Brandon Ingram is one of the nation’s top recruits, who still hasn’t decided on an official destination to take his talents next year. The Kingston, NC native has said he would’ve already chosen UNC, but he’s apprehensive given the uncertainty surrounding their current NCAA investigation and possible sanctions.
While doing an interview on ESPNU’s Recruiting Nation, Ingram revealed that UNC has already been notified of the allegations against them.
Schick: Brandon, speaking of Roy Williams, you’re on record as saying you would have committed, likely to North Carolina, in the fall, if not for the NCAA issues the school has been dealing with. You were worried about potential sanctions that could be coming. What has Roy Williams told you about that?
Ingram: We talked privately a little bit, but they just got the allegations April 17, so we’ll go from there, and tomorrow with the next in-home visit we’ll see what happens.
After the interview, UNC told reporters they have not received the notice of allegations from college athletics’ governing body.
UNC spokesperson Steve Kirschner said the school has not received a notice of allegations from the NCAA. So it seems that Ingram misspoke, but it’s not clear what exactly where he got the specific date of April 17.
It’s also worth pointing out that even if UNC did have notice of the NCAA’s allegations, that’s not a conclusion to the investigation, but just one step of a long-running process.
In the initial, 2011 investigation, UNC received notice of the NCAA’s allegations in June. The school responded in September, and the penalties were levied in March 2012.
One thing that is clear is that the ongoing NCAA cloud over UNC has affected the Tar Heels recruiting. UNC head coach Roy Williams himself specifically said during the season that because of the NCAA investigation, it’s harder to get players to visit campus.
Final notice of the allegations would be big news to an athletic department clouded in uncertainty. They could be serious enough to deter recruits or mild enough no to.
Ingram, who will announce his decision on April 27th, is also being heavily recruited by Duke, Kansas and Kentucky.
H/T: College Spun