Lawrence Roberts spent months this summer deciding if he wanted to return to Mississippi State for his senior season. Now, after he made his decision to come back to school, the NCAA has something to say about whether he plays or not.
The reigning SEC Player of the Year could face a suspension from the NCAA from 1 game all the way up to one third of the season for accepting travel money from the Portland Trail Blazers to attend a workout in Portland this summer.
Roberts paid the money back but according to NCAA rules, he is in violation and could miss some time.
The minimum suspension is one game and the maximum is a third of the season.
“It’s not an NCAA investigation,” said coach Rick Stansbury. “It has to do with amateurism rules about playing.”
Stansbury said he has no idea when the NCAA might rule on a punishment, “Remember who we’re dealing with,” said Stansbury. “I hope it is resolved
soon. It’s always been a formality in the past.”
Marcus Campbell said that while the team will miss Roberts, it doesn’t expect to let the loss hamper it too much.
“We can’t let whatever happens to him disrupt our team chemistry,” Campbell said. “We’ve just got to go out and play our hardest and do what we know how to do.”
Roberts said that he doesn’t concern himself with what might happen.
“Whatever happens you’ve got to keep playing,” Roberts said. “The main thing is trying to stay focused and don’t let what is happening off the court to affect me.”