The Arkansas football team lost its star player this past weekend because of an injury suffered during an altercation outside a bar. Now the basketball team might be about to lose its projected star thanks to something a little less juicy.
Algebra.
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| Will head coach Billy Gillispie lure Sonny Weems to the Aggies? (Getty Images) |
"The people up in Arkansas are kind of sweating it," Levy told CBS SportsLine.com on Wednesday. "We should know something Monday."
Until then, nerves abound in Fayetteville, where the Hogs are counting on Weems to replace NBA first-round pick Ronnie Brewer. Ideally Weems, a 6-6 guard, would already be on campus and playing pickup games with the rest of Arkansas' heralded class, but he's instead still at Arkansas-Fort Smith trying to pass one last test.
But is he really trying to pass it?
Texas A&M's Billy Gillispie hired Arkansas-Fort Smith coach Jeremy Cox as an assistant last week, and the cynical take is that now Weems will intentionally fail the class to ensure he will be denied admission to Arkansas. Under that scenario, Weems would be free to sign with another program -- like Texas A&M, for instance -- and play this season without suffering any of the transfer penalties recruits who sign letters of intent normally endure.
Levy acknowledged hearing and being asked about this scenario. He denied its validity.
"Some people think Sonny will just drop this class and go to A&M, but that's not true," Levy said. "We believe A&M is a good school and Coach Gillispie is a good guy; We love those guys down there. But there is no truth to the rumor that Sonny is trying to fail this class to go down there. There is actually no truth to the rumor that he has decided to go down there if he does in fact fail this class. It would obviously be an option, but it wouldn't even be our first option."
Asked for the first option, Levy said Memphis.
"I almost called Memphis last week, but I was scared they'd start praying that Sonny wouldn't pass the class," Levy said with a laugh. "But that will be the first number I call."
Weems prepped at West Memphis High in Arkansas, just across the Mississippi River from Memphis. The Tigers recruited him last summer, but Weems chose Arkansas because at the time it appeared Memphis would land local phenom Thaddeus Young. Had Weems and Young played at the same college, they would've been two NBA prospects competing for minutes at the same position. Plus, Shawne Williams could've also been looming.
But Young ultimately signed with Georgia Tech, and Williams entered the NBA Draft after his freshman season. Those developments leave the Tigers with a hole to fill on the wing, which is why Weems possibly enrolling at Memphis now makes sense.
If Weems does become a Tiger, it would mark the second time this summer John Calipari's program has benefited from a recruit being denied admission to an SEC school. When Doneal Mack, a 6-5 guard, was denied admission to Florida earlier this month he quickly enrolled at Memphis and is now taking summer classes on campus.
