NCAA Accuses LSU of Paying Earl

College basketball standout Lester Earl was accused by the NCAA on Tuesday of accepting $6,600 in cash from a Louisiana State assistant coach before transferring to Kansas last year.

The NCAA also said coaches who are no longer at LSU improperly helped some of Earl’s relatives find jobs. LSU must now answer the NCAA’s accusations by April 16; school Chancellor William Jenkins said a committee is looking into them.

The investigation will have no bearing on Earl’s eligibility to play for the third-ranked Jayhawks this season and would affect his future only if it was proven that he took the money while a student at the Baton Rouge-based school. He has one year left at Kansas, and the university has appealed to get him a second year.

Kansas Athletic Director Bob Frederick said in a radio interview that Earl was helping the NCAA’s investigation.

“Lester was granted limited immunity in cooperation with the NCAA,” Frederick said. “He cooperated with the NCAA. The University of Kansas cooperated with the NCAA, and Lester’s eligibility at Kansas will never be in question. There is no problem for the University of Kansas and there never will be.”

LSU could face severe NCAA sanctions, including the loss of scholarships and postseason eligibility, depending on the outcome of the investigation. Penalties are often reduced if the NCAA feels a school has cooperated.

Earl’s brother, Louis, a current LSU basketball player, also was cited in the NCAA’s letter of inquiry, accused of improperly receiving medical attention from LSU before enrolling. His status will not be affected by the investigation, LSU sports information director Herb Vincent said.

The violations are said to have occurred between 1993-96 while Dale Brown was the LSU coach and, in some cases, while Lester Earl was still in high school in Baton Rouge. LSU said no current staff members are involved.

Johnny Jones, a former LSU assistant and now an assistant at Memphis, is accused of giving Earl the $6,600 between fall 1995 and December 1996. Some of the money was for truck and insurance payments.

But Jones’ attorney, Jerry Crawford, said the NCAA’s letter was “dramatically inconsistent with the evidence we have developed in our own investigation.” Crawford said Earl was the one who told the NCAA about the money for the truck and insurance payments.

The 6-foot-8, 235-pound forward played in only 11 games for LSU as a freshman in 1996-97. He left LSU last January after being kicked off the team for violating rules and enrolled at Kansas.

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Fresno State starters Daymond Forney and Avondre Jones were suspended indefinitely, the latest in a series of problems for Coach Jerry Tarkanian’s team.

Forney, a forward, was reportedly suspended for being late with paperwork required by a judge on community service required after a misdemeanor assault conviction.

Jones, a center who previously played at USC, did not start Saturday’s victory over Rice because he was late to a practice. Jones did get into the game in the first half but soon left. The school said Jones broke his nose and had a slight concussion, but observers did not notice any collision in which he was involved.

Other player problems for Fresno State (9-7) had Forney sitting out the start of the season because of the assault case, forward-guard Terrance Roberson being suspended for failing to abide by school rules and guard Chris Herren sitting out several games while in a rehabilitation center for substance abuse.

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Sophomore forward Kevin Freeman will be sidelined indefinitely after breaking his right wrist in No. 8 Connecticut’s loss to St. John’s on Monday. The 6-7 Freeman is UConn’s leading rebounder (7.6 a game) and is third in scoring (10.9 a game).