Markelle Fultz, Kyle Kuzma, Dennis Smith Jr. Named in NCAA Corruption Report
February 23, 2018
NBA rookies Markelle Fultz, Kyle Kuzma and Dennis Smith Jr. are among the players alleged to have taken a loan from former NBA agent Andy Miller's sports agency, according to FBI documents obtained by Pat Forde and Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports.
Smith allegedly received $73,500 in loans from Miller's agency, while Kuzma ($16,000) and Fultz ($10,000) are listed as receiving lesser amounts. Neither one of those players signed with ASM Sports.
"We learned of the report this morning and it is the first we've heard about this information," N.C. State director of athletics Debbie Yow said. "The report involves an agent N.C. State disassociated with in 2012. Of course, we will fully cooperate with any investigations or inquiries."
Smith spent his lone collegiate season at N.C. State.
The mother of Kuzma told Eric Woodyard of the Deseret News she "never knew anything about it" in a denial of the accusations. Kuzma played college basketball at Utah.
Fultz, who was the No. 1 overall pick in last June's draft, has not commented on the report. He played one season at Washington before being selected by the Philadelphia 76ers.
The report names a number of current NBA players, though it's unclear if they might be affected by the case. The FBI investigation has focused on allegations of wire fraud and corruption by agents, shoe executives and others involved behind the scenes in college basketball recruitment.
N.C. State, Utah and Washington may face sanctions from the NCAA if they are have found to played games with ineligible players. The FBI case has already led to the abrupt firing of Rick Pitino at Louisville and may continue costing coaches their jobs.