MSU - Bad Sporters https://www.badsporters.com News Blogging About Athletes Being Caught Up Tue, 21 Apr 2020 02:30:59 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.6.2 Report: MSU basketball player accused of sexual assault – CollegeBasketballTalk https://www.badsporters.com/2020/04/21/report-msu-basketball-player-accused-of-sexual-assault-collegebasketballtalk/ https://www.badsporters.com/2020/04/21/report-msu-basketball-player-accused-of-sexual-assault-collegebasketballtalk/#respond Tue, 21 Apr 2020 02:30:59 +0000 https://badsporters.com/?p=5401 Here is an updated 2020 NBA mock draft. Who are the best 2020 NBA Draft prospects? One thing that needs to be mentioned before we get into the meat of this 2020 NBA mock draft is that the only thing certain about the draft is that, eventually, it is going to happen. When will the […]

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Here is an updated 2020 NBA mock draft. Who are the best 2020 NBA Draft prospects?

One thing that needs to be mentioned before we get into the meat of this 2020 NBA mock draft is that the only thing certain about the draft is that, eventually, it is going to happen.

When will the 2020 NBA Draft happen? Right now it is scheduled for June 25th, but that seems likely to change at some point. We can’t hold the draft until we have a draft order, and we won’t have a draft order until the NBA season finishes. If you haven’t noticed, it seems pretty unlikely that the NBA will start again until at least May.

RELATED: 2020 NBA Mock Draft 1.0

There are also questions about the way the pre-draft process will play out. Prospects will not be flying around the country to participate in workouts. They will not be going from team-to-team to conduct interviews. It seems unlikely that there is going to be a combine in mid-May, if at all. There is a real feeling amongst NBA teams that they have scouted these prospects in person for the last time.

What does that mean for the players that have declared, or will declare in the coming days and weeks?

Preseason Top 25 | Coaching Carousel | Early Entry Tracker

Well, they won’t be able to convince teams that they were capable of doing things that they weren’t allowed to do within the confines of their college team. They won’t be able to spend eight weeks doing nothing but perfecting a three-point shot to look good at the combine or during workouts. They won’t be able to show out during the NCAA tournament and turn themselves into a first round pick.

This is all new and unprecedented.

So with that in mind, a couple programming notes:

First and foremost, I am not projecting which teams will be picking in specific slots. There are just far too many question marks about right now, particularly when you consider that the NBA changed the way their lottery works this season. So for now, this is just a ranking of who I believe are the best available players.

Secondly, I don’t know that I’m actually an expert on anything, but I’m certainly not an expert on European hoops. So for now, this is less a 2020 NBA Mock Draft and more a power ranking of the best prospects in the NCAA with LaMelo Ball and R.J. Hampton sprinkled in. I’m sure Deni Avdija is awesome. Until he plays in the EYBL, I won’t have any feel for what he can do beyond watching the same YouTube videos you watch.

Hey, at least I’m being honest about it.

So without further ado, here is the NBC Sports 2020 NBA Mock Draft.



2020 NBA MOCK DRAFT

1. ANTHONY EDWARDS, Georgia, SG

Details: 18 years old, 6-foot-4, 225 lbs
Key Stats: 19.1 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 2.8 apg, 40% FG, 29% 3PT

Edwards is the best scorer in this 2020 NBA Mock Draft. At 6-foot-4 with a 6-foot-8 wingspan and explosive athleticism, he’s proven himself to be a dangerous three-level bucket-getter that can get hot and do things like score 33 points in a half. Ask Michigan State. He also has the physical profile of a guard that can defend two or three different positions in the NBA. It’s all there.

But Edwards is still learning how to play and how to be consistent. Far too often he settled for deep, contested threes. They looked great when he hit a couple in a row, but he shot 29 percent from three as a freshman. That speaks for itself, although part of that inefficiency absolutely stems from the load he was asked to carry. Edwards was not getting too many easy looks created for him.

There are also too many stretches where he looks disengaged in the game, whether it’s due to his lack of focus on the defensive end of his passivity offensively. He’s developed a reputation dating all the way back to his high school days for being a guy that starts slow and puts up huge second half numbers in a losing effort.

2. LAMELO BALL, Australia

Details: 18 years old, 6-foot-7, 180 lbs
Key Stats: 17 ppg, 7 apg, 7.5 rpg

I know what you’re going to think when you hear LaMelo Ball’s name. The reaction is going to be you thinking back to the little 5-foot-11 kid with braces and a blonde mohawk launching shots from halfcourt and cherry-picking against overmatched competition to try and get to 100 points in a game. You’re going to immediately think of all the things you hated about Lavar Ball, and I get it.

But Melo grew up. He’s not just the baby brother anymore. He’s now a 6-foot-7 lead guard that has all of the tools that would lead you to believe that he can be a star feature guard in the NBA. He’s a terrific passer that can make every read you want a point guard to make out of ball-screens with either hand, and he has the size to see those passes over the defense. His feel for the game and basketball IQ are elite. He’s been an inconsistent and inefficient shooter throughout his career, but he’s always been a good free throw shooter and while he certainly needs to tweak his mechanics, some of those low percentages can be explained away by the degree of difficulty of the shots he is taking.

Which leads me to what may be the most important point here: Not only is Melo one of the youngest players in this draft, he is also a late-bloomer. He’s still growing into his frame, and while I doubt he’s ever be on par with someone like Russell Westbrook, he’s definitely going to get stronger and more athletic as he matures physically and gets into an NBA strength training program. When that happens, it should help his explosiveness and ability to handle physicality. There are risks here, but I don’t think it’s crazy to say he has the highest ceiling of anyone in this draft class.

The bigger issue is the off-the-court stuff. He has a reputation, fairly or unfairly, of being a lazy defender with a lacking work ethic. Teams picking at the top of the draft will have to do their due diligence. He may have a high ceiling, but there’s also some bust potential at play. If it all works out, he could end up being the second-coming of Luka Doncic.

RELATED: 2020 NBA Mock Draft 1.0

3. JAMES WISEMAN, Memphis

Details: 19 years old, 7-foot-1, 240 pounds
Key Stats: 19.7 ppg, 10.7 rpg, 3.0 bpg

Wiseman has all the physical tools that you want out of a five in the modern NBA. He’s 7-foot-1 with a 7-foot-6 wingspan, an exceptional athlete that can really get up and down the floor and finish above the rim. He has all the tools to be a rim protector that can guard in ball-screens and switch on the perimeter if needed. He’s not Dirk Nowitzki but he’s not Clint Capela, either — he’s shown some flashes of being capable on the perimeter.

The red flags with Wiseman are two-fold. For starters, his competitiveness has been questioned throughout his career. He hasn’t always controlled games the way someone his size should be able to. He isn’t as tough or as physical as some would like, and he seems to have a habit of trying to prove that he can play away from the basket instead of overpowering anyone that gets between him and the rim. None of these concerns were helped by his decision to quit on his Memphis team in December, halfway through a suspension for break (admittedly silly) NCAA rules.

My gut feeling on Wiseman is that if he decided he wanted to be, say, the next Myles Turner, he could end up one of the eight-to-ten best centers in the NBA. If he decides that he wants to be the next Giannis, I don’t think it will go as well.

4. OBI TOPPIN, Dayton

Details: 22 years old, 6-foot-9, 220 lbs
Key Stats: 20.0 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.2 bpg, 1.0 bpg, 63% FG, 39% 3PT

Toppin is one of three guys in this draft that, if I were an NBA GM, I would want to definitively be higher than the field on, and the reason for that is two-fold: On the one hand, Toppin is one of just a handful of players in this 2020 NBA Mock Draft that I believe can make a significant impact in the NBA as a rookie, and given that the top of this draft class is made up of players that are going to be drafted on their potential without having the upside of being a franchise-changing talent, I think there is value in drafting a guy with a rock-solid floor.

The reason that Toppin’s floor is so high is because of how well he fits as a role player at the next level. Anthony Grant’s offense at Dayton was as close to a modern NBA scheme as you are going to find in the college game, and the reason he is able to play that way has everything to do with Toppin’s skill set. At 6-foot-9, he’s an explosive leaper that is versatile offensively — he can hit a three, he can score off the bounce, he has a pretty good feel for the game, he’s a capable and willing passer. He also has the size and physical tools where it is conceivable that he can play the four or the five in small-ball lineups, although he’ll need some development here; he has high hips and a slender waist which casts some doubt on how well he’ll be able to put on weight and how well he can sit in a stance and guard on the perimeter. And while there is some value in being capable of guarding fours or fives, there are some valid questions about whether or not he’ll be above average guarding either.

I do think that will come with time spent in the right NBA strength and conditioning program, and the fact that he’s a late-bloomer that was just 6-foot-2 as a high school junior is relevant here as well.

I broke down why Toppin is such a good fit for Dayton’s offense last month, and all of that applies to why he’ll be such a good fit at the next level as well:

5. ISAAC OKORO, Auburn

Details: 19 years old, 6-foot-6, 225 lbs
Key Stats: 12.9 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.0 apg, 29% 3PT

Okoro is another guy that I would want to be higher than consensus on, because I think he has a chance to be a really good starter on an NBA team for the next 12 years. I’m not sure there is anything more valuable in the modern NBA than a wing that is a multi-positional defender, that can guard in space and that is capable of creating against a close out or in isolation, but I am sure that there is no one in this 2020 NBA Mock Draft that better fits that role than Okoro.

