Cliff Alexander on NCAA investigation: 'My mom got tricked'

If a pro prospect is involved in any sort of collegiate scandal, no matter how trivial, they're going to be asked about it by NBA teams when participating in pre-draft interviews.

In the case of Kansas forward Cliff Alexander, teams have been asking about the NCAA investigation into potential impermissible benefits - which sidelined him for the final month of his freshman season - including the NCAA Tournament.

"They just basically want to know what happened," Alexander told 120Sports.com. "That's mainly it. They just want to know what really happened."

What really happened, according to Alexander:

"My mom got tricked into something she didn't know what she was doing, and we needed money at the time."

Before his freshman season had even begun, Alexander's mother took out a loan from a firm that specializes in pre-draft loans for prospects, with the 6-foot-8, 240-pounder projected as a top-five pick at the time.

Alexander, who averaged 7.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks in nearly 18 minutes per game as a freshman, admitted that he was thinking of sticking around at Kansas, but declared for the 2015 NBA Draft instead because he felt he'd be ruled ineligible for his sophomore season.