NCAA issues harsh ruling on Silvio De Sousa

Kansas won’t get Silvio De Sousa back anytime soon, if ever.

On Friday, the NCAA announced that De Sousa must sit out the rest of this season and all of the 2019-20 season. That means the earliest he could return is the beginning of the 2020-21 season.

The issue comes from ADIDAS consultant T.J. Gassnola, who testified that he personally gave $2,500 to the guardian of De Sousa. While Kansas has denied any knowledge of wrongdoing by their staff or De Sousa, they have held him out of competition while his eligibility is in question.

Here is an excerpt from the NCAA’s release on the ruling:

According to the facts provided for purposes of the reinstatement request, De Sousa’s guardian received payment of $2,500 from an agent and booster of the school. He agreed to accept additional payment of $20,000 from the same individual and an Adidas employee for securing De Sousa’s enrollment at Kansas.

De Sousa is one of many current and former college players being dragged into the investigation, as he (or someone around him) may have received payments during his high school recruitment. It also looks like Self may have known what was going on.

De Sousa, who played a big role in helping Kansas make the Final Four this past season, averaged four points and 3.7 rebounds in 20 games with the Jayhawks as a midseason enrollee. However, he played a bigger role down the stretch, including a 16-point, 10-rebound performance vs. West Virginia in the Big 12 Championship Game.

Personally, this feels like too much, but after watching Enes Kanter effectively banned permanently from college basketball, it’s not surprising.