Michael O’Brien of the Chicago Sun-Times reports: Bulls guard Derrick Rose’s college career at Memphis officially was erased from the record books Thursday. The NCAA Committee on Infractions concluded that a player on the 2007-08 team was ineligible to compete because of an invalidated SAT score. According to the NCAA, the athlete played for the Tigers only in the 2007-08 season and the 2008 NCAA tournament. Only one player — Rose — fits that description. The committee also found that Memphis provided a player’s brother with $1,713.85 in impermissible benefits. That person is believed to be Rose’s older brother Reggie. As a result of the infractions, Memphis will forfeit all 38 victories and its Final Four appearance. The school is on probation until Aug. 19, 2012, and must return all the money it received from appearing in the NCAA tournament. “I know I didn’t do anything wrong,” Rose said two weeks ago at his basketball camp in Deerfield.
Shannon Ryan of the Chicago Tribune reports: The Educational Testing Service’s cancellation of the player’s test score fit into the NCAA’s “strict liability” category and the infractions committee did not need to investigate further because it meant Rose already was ineligible before the season began. The NCAA attempted to contact Rose twice to attain proof he took the exam, according to the report, but he didn’t respond. The Memphis men’s basketball team also received punishment for failure to monitor itself because a player’s relative — thought to be Rose’s brother Reggie — received free accommodations and travel on several occasions. Memphis lost in the national championship game to Kansas and the Bulls made Rose the first overall pick in the NBA draft in 2008 after his freshman season. He was named the NBA’s rookie of the year.
