SMU basketball seemed to be on their way back to relevancy for the first time in a while under head coach Larry Brown last season. SMU finished the 2014-15 season 27-7 last year and dominated the American Athletic Conference by winning both the regular season and conference tournament. SMU was set to come into the 2015-16 season with extremely high hopes and some even considered them a top 20 team but now they have reportedly been given a postseason ban for this season, according to Jeff Goodman of ESPN.
To go along with the postseason ban SMU will also reportedly lose nine scholarships over the next three years and Brown will be suspended for 30 percent of the team's games this season and will also have to attend a rules seminar for the next two years. SMU was down two scholarships last season.
SMU's basketball program was under investigation for numerous allegations including academic misconduct where former assistant coach Ulric Maligi and a former basketball secretary were cited for helping guard Keith Frazier with his school work, according to Bill Nichols of the Dallas News. Brown's suspension is reportedly because he showed a "lack of coach control," meaning that he was basically unable to control his players and staff and this all falls under his watch.
Maligi took a leave of absence in January as part of self-imposed sanction by SMU and Frazier missed the second half of last season after being placed on academic suspension due to having a low grade point average. Frazier's suspension was also imposed by SMU, not the NCAA. Brown's suspension is similar to the one Jim Boeheim received for this upcoming season.
The Mustangs made the NCAA Tournament last season for the first time since 1993 and although they were upset by UCLA in the first round, things were looking up for the basketball program. These sanctions represent a major step back for Brown and SMU and it looks like they will have a lot of work to do, again, to get the program back on track.