I don’t think it’s crazy to say that Okoro was the best perimeter defender in college basketball this season. He can guard up, he can guard down, he can move his feet, he’s already built like a pro, he’s shown the ability to block shots as a help-side defender. It’s what he hangs his hat on. But he’s also proven to be particularly adept off the dribble, where he’s a nightmare to stop once he gets a step. He can finish above the rim, but perhaps his most underrated skill is his ability to read defenses and pass the ball. He definitely is a capable and willing playmaker.

The one question mark is the shooting, but in conversations I’ve had with people that know Isaac, both at the collegiate and high school levels, the consensus is that he’s a worker. He’ll put in the hours that he needs to in order to make himself a threat from three.

Here’s a breakdown from January:

6. TYRESE HALIBURTON, Iowa State

Details: 20 years old, 6-foot-5, 175 lbs
Key Stats: 15.2 ppg, 6.5 apg, 5.9 rpg, 41.9% 3PT

Haliburton’s numbers jump off the page. At 6-foot-5, he’s a lead guard with terrific vision that can throw every pass a point guard is going to be asked to make. He’s an excellent three-point shooter that has positional size and has shown himself to be, at the very least, adequate as an on- and off-ball defender. He was the best player on the floor for Team USA at the U-19 World Championships over the summer. All of that adds up.

If there is a concern with Haliburton, it’s his physical tools. He’s not an explosive athlete and, at 175 pounds, there are valid concerns about how well he is going to handle the rigors of getting to the rim in the NBA. He also has a slow, funky release on his jumper — think Shawn Marion. Will he be able to get that shot off at the next level?

I’m high on Haliburton because, after seeing the way that elite passers like Luka Doncic, Ja Morant and Trae Young have thrived early in their NBA career, I’m willing to take the risk on a 6-foot-5 point guard that can make those passes in a year where the opportunity of rolling the dice at the top is relatively low.

7. ONYEKA OKONGWU, USC

Details: 19 years old, 6-foot-9, 245 lbs
Key Stats: 16.2 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 2.7 bpg, 1.2 spg, 72% FT

For me, the intrigue with Okongwu is pretty simple. He is a 6-foot-9 five that is an explosive athlete with an already-sturdy frame. He produced at the college level, both as a scorer and a rebounder, and has shown some pretty solid post moves for a 19-year old. He can defend the rim. He’s athletic enough that being a switchable five is in the range of outcomes. He has a soft touch around the basket, and while he’s shooting just 15-for-35 on jumpers this season, according to Synergy, he’s 9-for-19 on jumpers inside 17 feet and shooting 72 percent from the free throw line on 143 free throws.

Worst-case scenario, Okongwu turns into an off-the-bench big that provides energy, rebounding and defense. If the jumper comes along, he can be more than that, but is it worth a top ten on a guy who seems likely to end up being a bench player?

8. COLE ANTHONY, North Carolina

Details: 19 years old, 6-foot-3, 190 lbs
Key Stats: 18.5 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 4.0 apg, 35% 3PT

I’m torn on Cole as a prospect. On the one hand, I love everything about the way he is wired. He’s tough, confident and competitive, the ultimate alpha. He’s a worker that will put in the hours in the gym. Given the way he grew up, he’s not going to be intimidated by anything. In an era where draft prospects are quitting their teams, what they call “shutting it down”, midseason once they’ve earned a spot near the top of the lottery, Cole fought back from a knee injury that required surgery to get back on the court and fight with his team despite the fact that they really don’t have much left to play for during the season.

I respect that. If I’m an NBA GM, I want players wired that way.

The problem with Cole is the way that he plays. He’s tough and athletic, but given his average height and length, he’s more or less going to have to guard point guards at the next level. I’m not sure he’s quite good enough to be the guy in the NBA that he has been throughout his career. He plays like Russell Westbrook, a hyper-kinetic athlete that is a streaky, sometimes inefficient shooter with a limited passing range that has a habit of dribbling the air out of the ball and shooting his team out of games on off nights. He’ll be 20 years old by the time he’s drafted. How much more room is there for him to change?

What I will say is this: Anthony did become a better passer later in the season, as he gained more confidence in his teammates and after he went through a stretch where he was shooting the Tar Heels out of games. That’s a good sign, but I still have my doubts.

9. TYRESE MAXEY, Kentucky

Details: 19 years old, 6-foot-3, 198 pounds
Key Stats: 14.0 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.2 apg, 29% 3PT

Taking a risk on Maxey this high in the 2020 NBA Mock Draft means betting on the fact that his 29 percent three-point shooting as a freshman has more to do with adjusting to the college level than it does his actual shooting ability. Coming through high school, Maxey had the reputation for being a big-time scorer because of his ability to make deep jumpers off the bounce and because of the way that he can finish around the rim with a variety of floaters and layups.

And while he would show flashes of being the dominant scorer Kentucky needed him to be, the Wildcats late-season surge was a direct result of Immanuel Quickley’s improvement, not Maxey finding consistency. We spent the entire season saying “just wait until Maxey finds his stroke” and he never really did. He needs to be able to make that shot because the rest of his game is somewhat limited. He’s not a natural creator, he’s wired to score more than anything else, and he certainly isn’t an elite athlete by NBA combo-guard standards, although he is a pretty good on-ball defender. He’s also a worker, and by all accounts a great kid and competitor. I think there’s a real chance his ceiling is as a second-unit scorer, but if it all comes together I can see him putting together a career on par with Lou Williams.

10. SADDIQ BEY, Villanova

Details: 20 years old, 6-foot-8, 216 lbs
Key Stats: 16.1 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 2.4 apg, 45% 3PT
Full Scouting Report

Saddiq Bey is the third guy that I would want to be higher than anyone on, because I think that he has a chance to be one of the best players to come out of this 2020 NBA Mock Draft. Bey is something of a late-bloomer. He’s was a 6-foot-1 guard when he was a sophomore, and according to the Villanova coaching staff, he has actually grown an inch or two since he arrived on campus. He’s listed at 6-foot-8 and may be closer to 6-foot-9 by the time it’s all said and done.

Bey’s shooting ability speaks for itself. He hit 45 percent of his threes while shooting more than five per game, and he finished in the 98th percentile nationally in spot-up shooting, according to Synergy. He has shown some playmaking ability, and while he’s not much of an off-the-dribble shooter at this point in his development, he is capable of playing as the handler in ball-screen actions. Most importantly, as we have seen with the wings that have come out of the Villanova program of late, they just know how to play. You won’t see the floor there if you don’t, and given the fact that Bey was asked to be the do-it-all point guard on his high school team, he has experience being more than just a scorer.

But the thing that has really stood out about Bey since he arrived on the Main Line is his ability to defend. He’s the best defender in the program, and while Villanova has not always been known for how they guard, they were the second-best defensive team in the Big East behind Seton Hall, who was a top-eight defense nationally. They’ve put him on lightening quick point guards like Devon Dotson and Kamar Baldwin, and Villanova’s tendency to switch means that Bey has spent plenty of time guarding bigs as well.

So what we have here is a multi-positional defender that shoots the cover off the ball and can be a playmaker off the bounce. I think he’s just as good of a prospect as Mikal Bridges, Donte DiVincenzo, Eric Paschall and Josh Hart, and all four of those guys have turned into players that will last in the NBA for a while. Bey is next in line.

11. R.J. HAMPTON, Australia

Details: 19 years old, 6-foot-5, 188 lbs
Key Stats: 9.5 ppg, 2.5 apg, 1.3 spg, 31.7% 3PT

Hampton is a kid that has quite a bit of potential, but he’ll need time to develop at the next level. He’s a 6-foot-5 guard that can play on or off the ball, but needs to continue to develop his ball-handling and his perimeter jumper to be able to do either at the NBA level. He has the length, quickness and athleticism to be able to defend either backcourt spot in time, but he is something of a late-bloomer that needs to put on some weight and strength. He’ll try defensively, too, but he needs to be coached up. Again, that will come with time.

The biggest concern I have with Hampton — who played this past season in Australia — is that I’m not sure if he has an elite skill yet.

12. DEVIN VASSELL, Florida State

Details: 19 years old, 6-foot-6, 180 lbs
Key Stats: 12.7 ppg, 1.4 spg, 1.0 bpg, 42% 3PT

Vassell was one of the breakout stars of the ACC, leading a good Florida State team in scoring and doubles as their best three-point shooter. He’s got the size and the length to be a good defender at the NBA level, and he’s proven to be a playmaker on that end of the floor — he averaged 1.4 steals and 1.0 blocks. Playing for Leonard Hamilton, you can be sure he got plenty of reps switching defensively and guarding bigger and smaller players. He’s not much of a playmaker on the offensive end, and at 180 pounds, he definitely needs to add some weight to his frame. But he’s precisely what you look for as a 3-and-D wing. In a 2020 NBA Mock Draft where it’s hard to find sure things, Vassell, on paper, seems to be as close to a known quantity as you are going to get in this range.

13. PRECIOUS ACHIUWA, Memphis

Details: 20 years old, 6-foot-9, 225 lbs
Key Stats: 15.8 ppg, 10.8 rpg, 1.9 bpg, 1.1 spg, 33% 3PT

The biggest question mark for me when it comes to Achiuwa is whether or not he is going embrace what he actually is. For my money, he’s something of a poor man’s Bam Adebayo, a big man that can be used at the four and, ideally, as a small-ball five. He plays hard, he has a 7-foot-2 wingspan and he’s proven himself as a rebounder. He also has some perimeter skill, and he did make some threes this season. There’s a market for that in the NBA, and it’s a role Achiuwa should be able to thrive in.

