NCAA Reprimands Raveling for Remarks During Tournament

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — USC Coach George Raveling received a public reprimand Thursday from the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee because of critical comments he made about the officiating after the Trojans lost to Georgia Tech in the NCAA tournament last March.

James Forrest made a three-point shot as time expired in the second-round NCAA tournament game, giving Georgia Tech a 79-78 victory over the Trojans. Forrest had taken a pass from Matt Geiger, who threw the ball inbounds from midcourt.

“I’m almost positive that the film will reveal that the official nearest the ball never gave a five-second count,” Raveling was quoted as saying, referring to what happened before Geiger passed the ball to Forrest. “The mechanics (of the five-second count) are supposed to be ‘thousand-one, thousand-two, thousand-three. . . .’ I’ve got some big-time money that says that he (the official) didn’t make the mechanics on that play.”

Raveling is in Europe but issued the following statement through the USC sports information office: “Under the circumstances, the reprimand was justified. I made a serious mistake for which I’m sorry.”