Southern California has declared sophomore guard De'Anthony Melton ineligible as the school continues to dig into allegations potentially linking him to the bribery scandal that rocked the sport earlier this year, his attorney told the Los Angeles Times.
Melton has yet to appear in a game this season for the Trojans after being held out as a precaution, and did not make the trip with the team this week to Hawaii for the Diamond Head Classic.
"Apparently there are some other issues that have cropped up," Melton's attorney, Vicki I. Podberesky, told the Times on Wednesday.
Federal prosecutors alleged in August that a close family friend of Melton, David Elliott, received a $5,000 bribe for directing him to use Christian Dawkins as an agent and Munish Sood as a financial adviser -- both of whom are individuals who were implicated in the grand jury's findings of corruption within the sport. The latest information, however, isn't related to the alleged $5,000 bribe.
The Times reports that Elliott's attorney denies the allegation that he received money or did anything wrong.
As a freshman last season, Melton averaged 8.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.5 assists for the Trojans, and was expected to be a major factor for USC in its Pac-12 title chase in the 2017-18 season.