But is that what he wants to be? Or does he think that he’s a three? The potential is there for Achiuwa to be effective as a face-up forward against bigger, slower centers. I’m not sure the same can be said for him as a three. Remember, Achiuwa will turn 21 years old before he plays in his first NBA game. He was a freshman this season and he is just two months younger than Kaleb Wesson, who was a junior. If Achiuwa embraces who he is, he has a long and profitable basketball career in front of him.

14. NICO MANNION, Arizona

Details: 19 years old, 6-foot-3, 190 lbs
Key Stats: 14.0 ppg, 5.3 apg, 33% 3PT

I’m not sure whether or not Mannion will actually get drafted this high, but I’m willing to rank him this high because of what his floor is in a draft where there are a number of prospects that could end up being total busts. To me, Mannion has the same kind of prospect profile as the likes of Jalen Brunson, or Fred VanVleet, or T.J. McConnell, or Ryan Arcidiacono. He’s a guy that, at worst, will spend a decade playing in the NBA as a backup point guard because of his basketball IQ, his ability to makes shots and the fact that he can operate in a pick-and-roll.

My concern with drafting him this high is that he doesn’t really have an NBA skill. He’s a good athlete but not a great athlete, and that isn’t helped by the fact that his wingspan is reportedly 6-foot-2.5. He’s not great at beating defenders off the dribble in the halfcourt, which is a problem for an NBA point guard. He’s a good shooter but he’s not a great shooter. He’s a high-level passer but he’s not Trae Young or Luka Doncic. He tries defensively but he just doesn’t have the physical tools to be a lockdown defender. I’m just not sure what he does that truly sets him apart, and the fact that he was the leader of an Arizona team that kept losing games they shouldn’t lose is concerning.

15. AARON NESMITH, Vanderbilt

Details: 20 years old, 6-foot-6, 213 lbs
Key Stats: 23 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 52.2% 3PT, 8.2 3PAs

Again, this one is pretty simple for me. Nesmith is a 6-foot-6 wing with a 6-foot-10 wingspan that was shooting a ridiculous 52.2% from three while taking more than eight threes per game before suffering a foot injury that ended his season. He’s not the most explosive athlete, but he was one of the most improved players in the country before he got hurt. I’m willing to take a bet on a guard with those measureables when he’s a hard enough worker to go from 33.7 percent shooting as a freshman to this. That’s the kind of leap that Buddy Hield made heading into his senior season. Nesmith is just a sophomore.

That said, Hield won at a significantly higher clip than Nesmith did, and Hield did it against Big 12 competition. Nesmith’s season was cut short before he really got into the teeth of SEC play. But I’d be willing to roll the dice on his shooting carrying him to a role in the league.

16. ISAIAH STEWART, Washington

Details: 18 years old, 6-foot-9, 250 lbs
Key Stats: 17.0 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 2.1 bpg, 77% FT

What you see is what you get with Stewart. He’s a tireless rebounder that, at 250 pounds of solid muscle, is ready to compete in the paint against NBA bigs right now. He’s a good post scorer that has shown some glimpses of being able to make threes — the Washington staff will tell you he’s lights out in practice. That’s the good. The bad is that he is an undersized center at 6-foot-9 that doesn’t have the length or explosiveness to be able to protect the rim at the NBA level, and while he’ll put in the effort to guard on the perimeter, he has never really shown that ability. Playing in that Washington zone hasn’t helped quell those concerns, either. He’s tough, he has a motor, he’s really good at the things that he does well, but if he’s not going to protect the rim or guard on the perimeter, where does he fit in the modern NBA?

I also think Stewart is the kind of guy that will be hurt by the fact that there won’t be any workouts. He’s an impressive interview that could show off his shooting and, at least in theory, prove what he can do defensively.

17. PATRICK WILLIAMS, Florida State

Details: 18 years old, 6-foot-8, 225 lbs
Key Stats: 9.2 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 32% 3PT

The numbers look fairly pedestrian, admittedly, but putting them in context is important: Williams was coming off the bench for a Florida State team that goes 11 deep and gives everyone pretty equal minutes. No one ever puts up huge numbers in a Leonard Hamilton program. What they do is incubate players that project as role guys in the league. At 6-foot-8, Williams is a terrific athlete and a burgeoning defender and that can protect the rim and guard out on the perimeter when needed. And while the shooting stroke was somewhat inconsistent this past season, the potential is there — he did shoot 84 percent from three this year.

18. JADEN MCDANIELS, Washington

Details: 19 years old, 6-foot-10, 200 lbs
Key Stats: 13.0 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1.4 bpg, 34% 3PT

On the one hand, it is very easy to see why McDaniels is such a tantalizing prospect. Players with his size and his length aren’t supposed to be able to do the things that he does on the perimeter. He has impressive handle, he can knock down tough perimeter jumpers and every once in a while he will do something during a game that will make it to the House of Highlights page. His ‘wow’ moments pop.

On the other hand, McDaniels is 200 pounds soaking wet with slender shoulders and skinny legs. He hasn’t handled contact all that well this season, and he is not all that explosive of an athlete. And during Pac-12 play, all of the red flags came to the forefront. Emotional outbursts led to far too many technical fouls. He led the Pac-12 in fouls and turnovers. He averaged just 11 points during conference play. He was benched for the last ten games, and Washington wasn’t definitively better with him on the floor.

He’s a lottery ticket in this 2020 NBA mock draft.

19. JALEN SMITH, Maryland

Details: 20 years old, 6-foot-10, 225 lbs
Key Stats: 15.5 ppg, 10.5 rpg, 2.4 bpg, 37 3PT%

Stix Smith was one of the best players in college basketball over the course of the last month. He’s a pogo-stick athletically that stsrted to make threes on a consistent basis. I’m worried about his frame — he checks in at 225 pounds, but looks like he’s closer to 200 pounds — and I’m not sure how much of a weapon he is offensively beyond being a spot-up shooter. Defensively, he can protect the rim, but will that translate to the NBA, where every five he goes up against will have 20 pounds on him? And while he is a terrific athlete, he plays stiff and upright. I’m not sure how well he will use that athleticism without a runway for takeoff.

All that said, over the course of the last eight weeks of the season, Smith’s potential turned into production. It was the biggest reason Maryland looked like one of the best teams in the country down the stretch. I’m willing to bet on him at the back end of the first round.

20. TRE JONES, Duke

Details: 20 years old, 6-foot-3, 185 lbs
Key Stats: 16.2 ppg, 6.4 apg, 1.8 spg, 36.1% 3PT

Jones is a really good passer, a terrific defender and the kind of point guard that checks all the cliche boxes about being a winner, a leader and a facilitator. He was the ACC Player of the Year and the ACC Defensive Player of the Year. His box score numbers were impressive, and his impact on basketball games goes well beyond the box score.

But more importantly, his jump shot showed real, tangible improvement. Jones made 36 percent of his threes and shot four of them per night. In catch-and-shoot situations, he made 40 percent of his jumpers and hit them at a 1.18 points-per-possession clip (or a 59% eFG, which was in the 82nd percentile nationally). His pull-up game isn’t there yet, but if he went from being a guy that teams flat-out did not guard beyond 12 feet as a freshman to a 36 percent shooter as a sophomore, whose to say his pull-up game won’t be next?

If Jones never gets any better, if this is who he is for the rest of his basketball career, he’s a backup point guard in the league until he doesn’t want to play anymore. If he continues to develop his shot, however, he could end up being a starting point guard. I find it hard to believe this kid isn’t going to keep getting better. In a draft like this, that’s great value this late.

21. JAHMI’US RAMSEY, Texas Tech

Details: 18 years old, 6-foot-4, 195 lbs
Key Stats: 15.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 43% 3PT

I’ve gone through stages with Ramsey. I loved him in high school. I was frustrated by him early on in his college career, as Texas Tech worked through figuring out what the best way to use him is. What they’ve settled on is as a scorer and an elite shot-maker. The big red flag for me is that I expected Ramsey to play the Jarrett Culver-Keenan Evans role for Texas Tech, but he’s not that guy because he is not on their level at creating out of ball-screens or as a passer. Since he is only 6-foot-4, that’s something to monitor in the longterm.

But he’s a bouncy athlete that can play in transition, shoots the cover off of the ball and should be able to attack closeouts. The two major question marks are on the defensive end of the floor and shooting off of the dribble, but those are things that can be improved with time. He’s not the player that I thought he would be, but he’s still good enough that using a top 25 pick on him makes sense.

22. KIRA LEWIS Jr., Alabama

Details: 18 years old, 6-foot-3, 165 lbs
Key Stats: 18.5 ppg, 5.2 apg, 4.8 rpg, 1.7 spg, 37% 3PT

Lewis checks a lot of boxes. He’s young for a sophomore — he enrolled at Alabama as a 17-year old and won’t turn 19 until April — and he put up huge numbers for an Alabama team that is built to run, run, run and shoot nothing but threes and layups. He also shot 37 percent from three for the second consecutive season. He’s slender, he’s turnover prone and part of the reason he produced as much as he did this season was because of the pace that Alabama played at. He’s worth a first round pick, especially considering his age.

23. CASSIUS WINSTON, Michigan State

Details: 22 years old, 6-foot-1, 185 lbs
Key Stats: 18.6 ppg, 5.9 apg, 43% 3PT

Winston did not have the season many of us expected him to have as a senior — understandably, given the death of his brother in November — but he still put up All-American numbers for a team that won a share of the Big Ten regular season title. He was playing his best basketball down the stretch, and he still have the highest basketball IQ of anyone in this 2020 NBA mock draft. He’s an elite passer and shooter that thrives in ball-screens. Yes, the defense and athleticism are concerns, but we said the same thing about numerous point guards that have made careers out of being backup point guards. Winston is the next in that pipeline.

