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UNM senior guard Jamal Fenton has been suspended for the first three games of the 2012-13 basketball season for a “minor NCAA rule violation regarding impermissible benefits,” the University Athletics department said in a release issued late Monday morning.
UNM head basketball coach Steve Alford said during a Monday press conference that he is disappointed after learning of the NCAA ruling. Aside from calling it a “minor violation” that involved only Fenton, Alford did not delve into specifics regarding the violation.
Fenton will not discuss those specifics, the release said.
“It does affect our rotation,” Alford said. “He’s a senior that is going to be asked to do a lot this year. To lose him for three games is unfortunate. It is what it is. I’m not happy about it, but it is what it is.”
Fenton will miss the Nov. 12 season-opening game against Davidson and the first two games of the Paradise Jam, which begins Nov. 16 in the Virgin Islands. He will be eligible to begin regular-season play on Nov. 19, the final day of the Paradise Jam.
The ruling allows Fenton to practice and travel with the team. He is also eligible to play exhibition games slated for Wednesday against Victory University and Nov. 5 against New Mexico Highlands.
“We’re going to have to play the vets a little bit more in that stretch,” Alford said. “He does come back for that third game in four days in the Virgin Islands. At least we won’t go that whole tournament with a light bench.”
Article 16 of the NCAA bylaws states student athletes cannot receive an award, benefit or expense allowance not authorized by NCAA legislation. Violations result in player ineligibility.
Fenton has a .408 shooting average in three years at UNM, including a .339 average behind the 3-point line. He has two games in which he scored a career-high 16 points, the last coming Dec. 22, 2011 against Missouri-Kansas City.
Lobo sophomore point guard Hugh Greenwood said it’s a huge blow to lose Fenton, who serves as an emotional leader to the team.
“It’s going to give some other guys a chance to come in and play a significant role, but you can’t replace Jamal and the energy he brings and the leadership he brings,” Greenwood said. “We’re going to have to do our best.”
Fenton is the fifth UNM student athlete to be suspended this semester.
On Aug. 29, UNM senior defensive lineman Rod Davis was suspended two games and senior defensive lineman Fatu Ulale was suspended four games for impermissible benefits violations that occurred in 2011 under former head football coach Mike Locksley.
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Current UNM head football coach Bob Davie said at the time that those suspensions stemmed from players shipping items with a University FedEx account.
Junior quarterback David Vega and sophomore defensive back Devonta Tabannah were also suspended that week following arrests. Vega was arrested for minor in possession, Davie said, while Tabannah was charged with DWI, failure to obey a traffic control device and failure to provide registration, a driver’s license or proof of insurance to police officers.
