Sanctions against SMU and Larry Brown already having an effect on recruiting

SMU is already experiencing the negative effects of NCAA sanctions on their recruiting for the 2016–17 season.

In the wake of recent events, top-rated basketball player Taurean Thompson from Brewster Prep Academy in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire has postponed his visit to SMU, according to Syracuse.com.

Thompson, the No. 87 player in the class of 2016 according to ESPN.com, has decided not to make his official visit to SMU originally scheduled for this upcoming weekend.

“It’s not going to be the right time to visit,’’ Sherese Piper, Thompson’s mother, said Thursday. “We’re going to put it on hold for now. It would be inappropriate for us to be there this weekend.’’

In addition to missing out on potential recruits, SMU will be subjected to scholarship reductions, according to WFAA.com.

The sanctions stem from an incident involving a former administrative assistant and current SMU basketball player Keith Frazier.

According to a report by CBS Sports, the administrative assistant assumed Frazier’s identity to complete an online course and help him remain eligible.

Frazier claims to have no idea that any wrongdoing had occurred regarding his academic eligibility.

“I know it looks that way on the outside looking in,” Frazier told ESPN, “but I didn’t know.”

A USA Today report speculates that the severity of the penalties on recruiting were increased due to the fact that head coach Larry Brown and SMU have been linked to similar incidents in the past.

The NCAA report cites both Brown’s transgressions at other universities and the rules violations by the school’s football team in the 1980s as “aggravating factors.”

A loss of scholarships will likely exacerbate the difficulties Brown will face in recruiting players for the coming seasons.