24. JOSH GREEN, Arizona

Details: 19 years old, 6-foot-6, 210 lbs
Key Stats: 12.0 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 36% 3PT

Green is a consistent jumper away from being a guy that can stick in the league as a role player for a decade. He’s really athletic, he’s terrific in transition and he’s a willing defender that gives effort. He can be coached up on that end. But he was limited as a scorer in the half court — 1.19 PPP in transition vs. 0.825 in the half court — and part of that is due to the fact that he shot just 33.3 percent on jumpers in half court offense.

25. VERNON CAREY, Duke

Details: 18 years old, 6-foot-10, 250 lbs
Key Stats: 17.8 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 1.6 bpg, 38% 3PT

Carey has proven himself as a terrific low-post scorer and has actually shown off a nice touch from the perimeter. He is left-hand dominant, but that’s something that can be worked on. To be frank, I’m not really all that concerned about the offensive side of the ball with Carey. The biggest issue for Carey is that he is not all that explosive and he is not all that quick, even with the weight he shed during the offseason. He’s struggled in ball-screen coverages and he does not profile as a rim protector at the NBA level. If you can’t guard the rim and you can’t guard ball-screens, where do you fit defensively in the NBA?

26. XAVIER TILLMAN, Michigan State

Details: 21 years old, 6-foot-8, 245 lbs
Key Stats: 13.7 ppg, 10.3 rpg, 3.0 apg, 2.1 bpg, 1.2 spg

I may be out on a limb here, but I truly believe that Tillman is worth a first round pick, especially in this year’s draft class. There’s really two reasons for this: For starters, he is a terrific passer. No one in college basketball is better than making the right play in a 4-on-3 scenario when the defense traps a pick-and-roll ball-handler than Tillman. But he is also an excellent defender that can really read the game. Talk to people around the Michigan State program and they’ll tell you he ran everything defensively. It was his voice that teammates heard. Now, the major question mark is his size. At just 6-foot-8, can he defend fives? Is he quick enough to play the four? If we knew for a fact that the answer to both of those questions would be ‘yes, and he can do it very well,’ I would have him slotted as a top 20 pick.

27. DANIEL OTURU, Minnesota

Details: 20 years old, 6-foot-10, 240 lbs
Key Stats: 20.1 ppg, 11.3 rpg, 2.5 bpg, 37% 3PT

In a league where seemingly every team had a dominant interior player, Daniel Oturu has been arguably the best two-way center in the Big Ten. The numbers that he put up speak for themselves. He was one of the most improved players in the country. He doesn’t have the greatest feel for the game, and he’s something of a blackhole when he does get the ball in his hands, but he has shown off a bit of three-point range and is actually able to put the ball on the floor and make things happen off the bounce. I think his fit as a five in the NBA is better than some of the bigs slotted in front of him.

28. ZEKE NNAJI, Arizona

Details: 19 years old, 6-foot-11, 240 lbs
Key Stats: 16.1 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 0.9 bpg

Nnaji is the most explosive big in this 2020 NBA mock draft class. He’s really, really athletic, and his second jump is something to behold. His production speaks for itself, even if some of it has to due with Arizona’s pace and the play of Nico Mannion. That said, I’m down on Nnaji compared to the rest of the field because I think that he’s somewhat limited defensively. He has a tendency for getting lost guarding ball-screens and he is not a very good rim protector. Can those things be coached up enough to make him worth being picked over the likes of Daniel Oturu, Isaiah Stewart or Jalen Smith?

29. DEVON DOTSON, Kansas

Details: 20 years old, 6-foot-1, 185 lbs
Key Stats: 18.1 ppg, 4.0 apg, 4.1 rpg, 2.3 spg, 31% 3PT

At some point it just becomes impossible to ignore the production. Dotson averaged 18-4-4 for the best team in college basketball, showcasing the ability to get to the rim almost at will while playing tough, aggressive on-ball defense for the best defensive team in the sport. There are some concerns — he’s very right hand-dominant, he shot 31 percent from three, he’s not physically imposing — but he’s worth a flier in this draft class.

30. UDOKA AZUBUIKE, Kansas

Details: 20 years old, 7-foot, 250 lbs
Key Stats:13.7 ppg, 10.5 rpg, 2.6 bpg, 75% FG, 44% FT

I don’t think that it’s crazy to say that Doke helped his professional outlook more than any player in college basketball this season. He was the most dominant defensive force in the sport. His ability to control the paint was unmatched, but he shed enough weight and improved his footspeed enough that he was able to shutdown pick-and-roll actions playing drop coverage, something we are seeing more of in the NBA.

The big question is if he is quick enough to be able to do that at the professional level as well, because he is never going to be a threat to do anything offensively more than four feet away from the rim and he’ll always be a Hack-a-Doke risk given his free throw shooting.

But a year ago, I would have said there was no chance that Azubuike could play in the NBA. None. And now I think that he’ll be an effective piece for a team that is creative in the way they use him in certain matchups.

31. CASSIUS STANLEY, Duke

Details: 20 years old, 6-foot-6, 193 lbs
Key Stats: 12.6 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 36% 3PT

Stanley is one of the most explosive athletes in this draft class. He’s a guy that projects as a plus-defender as a result. If you assume that his 36 percent three-point shooting is for real, he’s a solid 3-and-D wing prospect that could find a way onto a roster. His shooting mechanics are a little funky, and he was flat-out bad shooting off the dribble, but he was in the 87th percentile nationally on all jump shots at 1.099 PPP and the 93rd percentile nationally on catch-and-shoot jumpers at 1.312 PPP, according to Synergy.

32. YVES PONS, Tennessee

Details: 21 years old, 6-foot-6, 215 lbs
Key Stats: 10.8 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 2.4 bpg, 35% 3PT

Pons is the best athlete and the best defender in this entire 2020 NBA mock draft class. You often hear things like “he can guard all five positions” which tends to be an exaggeration. Not for Pons. He can, quite literally, guard any point guard, any center and anyone in between. He can play the four, and at times even the five, in small-ball lineups in the NBA to great effect. What makes him even more intriguing is that he shot 42 percent on unguarded catch-and-shoot threes. I think this is the most important number when it comes to his three-point shooting, because these are the face-up, step-in threes that he’ll be shooting at the next level.

The thing about Pons is that he played the three as a sophomore. As a junior, he was Tennessee’s four, which meant that instead of coming off of screens to get a shot, he was stepping into them as a trailing big or catching and shooting as a floor-spacer. This is the role he would play in the league.

Put it all together, and I’ll buy on a player that has an elite NBA skill with the potential to fill out his game to be effective in a role.

33. PAUL REED, DePaul

Details: 20 years old, 6-foot-9, 220 lbs
Key Stats: 15.1 ppg, 10.7 rpg, 2.6 bpg, 1.9 spg

Here’s what you need to know about Paul Reed right now: Since Shane Battier left school in 2001, there have been two high-major players that have averaged at least 2.0 blocks and 2.0 steals in the same season: Matisse Thybulle and Nerlens Noel. Noel is the only other high-major player to average 1.9 steals and 2,5 blocks. While Reed is shooting just 16-for-52 from three this season, he shot 40.5 percent from beyond the arc as a sophomore and has been a 75 percent free throw shooter the last two years. Size, length, athleticism, defensive playmaking, defensive versatility and a shot at being a shooter, too? I’m in, even with DePaul’s late-season swoon.

34. AYO DOSUNMU, Illinois

Details: 20 years old, 6-foot-5, 185 lbs
Key Stats: 16.6 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 3.3 apg, 30% 3PT

Dosunmu is a tough player to project. On the one hand, he has all the physical tools to be a capable combo-guard in the NBA, and he proved himself as a slasher and clutch-shot maker as a sophomore. On the other hand, in a year where he was trying to prove to NBA scouts that he can be a consistent three-point shooter, his numbers dipped from 35 percent to under 30 percent. He has a reputation for being a worker and a good locker room guy, and given his ability to defend both backcourt positions, I certainly think it’s reasonable to bet on him getting better as a shooter in the second round.

35. MALACHI FLYNN, San Diego State

Details: 21 years old, 6-foot-1, 185 lbs
Key Stats: 17.6 ppg, 5.1 apg, 4.5 rpg, 37% 3PT

Flynn is in a tough spot. On the one hand, he just finished his fourth season in college by having an All-American campaign while leading the Aztecs to a 30-2 record and the brink of a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. He turns 22 in May. It makes sense for him to leave now, striking while the iron is hot.

But just how hot is that iron, so to speak? Flynn is a plus-shooter that shines in ball-screens and thrived in an offense that was built entirely around his ability to do those two things. But he’s 6-foot-1, somewhat limited physically and looking at being a preseason first-team All-American if he returns to school.

At this point, I think that he is what he is as a player — a career NBA backup with a chance to get a couple of contracts in the NBA doing just that.

36. JORDAN NWORA, Louisville

Details: 21 years old, 6-foot-7, 225 lbs
Key Stats: 18.0 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 40.2% 3PT

Nwora has the size, the length and the shooting ability to make it as a wing in the NBA. He’s a better leaper than he gets credit for because of his reputation for being a subpar athlete, but where that lacking athleticism is seen functionally is in his ability to defend. He’s not that quick laterally, and that’s a concern for a guy that will theoretically be twos and threes in the NBA.

