Last week, Yahoo Sports released a list of more than 20 former and active NCAA men’s basketball players who allegedly received a loan from their agent. Former Temple center Lavoy Allen, who played from 2007-11, is one of the players on the list.
The FBI has been investigating bribery and corruption in men’s college basketball since 2015. The list is a document that was used in the FBI’s investigation and obtained by Yahoo Sports.
It is a balance sheet from the agency ASM Sports dated Dec. 31, 2015. It shows Allen allegedly received a loan of $623.35 from his former agent Andy Miller. It is unclear whether Allen received the alleged loan while he was in college or during his professional career, which began after he graduated in 2011.
NCAA rules state that because college athletes are amateurs, they cannot be paid for their athletic ability. If student-athletes are paid, the athlete or school could face several penalties like a “repayment of the money, sitting out a specified number of games or permanent ineligibility.”
A representative for the Northern Arizona Suns, the Phoenix Suns’ G-League team that Allen plays for, said the former Temple player declined to comment.
Coach Fran Dunphy said it isn’t likely Allen received the alleged loan during his Temple career. Dunphy added that he was surprised when he saw news reports mentioning Allen.
“I can’t see anything that was wrong with what he did,” said Dunphy, who has coached the Owls since 2006. “But hopefully we will get to the bottom of everything that is going in terms of the FBI investigation, and college basketball will be at a good place.”
During his tenure with the Owls, Allen averaged 10.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Allen is also Temple’s all-time leading rebounder with 1,147 and ranks third all-time in blocked shots with 213.
Allen was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round of the 2011 NBA Draft. He played for the Indiana Pacers from 2014-17. Allen has averaged 4.8 points and rebounds per game during his NBA career.
Allen wasn’t the only former Big 5 player mentioned in the document.
Three former Villanova players — Kyle Lowry, Maalik Wayns and Antonio Pena — were listed in the report. Like Allen’s alleged loan, it doesn’t state when the three former Villanova players reportedly received the money.
FRAN DUNPHY
COACH
The report states that Lowry received $5,927.51, Pena received $5,000 and Wayns received $1,180.94 from Miller.
Two weeks ago, Villanova landed a recruit who was identified as “Player-5” in the FBI’s investigation. Jahvon Quinerly, a five-star recruit from Hudson Catholic High School in New Jersey and the seventh-ranked point guard in his class, according to Rivals.com, committed to Villanova after decommitting from the University of Arizona.
Former Arizona assistant coach Emanuel Richardson, who recruited Quinerly, was one of four college basketball assistant coaches charged in a bribery scheme.
Auburn University, a team Temple faced earlier in the season, also lost its associate head coach and two players because of the FBI’s investigation.
When the Owls beat Auburn 88-74 in the Charleston Classic in November, the Tigers were without associate head coach Chuck Person, sophomore center Austin Wiley and sophomore forward Danjel Purifoy because of the ongoing probe. Person was charged with six counts of federal corruption in September.
Junior guard Shizz Alston Jr. said he was shocked when he read about the amount of money some players allegedly received. An FBI wiretap revealed Arizona coach Sean Miller allegedly discussing a $100,000 payment to freshman forward Deandre Ayton for him to attend the school.
| PLAYER | COLLEGE | NBA | LOAN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antonio Pena | Villanova 2007-11 |
N/A | $5,000 |
| Kyle Lowry | Villanova 2004-06 |
2006-Present | $5,927.51 |
| Lavoy Allen | Temple 2007-11 |
2011-17 | $623.35 |
| Maalik Wayns | Villanova 2009-12 |
2012-14 | $1,180.94 |
Alston also knows Villanova players Lowry and Wayns because they’re all Philadelphia natives. Alston played at the same recreational league as Wayns when they were growing up, he said.
Because of the high interest Lowry and Wayns received from colleges while in high school, Alston said he wouldn’t be surprised if they received monetary benefits to attend Villanova.
Wayns was a five-star recruit coming out of Roman Catholic High School at Broad and Vine streets. Lowry was a four-star recruit coming out of the now-closed Cardinal Dougherty High School in East Oak Lane, according to 247sports.com.
Alston also said he wants to see the NCAA rework its system to allow student-athletes to get paid.
“We’re here basically 12 months out of the year,” Alston said. “We’re doing both school and basketball. We’re providing money to the institution, so I feel like we should get some type of stipend.”
Lavoy Allen graduated in 2011 as the program’s leading rebounder and went to the Sixers. This was four years before any is this stuff began. Clearly, Temple did absolutely nothing wrong here. I was one of the managers of the team (Class of 2012). This didn’t happen.