suspended for the season

NCAA Basketball Tournament - Texas v Cincinnati

NASHVILLE, TN - MARCH 16: Myck Kabongo #12 of the Texas Longhorns reacts to play against the Cincinnati Bearcats during the second round of the 2012 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Bridgestone Arena on March 16, 2012 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Getty Images

According to a report from Pat Forde of Yahoo! Sports, Texas sophomore Myck Kabongo will be suspended for the rest of the season by the NCAA.

Kabongo has not played yet the season as he’s been held out by Texas pending the results of the NCAA investigation. At issue is whether or not Kabongo received impermissible benefits from an agent, Rich Paul, who currently represents Cory Joseph and Tristan Thompson. All three players are from Canada, spent a year at Findlay Prep out in Las Vegas and ended up playing their college ball at Texas.

One of the major points of the NCAA’s investigation was a workout that Kabongo had with New York-based professional trainer Jerry Powell in Cleveland back in May. Who paid for the travel? Who funded the workout? Was it Thompson and Joseph? Was it a member of Kabongo’s family? Was it Paul?

Ultimately, it’s not the impermissible benefits that got Kabongo suspended. He lied to the NCAA. The most important paragraph from Forde’s story:

In most impermissible benefits situations, players usually are suspended from three to 10 games and ordered to repay the amount of the benefits received. In this case, the penalty was made more severe because Kabongo provided inaccurate information to NCAA investigators when he was interviewed, sources said.

The season-long ban is consistent with the penalty applied to former Oklahoma State wide receiver Dez Bryant in 2009 when he lied to the NCAA.


Obviously, this is a huge blow for Texas.

I know they beat North Carolina at home tonight, but this isn’t a typical Tar Heel. This is a Texas team, however, that lost to Chaminade out in the Maui Invitational. They lost to were embarrassed by Georgetown in the Jimmy V Classic. Their point guard -- Javan Felix -- plays an absurd amount of minutes, and while he’s good, he’s not Kabongo.

Texas has some talent, especially on the perimeter, but Kabongo was the most talented of the bunch and the glue that binds. Don’t judge this team based on their performance against a UNC team that allowed 61 second half points to East Carolina.

Rob Dauster is the editor of the college basketball website Ballin’ is a Habit. You can find him on twitter @robdauster.