37. GRANT RILLER, Charleston

Details: 23 years old, 6-foot-3, 190 lbs
Key Stats: 21.9 ppg, 3.9 apg, 36% 3PT

Riller is just a bucket-getter. He’s crafty off the bounce, he can finish around the basket and he is a capable three-point shooter. He also has positional size to play lead guard in the NBA. What’s the downside of drafting him in the second round and seeing what he develops into?

38. MAMADI DIAKITE, Virginia

Details: 23 years old, 6-foot-9, 224 lbs
Key Stats: 13.7 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 1.3 bpg, 36.4% 3PT

Diakite is 23 years old, he’s not overly physical, he has never been a great rebounder and he’s a better rim protector in theory than in practice, so I get it. But also understand that he has been Virginia’s best three-point shooter this season, the guy that was used in actions that Tony Bennett ran for Kyle Guy last year, and he’s a 6-foot-9 switchable four. I’ll forever be on the Mamadi bandwagon.

39. KALEB WESSON, Ohio State

Details: 20 years old, 6-foot-9, 250 lbs
Key Stats: 14.8 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 1.9 apg, 42.5% 3PT

Wesson is the guy that was helped the most by testing the waters of the NBA draft last year. He shed some weight, he’s gotten much better as a defender in ball-screen actions and he’s still a bully on the block that can really pass and knockdown threes. He’s got a shot to stick.

40. MYLES POWELL, Seton Hall

Details: 22 years old, 6-foot-1, 195 lbs
Key Stats: 21.0 ppg, 2.9 apg, 30.6% 3PT

Powell’s efficiency numbers were way down this year, but he has dealt with some injuries. I’m mostly buying on him the way I bought on Carsen Edwards — whose efficiency suffered before exploding in the NCAA tournament — last season. He’s tough as nails, he can shoot off the dribble or off the catch, and he’ll put in the effort defensively.

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Woman hoping MSU basketball player will be charged https://www.badsporters.com/2020/04/06/woman-hoping-msu-basketball-player-will-be-charged/ https://www.badsporters.com/2020/04/06/woman-hoping-msu-basketball-player-will-be-charged/#respond Mon, 06 Apr 2020 07:58:57 +0000 https://badsporters.com/?p=5361 EAST LANSING, MI. (WILX) – The Michigan Attorney General’s Office will decide if a Spartan men’s basketball player will be charged with sexual assault. Brock Washington (14) scores for the Michigan State University Spartans during the 2019-2020 season. A woman claims Brock Washington raped her at his on-campus apartment in January. “I’ve been through this […]

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EAST LANSING, MI. (WILX) – The Michigan Attorney General’s Office will decide if a Spartan men’s basketball player will be charged with sexual assault.

Brock Washington (14) scores for the Michigan State University Spartans during the 2019-2020 season.

A woman claims Brock Washington raped her at his on-campus apartment in January.

“I’ve been through this before.”

The woman, who asked not to be identified, said Michigan State basketball player Brock Washington raped her early January 19.

She told detectives she blacked out and doesn’t remember what happened, so she tried to piece together what happened the next day.

“Everything I saw was that I was completely out of it. I was basically when I was unconscious when I was laying in the room. I was not aware of my surroundings. There was no possible way I could give consent,” the woman told News 10.

The police report said she woke up, not knowing how she got home and realized she didn’t have underwear on and couldn’t find them.

The underwear was later found at Washington’s apartment while police executed a search warrant.

“I could’ve found out the next day and I didn’t. I think that’s what hurts me the most. Finding out from a detective I always felt so far behind,” the woman said.

Washington initially denied the allegations during an interview with detectives, said he didn’t leave the kitchen when he got to his apartment with the woman and her roommate.

The police report outlines Washington’s story changed as detectives asked more questions.

Washington eventually told detectives he did have sexual encounters with the woman but stopped when he noticed the accuser wasn’t alright.

Then, MSU police sent the case to the Ingham County prosecutor, who decided to not file charges.

“Her main thing was just dropping it. It seemed like it was so easy for her. The decision was done, it was made, that was that kind of thing. It was I was too intoxicated,” the accuser said.

A spokesman for the prosecutor’s office told News 10 “the case does not meet the burden of proof that we must present to a jury.”

The woman said this is what happened the first time she was raped.

She’s hoping the Attorney General’s Office will move the case forward, so she can move on.

“It’s just hard because at the same time I have to find my peace. And my healing and everything. As much as I want to help other people I realize I can’t and I have to help myself first,” she said.

The Attorney General’s Office told News 10 Wednesday they aren’t sure when it will be able to review the case to determine if Washington will be charged.

He is still currently on the basketball team at MSU, but he was suspended in mid-January.

Washington was charged with sexual assault in another case, back in 2017.

He ended up pleading guilty to misdemeanor charges the following year.

Copyright 2020 WILX. All rights reserved.

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MSU Football player arrested on Simple Assault charge https://www.badsporters.com/2018/06/14/msu-football-player-arrested-on-simple-assault-charge/ https://www.badsporters.com/2018/06/14/msu-football-player-arrested-on-simple-assault-charge/#respond Thu, 14 Jun 2018 00:29:46 +0000 http://www.badsporters.com/?p=3988 OKTIBBEHA COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – An argument at a party lands a Mississippi State football player in jail. Now, Reggie Todd, 21, is charged with one count of Simple Assault. Oktibbeha County deputies were called to the hospital about an injured person in the early morning hours of June 10. Investigators say Todd punched another […]

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OKTIBBEHA COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – An argument at a party lands a Mississippi State football player in jail.

Now, Reggie Todd, 21, is charged with one count of Simple Assault.

Oktibbeha County deputies were called to the hospital about an injured person in the early morning hours of June 10.

Investigators say Todd punched another man at the party.

Todd turned himself in on Tuesday.

He’s been released on a $1,000 bond.

Coach Joe Moorehead issued a statement on the arrest this afternoon.

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Former MSU football player arrested after armed robbery https://www.badsporters.com/2018/04/19/former-msu-football-player-arrested-after-armed-robbery/ https://www.badsporters.com/2018/04/19/former-msu-football-player-arrested-after-armed-robbery/#respond Thu, 19 Apr 2018 18:33:09 +0000 http://www.badsporters.com/?p=3631 GARDEN CITY, Kan. (WILX) – A former Michigan State University football player has been arrested following an alleged armed robbery in Kansas. 20-year-old Auston Robertson turned himself into Garden City Police Tuesday at 10 a.m. after officers responded to a city sports bar on reports of an armed robbery Monday. Robertson is also awaiting trial […]

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GARDEN CITY, Kan. (WILX) – A former Michigan State University football player has been arrested following an alleged armed robbery in Kansas.

20-year-old Auston Robertson turned himself into Garden City Police Tuesday at 10 a.m. after officers responded to a city sports bar on reports of an armed robbery Monday.

Robertson is also awaiting trial on sex assault charges in Ingham County where he is accused of raping a girl after a party off campus on April 8, 2017. A judge revoked bond in that case during a hearing late Thursday morning.

“Our office previously objected to the bond conditions that allowed the defendant to travel out of state,” said Ingham County prosecutor Carol Siemon in a press release. “While hindsight is of course 20-20, we believed at the time that continued placement here in Ingham County would allow the court to properly supervise this defendant during the pre-trial phase.”

Robertson faces multiple charges including aggravated armed robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, possession and distribution of marijuana, and interfering with law enforcement officers.

Garden City Police would not release any details leading up to the arrest.

“It is always disconcerting when a criminal defendant fails the conditions of their bond and we believe the courts have now taken the proper action,” said Siemon.

He is being held on $300,000 bond and is expected to be charged next week.

Ingham County Circuit court required Robertson to wear a tether and attend Garden City Community College. The court originally allowed Robertson to live in Ohio.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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Suit: MSU discouraged report of alleged rape by athletes https://www.badsporters.com/2018/04/10/suit-msu-discouraged-report-of-alleged-rape-by-athletes/ https://www.badsporters.com/2018/04/10/suit-msu-discouraged-report-of-alleged-rape-by-athletes/#respond Tue, 10 Apr 2018 04:27:10 +0000 http://www.badsporters.com/?p=3439 According to the suit, the rape occurred in April 2015, a few days after MSU had been defeated by Duke University in the college basketball Final Four and the team had returned to East Lansing.(Photo: MSU) Michigan State University’s campus counseling center discouraged a female student from contacting police after she claimed she was raped […]

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Michigan State University’s campus counseling center discouraged a female student from contacting police after she claimed she was raped by three prominent basketball players, according to her complaint Monday filed in federal court.

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, comes on the heels of the Larry Nassar sex abuse scandal that rocked MSU and follows a string of sexual assault allegations against Spartan athletes.

It also comes as MSU faces investigations over its handling of complaints against Nassar from the Michigan attorney general’s office, state lawmakers and Congress, as well as an inquiry into the school’s handling of Title IX complaints by the U.S. Department of Education.

“There are some issues with the culture at Michigan State, and those need to be addressed,” said Karen Truszkowski, a Lansing-based attorney who filed the suit.

The week after the alleged assault, the woman went to MSU’s Counseling Center and disclosed the incident to a staff member, the suit says. When she told the employee that the rape involved members of the basketball team, another person was brought into the room and they told the victim she could file a police report but cautioned her about the consequences of doing so, according to the complaint.

