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Well, someone is actually having a worse day that Kentucky Basketball, and it involves a former UK recruit.
According to Shams Charania, Memphis Tigers center James Wiseman has left the school to prepare for the NBA Draft.
Potential No. 1 pick James Wiseman of Memphis has left the university, will sign with an agent and begin preparing for 2020 NBA draft.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 19, 2019
This comes as a major shocker, as Wiseman was widely expected to return to the school once his suspension ends. Wiseman was suspended by the NCAA due to Penny Hardaway giving Wiseman’s family money to help pay for their moving expenses when he transferred to Memphis East High School, where Hardaway was the head coach for the 2017-18 high school season before becoming head coach of the Tigers in 2018.
This is a brutal loss for Memphis, and it should make UK fans feel a little better about not landing arguably the best player in the 2019 recruiting class. Having this kind of loss in the middle of a season can cripple a team, and it’s going to be hard for the Tigers to rebound from this.