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| | Thursday, February 10 | |||||
ESPN.com | ||||||
| Michigan freshman point guard Jamal Crawford has been suspended by
the NCAA for six games because of his living arrangements in high school.
Michigan intends to ask the NCAA to reconsider its decision, according to school vice president and general counsel Marvin Krislov. Crawford's suspension will include the Michigan State game last Tuesday, a game in which he was pulled from the lineup 25 minutes prior to tipoff.The suspension will also include critical Big Ten games against Ohio State on Sunday, at Illinois (Feb. 9), Indiana (Feb. 13), at Wisconsin (Feb. 16) and Penn State (Feb. 19). During that time, however, Crawford will be able to practice with the team and attend classes. The Wolverines are an NCAA Tournament bubble team at 12-6, 3-4 in the Big Ten. Losing Crawford could send them into a tailspin, making an NIT berth more likely than a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Crawford has been accused of breaking an NCAA rule on amateurism because he lived with a man, identified in the Detroit Free Press as Barry Henthorn, president of Innovative Communication Technologies Inc., in Seattle. Crawford attended Seattle's Rainier Beach High before signing with Fresno State in 1998. He wasn't eligible and stayed a fifth year at Rainier Beach before signing at Michigan. He led the Wolverines in scoring with 16.7 points a game before being suspended by the school Tuesday. The school raised a red flag on his living arrangement when Crawford used Henthorn's name when he registered a 1988 Mercedes on campus. NCAA rules prohibit players from being given preferential treatment and benefits because of their athletic skills. The NCAA also forbids people from receiving money for potential earnings as a professional athlete. Sources at Michigan said Crawford's relationship with Henthorn had nothing to do with a potential pro career. It also had nothing to do with Michigan with the living arrangement occurring before he arrived at the school. "We certainly understand the reason for the NCAA rules regarding amateurism," Krislow said. "But there are compelling reasons why Jamal's situation is different and we will present them to the NCAA." "First and foremost, we are all concerned about Jamal," Michigan provost and executive vice president Nancy Cantor said. "Our interest is in allowing him to continue to flourish here at Michigan." This is the fourth in-season suspension by the NCAA that involves a violation prior to a player arriving on campus. Missouri's Kareem Rush and Oklahoma State's Andre Williams were suspended earlier this season for accepting extra benefits during high school by an AAU coach (Rush) and a benefactor (Williams). UCLA's JaRon Rush was suspended for 44 games over this season and next because of extra benefits prior to college, as well as receiving $200 from an agent (the only part of his violation that occurred while he was a college student). St. John's point guard Erick Barkley was also suspended on Saturday, but specifics have not been released on the reason behind his suspension. A number of coaches have told ESPN.com that they question how the NCAA could rule players ineligible for extra benefits prior to college when the majority of elite players receive some sort of special treatment.
Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com. | ALSO SEE Report: Michigan knew about Crawford arrangement Ohio State takes apart Crawford-less Michigan Weekly Watch: Suspending belief  | |||||