“The MSUCC staff made it clear to (the victim) that if she chose to notify the police, she faced an uphill battle that would create anxiety and unwanted media attention and publicity as had happened with many other female students who were sexually assaulted by well-known athletes,” according to the lawsuit.

MSU’s response to the victim at the counseling center and other places on campus illustrates a culture that is indifferent to victims, prioritizes athletes over student safety and puts young women at heightened risk for sexual assault and its fallout, according to the lawsuit.

“Discouraging female students from reporting sexual assaults committed by student athletes plausibly creates an environment where football and basketball players can sexually assault females without repercussion,” the suit says.

The complaint seeks unspecified damages and a court order requiring MSU to take “effective steps to prevent sex-based discrimination and harassment, including sexual assault, in all its programs and activities.”

The lawsuit is the latest to haunt Michigan State in the wake of the Larry Nassar child predator scandal, in which the sports doctor assaulted victims over 20 years. A Detroit News investigation found that 14 staff members at MSU were informed of allegations of misconduct by Nassar over two decades before his arrest, and the university faces lawsuits filed by more than 250 victims.

The suit also comes after three ex-MSU football players recently pleaded guilty to a reduced, archaic charge of seducing an unmarried woman and avoided jail time in an alleged sex assault reported in January 2017.

Truszkowski represented the victim involved in the case against ex-football players Josh King, Donnie Corley and Demetric Vance.

In April 2017, football player Auston Robertson was kicked off the team after being charged with forcing a woman to have sex with him in his apartment.

The MSU basketball players were not named in the lawsuit filed Monday.

MSU spokeswoman Emily Guerrant said Monday the university does not comment on pending legislation.

According to the suit, the rape occurred in April 2015, a few days after MSU had been defeated by Duke University in the college basketball Final Four and the team had returned to East Lansing.

The victim, then an 18-year-old MSU student studying to be a sports journalist, was at Harper’s Bar in East Lansing with her roommate. After midnight, some basketball players arrived and one of them offered to buy the victim a drink and introduce her to other teammates, according to the suit.

One of the team members invited the woman to a party and lied and said her roommate was on her way there, the suit alleges.

She accepted a ride with two of the basketball players and ended up at an apartment where one of them lived, but her roommate was not there and there was no party, according to the lawsuit. The victim was feeling very hungry, thirsty and “discombobulated,” the suit says. She tried to text but could not control her thumbs and the suit alleges she thought she may have been drugged.

One of the players pulled her into a bedroom and told the victim, “You are mine for the night,” according to the suit, but she was able to leave the bedroom. The player who lived at the apartment offered to show the victim basketball memorabilia, and the room went dark, according to the suit.

She was thrown face-down on the bed and held in place while one of the players raped her, the suit alleges, then the other two players came in and took turns raping her.

The next morning, the victim went back to her dorm room. Unsure what to do, she told a friend what had happened, the suit says.

“Plaintiff was distraught, traumatized and crying,” the suit says.

The following week, her friend took her to MSU’s counseling center, where officials allegedly told her she could go to police, but implied that it was not in her best interest to report the assault, according to the suit.

“Plaintiff was told by the MSUCC staff that they had seen a lot of these cases with ‘guys with big names’ and the best thing to do is to ‘just get yourself better,’ ” the suit says. “Plaintiff was expressly told by MSUCC staff that, ‘if you pursue this, you are going to be swimming with some really big fish.’ ”

The counseling center staff also failed to advise the victim to seek medical care, outline her option to take the complaint to MSU’s Office of Institutional Equity, or notify her of her Title IX rights, the suit alleges.

MSU has been under federal monitoring for violating Title IX in the handling of sexual assault cases on campus. Title IX is a federal law that prohibits educational programs or activities from discriminating against someone on the basis of their sex.

MSU policy requires employees, except for those identified as confidential sources, “to promptly report incidents of sexual harassment, sexual violence, sexual misconduct, stalking and relationship violence” to the Office of Institutional Equity and MSU Police. The MSU Counseling Center — which has been folded into MSU Counseling & Psychiatric Services — is listed by the school as a confidential source.

MSU is in the midst of a re-examination of its counseling services, a process begun under former President Lou Anna Simon after MSU determined in 2016 that it was ill-equipped to handle the number of requests for counseling on campus and reorganized the main center for that purpose. The school is searching for a new director for that area.

The suit does not address whether MSU basketball coach Tom Izzo was aware of the sexual assault allegation.

Lorenzo Santavicca, MSU student body president, said the allegations in the suit show that new leadership and structural changes are needed at the counseling center.

“This is a cultural issue and a systemic one,” Santavicca said. “It’s disheartening. Promoting safety and security should be the number one thing … MSU is going to have a lot more to answer for.”

The lawsuit alleges the MSU student was not informed of her right to have a no-contact order to keep the alleged assailants out of her dorm in the Brody complex. The suit added that she would often see the basketball players in the cafeteria, even though they did not live in the complex, causing her to experience panic and flashbacks.

“Plaintiff lived in fear every day that she would see her attackers,” the suit says. “In October 2015, the Plaintiff had become so traumatized, depressed and withdrawn to the point that she was admitted to the Sparrow Hospital outpatient day-program for intensive psychiatric treatment.”

She stopped attending classes in fall 2015 because of her mental condition and withdrew, according to the suit, which says the university gave her a tuition refund after she disclosed that she was suffering from the rapes.

“Plaintiff again was not informed of any of her rights to academic assistance, she was not given a referral to the (Office of Institutional Equity) nor was any inquiry made as to any assistance she might require upon return to the university the following semester,” the suit says.

The victim returned to classes in January 2016 and sought treatment on campus but did not feel comfortable with the program or therapist and sought treatment with a private clinician, according to the complaint. She has since been prescribed medications for depression, anxiety, panic attacks and insomnia, the suit says.

“Plaintiff changed her major,” the suit says, “as her dream of becoming a sports journalist had been destroyed.”

KKozlowski@detroitnews.com

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Lawsuit says MSU hoops players raped student https://www.badsporters.com/2018/04/09/lawsuit-says-msu-hoops-players-raped-student/ https://www.badsporters.com/2018/04/09/lawsuit-says-msu-hoops-players-raped-student/#respond Mon, 09 Apr 2018 23:59:05 +0000 http://www.badsporters.com/?p=3428 A female student says Michigan State subjected her to a “hostile educational environment,” failed to advise her of her rights and did not offer adequate resources for help after she told counselors in 2015 that three Spartans basketball players had raped her. The allegations are made in a lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court […]

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A female student says Michigan State subjected her to a “hostile educational environment,” failed to advise her of her rights and did not offer adequate resources for help after she told counselors in 2015 that three Spartans basketball players had raped her.

The allegations are made in a lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan that also states the woman suffered severe emotional distress and had to temporarily withdraw from classes, change her major, seek psychiatric help and constantly fear running into the three men on campus as a result of the incident and the school’s failure to properly respond.

Neither the woman, who is a current student, nor the three players, who are no longer at the school, are named in the lawsuit. Her attorney said the players are not being named because the focus of the lawsuit is “with the way she was treated by the university.”

The attorney, Karen Truszkowski, told Outside the Lines that her client has not reported the incident to police, but, “I cannot say that she’s not ever going to report it.” The woman spoke to Outside the Lines on the condition she not be identified because she fears revealing her identity publicly. The woman said she did not report the alleged assault to police in 2015 because she and some of her friends, who were younger than 21 at the time, had used fake IDs to get into a bar the night of the alleged incident and she worried they would all get cited with underage drinking charges.

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She said she filed the lawsuit with the hope it would encourage more women to come forward about assault and to send a message to the university.

“I don’t want a girl who’s a senior in high school right now, with her whole life ahead of her, to have to go through the same thing I did,” she said.

The woman’s lawsuit states that “MSU has fostered a culture in which female victims are discouraged from reporting sexual assaults when those assaults are perpetrated by male athletes, thus protecting the university, the male athletics programs, and the male athletes at the expense of the female victims.”

Outside the Lines reached out Monday afternoon to Michigan State spokesperson Emily Gerkin Guerrant, who said the university had no immediate comment.

The lawsuit states the woman met the three basketball players in an East Lansing bar on April 12, 2015. She was a journalism major interested in sports reporting and was eager to talk to team members.

She told Outside the Lines that a player bought her a Long Island iced tea and that shortly after she started to drink it, she began to lose control of her muscles — dropping that drink and another. She said she left the bar with some of the players after being led to believe her roommate had gone to a party at an apartment belonging to one of the players. Once at the apartment — and realizing her roommate wasn’t there — the lawsuit states the woman felt “discombobulated” and “tried to send a phone text, but she could not control her thumbs to formulate a text.”

In a lawsuit, a student says Michigan State subjected her to a “hostile educational environment” and failed to provide protection, instruction or adequate support after she told counselors in 2015 that three basketball players raped her. AP Photo/Al Goldis

She said in the interview that one of the players said to her, “You know you’re mine for the night?” to which she responded that she was just trying to find her friend. When another player later invited her into his bedroom to look at his sports memorabilia, she said she went willingly because, as an avid sports fan, “I thought it was pretty cool,” she told Outside the Lines. She remembered being incredibly thirsty, and she was given a glass of water, the lawsuit states, and she was “drinking the water when the room went dark.”

She said in the lawsuit that she was thrown down on a bed, was held down and was unable to move or speak while three players took turns raping her.

“I was crying. I was trying to push myself up, and I couldn’t move,” she told Outside the Lines.

“At no time did she consent to the sexual activity,” the lawsuit states.

