Texas announced Friday evening that junior guard Eric Davis Jr. will be withheld from playing for the Longhorns “until further notice.”
The news comes in response to a Yahoo Sports report released Friday morning, which obtained documents and records from a recent federal investigation that lists Texas as one of several college basketball programs that has former and/or current players who have allegedly received improper benefits.
“We have initiated an internal review of the recent report that included allegations involving current and former University of Texas men’s basketball players,” Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte said in a statement. “We are in the process of gathering facts, but I did meet with Eric Davis Jr. this afternoon and let him know we are withholding him from competition for precautionary reasons until further notice, pending the review of this situation.
“Winning with integrity is paramount to Texas Athletics, and we take these allegations very seriously,” Del Conte continued. “We expect all of our programs to comply with NCAA rules, and every year we have all of our student-athletes sign forms attesting they will follow those rules. Beyond that, we put a great deal of effort and resources into educating our coaches and student-athletes on NCAA rules and regulations. Our compliance department is constantly monitoring and communicating with our coaches and student-athletes, as we are in this case.
“We will continue to work through this recent development and provide further updates when we have the necessary information to do so.”
Davis is one of seven active college basketball players implicated in the report. Davis received $1,500 from ASM Sports, according to the report. Current players from Alabama, Duke, Kentucky, Michigan State, South Carolina and USC were also singled out by the FBI.
Ex-Texas center Prince Ibeh (2012-16) was also one of several former college players named in the report for either meeting with or having a meal with ASM Sports agent Christian Dawkins.
Davis has logged 26.2 minutes per game for Texas this season. He filled sophomore Andrew Jones’ place as the starting shooting guard after Jones was diagnosed with leukemia in January. Davis ranks sixth on the team in scoring with 8.8 points per game and leads the Longhorns with 40 converted 3-point attempts.
“I became aware of the report late last evening,” Texas head coach Shaka Smart said in a statement. “I had no previous knowledge of the alleged extra benefits described in the report. I am working with our athletic department staff and am prepared to cooperate fully with the investigation into this matter.
“I am, and always have been, fully committed to ensuring that our program operates within NCAA rules. Our staff has always been very direct and thorough in educating our student-athletes about the specific parameters regarding agents.”
Texas plays Oklahoma State at the Frank Erwin Center on Saturday at 1 p.m.
The Longhorns will have to shorten their already-tight rotation as the program sidelines Davis until the University gathers more information on the subject. Del Conte and Texas will err on the side of caution to prevent or limit possible NCAA penalty, especially in light of recent NCAA violations bestowed upon Louisville.
