5-star Texas signee Bamba accepted illegal benefits, brother claims
Five-star Texas signee Mo Bamba, the third overall recruit on the ESPN 100 for 2017, is accused of breaking NCAA rules by taking gifts and money from a financial advisor.
The allegations come from Bamba's half-brother, Ibrahim Johnson, who described the supposed recruiting violations in an expletive-filled Facebook video.
Johnson claims the advisor, Greer Love, arranged vacations and other luxuries for Bamba, and steered him toward certain schools during his recruitment, with the hopes of working with the 7-footer in the future. The Harlem, N.Y., native selected Texas as his collegiate destination over Duke and Kentucky.
Johnson, who's planning to become a sports agent, believed he was going to represent his brother in the future before Love intervened. He said he's already reported Bamba to the NCAA, and added that Texas' prized freshman will be ruled ineligible for the 2017-18 season.
The Longhorns addressed the second part of that claim in a statement from the school's athletic department:
"As is usual practice by the NCAA, Mo's amateur status was previously reviewed and final certified by the NCAA Eligibility Center," it said. "The NCAA has not informed us of any pending issues or eligibility concerns at this time regarding Mo. If there are further questions, we certainly will cooperate with the NCAA to the fullest."
Love, who met Bamba several years ago through an after-school program, also responded to the allegations, telling Andrew Slater of 247 Sports he never broke a single rule.
"When Mo asked me to guide him and help coordinate the logistics of his recruitment, I immediately engaged the former Chief Compliance Officer of two Big 10/Big 12 schools, who provided frequent consultation on a variety of matters," he said. "Doing things the right way has been our top priority since day one. Mo's got way too much to lose to take any chances on anything even remotely impermissible. With my nine-year, preexisting relationship on the line with Mo personally, let alone his college eligibility, I took several additional measures to ensure that Mo was fully compliant every step of the way."
Texas wasn't accused by Johnson of any wrongdoing.