She said she woke up on a couch in the apartment the next morning and took a cab back to her residence hall. She told Outside the Lines that she later wondered whether her alcoholic drink and the glass of water she was given had been spiked.

The woman eventually told a friend what had happened, and on April 20, 2015, the friend took her to the Michigan State University Counseling Center, according to the lawsuit. When the woman told the counselor that the three men “were notable MSU athletes on the basketball team,” the counselor told her that she needed someone else in the room and brought in another person whose identity the woman said she did not know, the lawsuit states, and the “counselor’s demeanor completely changed.”

The lawsuit states that the counseling center staff made it clear to her that if she chose to notify police “she faced an uphill battle that would create anxiety and unwanted media attention and publicity as had happened with many other female students who were sexually assaulted by well-known athletes.”

She told Outside the Lines that she told the counselor about how she was scared to report the incident to police because she assumed she would get in trouble for underage drinking.

“She never told me or reassured me that that would not be a factor,” the woman told Outside the Lines.

The lawsuit states she was told, “If you pursue this, you are going to be swimming with some really big fish.”

The lawsuit states that the counseling staff did not notify her of her right to report the incident to MSU’s Office of Institutional Equity, which handles complaints of sexual violence under the Title IX gender equity law, nor did they notify her of her Title IX rights, protections and accommodations.

The woman told Outside the Lines that she was under the impression that by telling the counseling center staff about the alleged assault that she had indeed “reported it” to MSU, and she was unaware that she needed to do anything further to get help. As a result, the lawsuit states, she was not informed of her right to receive a no-contact order to keep the men out of her residence hall, and she suffered “panic and flashbacks” when she saw them in the dining hall.

Her fear persisted into the following semester, and in October 2015 she had “become so traumatized, depressed and withdrawn” that she was admitted to an outpatient psychiatric program for intensive treatment, the lawsuit states.

She told Outside the Lines she couldn’t continue her sports journalism classes because of how she felt.

“Everyone I was in classes with or working with was just all into sports, like ‘bleed green,'” she said. “I’m thinking to myself, ‘If only you could look at them like I have to. If only you knew what it felt like.'”

The lawsuit states she temporarily withdrew from school. To get a refund of her tuition, the lawsuit states she had to explain her assault to more university officials and was not informed of any options for academic assistance.

Counseling, academic assistance, and protection and separation on campus from the alleged perpetrators are among the provisions that colleges should provide to students who report incidents of sexual violence, according to federal Title IX guidelines from the U.S. Department of Education.

The lawsuit states that the counseling center staff did refer her to the MSU Sexual Assault Program, which provides counseling and advocacy specifically for people who report being victims of sexual violence. But because her counseling center experience left her “so discouraged and frightened,” the lawsuit states, the woman did not seek help from the SAP until February 2016, by which time she had resumed classes and changed her major.

Even after she sought help from SAP, the lawsuit states that she was still not notified of her rights under Title IX and her option to report the incident to the Office of Institutional Equity — which would have been required to investigate — even though university protocol at that time required SAP advocates to provide that information.

Truszkowski, the woman’s attorney, also represents two women who have accused MSU football players of sexual assault. One was the victim in a case last week in which three now-former players pleaded guilty to felony charges of seduction, after they had been facing sexual assault charges for having pulled the woman into a bathroom and forced her to perform oral sex.

Truszkowski also filed a Title IX lawsuit on behalf of another woman against MSU in fall 2017 stemming from that woman’s report of being sexually assaulted by former football player Keith Mumphery, who was banned from campus in 2016 after the school reversed an earlier finding that Mumphery was not responsible for assaulting the woman. Mumphery never faced criminal charges. In a January court filing, MSU denied her claims and said its actions did not cause her to suffer any additional harassment. On March 15, the judge in that case ordered the parties to mediation.

Michigan State’s athletic department and the university as a whole have been under scrutiny in part because of an Outside the Lines investigation published Jan. 26. The investigation found a pattern of widespread denial, inaction and information suppression of sexual assault, violence and gender discrimination complaints by officials ranging from campus police to the MSU athletic department.

The report publicized not previously known police reports of sexual or violent incidents involving members of the MSU football team and Tom Izzo’s storied basketball program.

On Friday, Outside the Lines reported that Michigan State basketball player Brock Washington was charged by prosecutors in Ingham County, Michigan, with misdemeanor assault on March 8 after a criminal sexual conduct investigation. Washington had been named as the lone suspect in an alleged forcible sexual contact incident that was reported to have occurred at 3 a.m. on Aug. 29, 2017, in a university residence hall and was reported to police two days later. Sources have told Outside the Lines that a female student told campus police that Washington, who has been unable to be reached for comment, had groped her without her permission.

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MSU walk-on basketball player charged with assault https://www.badsporters.com/2018/04/06/msu-walk-on-basketball-player-charged-with-assault/ https://www.badsporters.com/2018/04/06/msu-walk-on-basketball-player-charged-with-assault/#respond Fri, 06 Apr 2018 20:20:28 +0000 http://www.badsporters.com/?p=3399 Brock Washington, a freshman walk-on basketball player at Michigan State University, has been charged with misdemeanor assault.(Photo: File photo) EAST LANSING – Brock Washington, a freshman walk-on basketball player at Michigan State University, has been charged with misdemeanor assault. Washington, 19, was arrested March 8 and charged the same day in Ingham County with assault or […]

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EAST LANSING – Brock Washington, a freshman walk-on basketball player at Michigan State University, has been charged with misdemeanor assault.

Washington, 19, was arrested March 8 and charged the same day in Ingham County with assault or assault and battery, according to Michigan State Police records.

Washington’s charge generally carries a sentence of up to 93 days in jail, although it is not clear whether Washington has been convicted of that or any other charge.

Washington’s case is not listed in court records, and officials with the Ingham County Prosecutor’s Office declined to comment, saying the case is nonpublic.

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Michigan State’s Cassius Winston, right, shoots as teammate Brock Washington defends during the annual Midnight Madness event on Friday, Oct. 20, 2017, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. (Photo: Nick King/Lansing State Journal)

In Michigan, offenders younger than 24 who have pleaded to some criminal offenses can have their court records closed to public view under the Holmes Youthful Trainee Act. Under the law, such records keep nonpublic status unless the trainee commits another offense.

The prosecutor’s office rejected a State Journal Freedom of Information Act request for documents related to the case on Friday, indicating that the case is not closed and disclosure could “interfere with law enforcement proceedings.”

A similar request filed with Michigan State University was previously rejected; a follow-up request awaits a response.

An attorney for Washington could not be reached because his case is not listed in court records.

Matt Larson, a spokesman for MSU basketball, did not immediately respond to a message left seeking comment.

The case number listed in Michigan State Police records matches a case number from the MSU crime log dated Aug. 31, 2017. In that incident, the initial report indicated an investigation into an instance of alleged 4th-degree criminal sexual conduct that took place Aug. 29 in Bryan Hall around 3 a.m.

Washington was charged with “assault or assault and battery.” The documents also list the charge as “assault excluding sexual.”

Any charge of 4th-degree criminal sexual conduct requires “sexual contact,” which is defined as “intentional touching of the victim’s or actor’s intimate parts or the intentional touching of the clothing covering the immediate area of the victim’s or actor’s intimate parts, if that intentional touching can reasonably be construed as being for the purpose of sexual arousal or gratification, done for a sexual purpose, or in a sexual manner.”

The assault or assault and battery charge, meanwhile, generally involves a threat or act of violence, and can include actions such as punching or hitting. 

Washington dressed for all of MSU’s 35 games this winter but did not play while taking a redshirt season. The Spartans had the week off between the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments when Washington’s arrest took place, but he was in uniform and on the bench for their two NCAA games March 16 and 18 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. 

Washington played high school basketball for Southfield Christian, where he helped lead the Eagles to the Class D state semifinals and set their single-game scoring mark with 40 points against Plymouth Christian. When he announced plans to join MSU as a preferred walk-on, he reportedly had interest from Oakland and a number of Mid-American Conference schools.

The incident comes on the heels of increased scrutiny for MSU athletics. Athletic Director Mark Hollis resigned in January, just days after President Lou Anna Simon resigned in the wake of former MSU doctor Larry Nassar’s sentencing and continued issues surrounding the university’s handling of sexual assault claims on campus.

On Wednesday, three former MSU football players pleaded to seduction, a felony charge related to a sex assault investigation. The former players  — Donnie Corley Jr., Josh King and Demetric Vance — had been charged with criminal sexual conduct but will likely avoid jail time after reaching a plea deal with prosecutors.

Auston Robertson, another former football player, currently awaits trial on two counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct.

Contact Christopher Haxel at 517-377-1261 or chaxel@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @ChrisHaxel.

Read or Share this story: https://on.lsj.com/2GEcqf0

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MSU basketball player Brock Washington charged with assault https://www.badsporters.com/2018/04/06/msu-basketball-player-brock-washington-charged-with-assault/ https://www.badsporters.com/2018/04/06/msu-basketball-player-brock-washington-charged-with-assault/#respond Fri, 06 Apr 2018 18:47:11 +0000 http://www.badsporters.com/?p=3388 East Lansing – Michigan State basketball player Brock Washington has been charged with misdemeanor assault, according to state police records. Washington, 19, is a walk-on from Southfield who redshirted during the 2017-18 season. He was arrested and charged on March 8, records indicate. However, there is no public record in Ingham county related to his […]

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East Lansing – Michigan State basketball player Brock Washington has been charged with misdemeanor assault, according to state police records.

