The University of Miami announced Thursday that senior forward DeQuan Jones will not participate in the 2011-2012 basketball season as the NCAA and UM investigate his relationship with former booster Nevin Shapiro.
Jones was the only current Miami basketball player named in Yahoo Sports' massive investigative report on Shapiro's decade as a rogue booster for Miami's athletic department.
In Yahoo's report, Shapiro said "I never had a dealing directly with the kid," but did acknowledge he gave $10,000 to then-assistant coach Jake Morton in 2008 after he told Shapiro Jones' family required a cash payment to secure his commitment to attend UM.
According to Yahoo, Morton returned the money to Shapiro in 2010 after receiving angry messages from Shapiro. Shapiro told Yahoo he believes Jones did not know about the transaction.
In a statement, UM athletic Director Chris Freet said "The University and Jones will continue to cooperate fully with the NCAA."
In his first three years at UM, Jones had played sparingly. After making 20 starts as a sophomore, he made only 10 last season, averaging 4.5 points and 2.5 rebounds per game. He was hoping for a more expanded role under new coach Jim Larranaga, but that obviously will not come to pass now.
