Shortly after the NCAA announced Monday it had ruled on the eligibility of Miami's Dewan Hernandez, who was a key figure in the FBI's investigation of corruption in college basketball, the Hurricanes junior forward responded with his own announcement.
After learning that he would be forced by the NCAA to sit out the rest of this season and 40 percent of 2019-20 before his eligibility would be reinstated, Hernandez decided to end his college career and declare for the NBA Draft.
And Hernandez and his lawyer Jason Setchen had a few choice words for the NCAA on their way out.
Due to the draconian penalty in the Dewan Hernandez case, Dewan has decided to withdraw from school to commence preparations for the NBA draft. Dewan’s statement is attached. We thank the University of Miami for their support throughout the legislative and appellate process. pic.twitter.com/V2GximWedO
— Jason Setchen (@AthleteDefender) January 28, 2019
The NCAA's reasoning for one of the harshest punishments tied to the FBI's investigation was that Hernandez was guilty of "entering into an agreement with and accepting benefits from an agent."
Hernandez was found to have been associated with Christian Dawkins, who in October was one of three men found guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
From the NCAA:
"Hernandez agreed to receive monthly payments from an agent and accepted other benefits from the individual. According to the guidelines adopted by NCAA membership, the starting point for these violations is permanent ineligibility, but the NCAA staff recognized mitigating circumstances based on the specific facts of the case when making its decision."
The NCAA and the University of Miami were in agreement on the facts of the matter, according to the NCAA, but the details on how much money and what the stipulations of the agreement were did not get disclosed.
Evidently there were plenty of things that the NCAA and Miami athletic director Blake James did not agree on, as evidenced by a statement released by James.
My statement regarding the Dewan Hernandez decision: pic.twitter.com/VVL3oJFvEm
— Blake James (@CanesAllAccess) January 28, 2019
Miami is 9-10 and trending toward its worst season since 2006-07. And now Hernandez has played his last game for the Hurricanes. It has become a lost season for Miami, which was initially tied to -- and then completely absolved -- of involvement in the FBI's probe into college basketball.
Hernandez, formerly Dewan Huell, averaged 11.4 points and 6.7 rebounds during the 2017-18 season. He was a five-star recruit coming out of high school.