Washington, 19, is a walk-on from Southfield who redshirted during the 2017-18 season. He was arrested and charged on March 8, records indicate. However, there is no public record in Ingham county related to his case.

When asked to comment, officials with the Ingham County Prosecutor’s office said there was no public record on which to comment.

It leaves open the possibility Washington was sentenced under Michigan’s Holmes Youthful Trainee Act, which would allow him to avoid any lasting criminal record for the guilty plea if he meets certain requirements. It’s a program available to offenders age 17-24. It was under that act that former Michigan State football players Josh King, Donnie Corley and Demetric Vance were sentenced earlier this week in their sexual assault cases.

Michigan State officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment or provide an update on Washington’s status with the team. Even as a redshirt, Washington was dressed for all of Michigan State’s 35 games this season.

In mid-February, ESPN reported that Washington was at the center of a sexual assault investigation. However, records indicate the misdemeanor charge against Washington was “excluding sexual.”

At that time, a request to the MSU Police by The Detroit News for any records pertaining to the investigation was denied.

Punishment for misdemeanor assault can include jail time of up to 93 days and/or a $500 fine.

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OTL: MSU hoops player charged with assault https://www.badsporters.com/2018/04/06/otl-msu-hoops-player-charged-with-assault/ https://www.badsporters.com/2018/04/06/otl-msu-hoops-player-charged-with-assault/#respond Fri, 06 Apr 2018 15:49:57 +0000 http://www.badsporters.com/?p=3377 Michigan State basketball player Brock Washington has been charged by prosecutors in Ingham County, Michigan, with misdemeanor assault after a criminal sexual conduct investigation. Washington was charged under Michigan penal code 750.81 — “assault or assault and battery” — on March 8, according to the criminal history database for the Michigan State Police. The 19-year-old […]

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Michigan State basketball player Brock Washington has been charged by prosecutors in Ingham County, Michigan, with misdemeanor assault after a criminal sexual conduct investigation.

Washington was charged under Michigan penal code 750.81 — “assault or assault and battery” — on March 8, according to the criminal history database for the Michigan State Police. The 19-year-old walk-on from Southfield, Michigan, had been named as the lone suspect in an alleged assault that Michigan State campus police last fall classified as fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct, sources close to the investigation told Outside the Lines in February.

The case number from the State Police database corresponds to a report in MSU’s Clery Crime and Fire Log, which shows that a forcible sexual contact incident occurred at 3 a.m. on Aug. 29, 2017, in a university residence hall, and was reported to police two days later. Sources have told Outside the Lines that a female student told campus police that Washington had groped her without her permission.

After an investigation, police forwarded their findings to the county prosecutor’s office on Dec. 13. When asked Tuesday about the case, chief assistant prosecuting attorney Lisa McCormick said only that “there was no public record” on which she could comment.

Outside the Lines reached out Wednesday to MSU spokesperson Emily Gerkin Guerrant and to athletic department spokesperson Matt Larson for comment from the university and Washington. Guerrant said Thursday afternoon that she was still trying to gather information and determine what the university could disclose about the case. Outside the Lines followed up Friday morning, but Guerrant could not be reached for comment. An email sent by a reporter Thursday morning to Washington’s student account was not answered.

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On Feb. 6, Outside the Lines submitted a public records request for the police report naming Washington; MSU officials asked for an extension, which under Michigan law gave the school until Feb. 28 to respond. On March 7, a day before Washington was formally charged, MSU responded by denying the request. Interim president John Engler upheld that decision last week in a response to an ESPN appeal of that denial, writing that he could not give the specific reason as to why the report was being withheld, because “even naming this statute gives information that the statute specifically was designed to protect.”

In Michigan, an individual accused of a crime can plead guilty to a variety of offenses — including certain felonies — and have the records of the plea and other court proceedings sealed and kept from public view via a handful of deferred judgment programs. One of the deferral options commonly given to college students is known as the Holmes Youthful Trainee Act, under which eligible offenders ages 17 to 23 can avoid having criminal convictions on their records as long as they plead guilty to a crime covered under the act and successfully adhere to court-ordered supervision or probation terms for a set period of time, after which their cases are dismissed.

Penal code 750.81 is covered under HYTA; the State Police database listed no information about whether Washington’s case has been adjudicated within the court system.

On Wednesday, three MSU football players facing sexual assault crimes accepted plea deals to felony charges of seduction under HYTA. Examples of other athletes who have pleaded under HYTA include former MSU-recruit Jayru Campbell who pleaded to misdemeanor aggravated assault and former MSU tight end Dion Sims, who pleaded to felony receiving and concealing stolen property.

In 2017, according to Lansing-area media reports, Michigan Wolverines wide receiver Grant Perry, who faced two charges of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct in Ingham County, agreed to plea under HYTA to felony resisting arrest and misdemeanor assault and battery. The charges stemmed from an incident in October 2016 when Perry was accused of grabbing a female MSU student in a sexual manner in a line at an East Lansing bar and then later resisting arrest. Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh suspended Perry from the team after the incident.

Fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct is considered a high-court misdemeanor in Michigan, meaning the maximum penalty for someone found guilty of the offense is two years of incarceration compared to the typical maximum sentence of one year for a regular misdemeanor. The particular misdemeanor assault code under which Washington was formally charged carries a maximum sentence for a first-time offender of up to 93 days imprisonment and/or a $500 fine.

Washington suited up for coach Tom Izzo’s team every game this season, but as a younger member of an elite team, he did not receive any playing time. In October, Izzo said Washington and another walk-on “are capable of playing someplace” but were, at the time, shining as scout-team players, according to a tweet from a Detroit Free Press reporter. Izzo was not made available to comment for this story.

After a Michigan State University Board of Trustees meeting in February, Engler, the university interim president, criticized Outside the Lines’ reporting on Washington, saying, “The sad thing is, I think we should, probably as a Michigan State community, apologize to this young man and his family who has been named without, at least in that report, any evidence of any wrongdoing.”

Michigan State University basketball player Brock Washington has been charged by prosecutors in Ingham County, Michigan, with misdemeanor assault after a criminal sexual conduct investigation. Aaron Doster/USA TODAY Sports

On Wednesday, Outside the Lines asked Guerrant whether Engler had any comment about whether he believes Washington is still owed an apology, and whether he had anything to say regarding the alleged victim. Guerrant said Thursday she had not had a chance to speak with Engler.

Izzo, Michigan State’s athletic department and the university as a whole have been under scrutiny in part because of an Outside the Lines investigation published on Jan. 26. The investigation found a pattern of widespread denial, inaction and information suppression of sexual assault, violence and gender discrimination complaints by officials ranging from campus police to the MSU athletic department.

The report publicized not-previously-known police reports of sexual or violent incidents involving members of the MSU football team and Izzo’s storied basketball program, including one report made against Travis Walton, a former undergraduate student-assistant coach who continued coaching after he had been criminally charged with assault and battery after allegedly punching a female MSU student in the face at a bar in 2010. A few months later, after the Spartans qualified for the 2010 Final Four, Walton was accused, in a university document, of having sexually assaulted a different female student.

Engler and former athletic director Mark Hollis have been critical of ESPN, calling the reports inaccurate and sensationalized. On Monday, Outside the Lines reported that Michigan State officials would “handle it differently” if an allegation such as the one made against Walton were to occur today. The Monday report also stated that university officials provided personnel documents that showed Walton had held multiple jobs with the university; MSU officials had previously told ESPN that no such records existed. Walton also had denied he was ever employed by the university.

Walton has denied that he sexually assaulted anyone. He never faced sexual assault charges related to the 2010 allegation. He also denied punching the other woman; that case was dismissed in lieu of him pleading to a civil infraction for littering.

Content associate Alex Eliasof contributed to this report.

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Ex MSU football player Robertson in court Tuesday for sexual assault https://www.badsporters.com/2018/03/27/ex-msu-football-player-robertson-in-court-tuesday-for-sexual-assault/ https://www.badsporters.com/2018/03/27/ex-msu-football-player-robertson-in-court-tuesday-for-sexual-assault/#respond Tue, 27 Mar 2018 12:39:28 +0000 http://www.badsporters.com/?p=3189 A former MSU football player, Auston Robertson, will be in court Tuesday for sexual assault. He is accused of raping a girl after a party on April 8, 2017. He is charged with two counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct. In June of ’17, MSU trustee Mitch Lyons reveled that Auston Robertson was the player […]

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A former MSU football player, Auston Robertson, will be in court Tuesday for sexual assault.

He is accused of raping a girl after a party on April 8, 2017.

He is charged with two counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct.

In June of ’17, MSU trustee Mitch Lyons reveled that Auston Robertson was the player who alerted Coach Mark Dantonio to the sexual assault allegation that led to three other players being charged. Lyons shares this information during an interview on sports radio show The Huge Show:

“When Auston Robertson came into his office for a regular weekly meeting you know Coach D asked the regular questions he typically asked him and then he became a little emotional and didn’t even go into details, he just alluded to the fact that something happened and Coach D had a sense that it involved some sort of sexual allegation and he immediately said, ‘Hey, don’t say anything more.’ He called the OIE office, got the appropriate person involved.”

Lyons later apologized for naming Robertson.

The three other players, were charged after a criminal investigation by the Ingham County Prosecutor’s Office; they are Joshua J. King, Demetric D. Vance and Donnie L. Corley Junior.
This is involving a different sexual assault incident that occurred January 16 on campus.

Robertson faces up to 15-years in prison if convicted.

The hearing is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Tuesday.

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