Okogie and Jackson withheld from play for NCAA violations

ATLANTA- Prior to tipoff of Georgia Tech's exhibition game against Faulkner University the school announced they are temporarily shutting down star guard Josh Okogie and senior guard Tadric Jackson both starters due to self-reported NCAA infractions. Neither player will be eligible to play until a NCAA investigation in complete and there is a ruling on their status.

Both players are being withheld from competition until the NCAA weighs in on how long they have to miss for the self-reported violations that included receiving meals, apparel and transportation in exceeding $100. The school had hoped to have the investigation complete and a ruling prior to the start of exhibition play, but that did not happen.

Rumors circulated over the last few weeks following tweets by a former friend of Josh Pastner who was close to the program at Tech and during his days in Memphis.

Athletic Director Todd Stansbury released a statement Thursday night prior the Faulkner matchup and the Jackets trip to China. The players will leave on Friday to head to Shanghai.

“While we never want to learn that NCAA rules violations have occurred, I applaud Coach Pastner and our compliance staff for taking immediate action as soon as these violations came to light,” Georgia Tech director of athletics Todd Stansbury said. “I continue to be proud of the culture of compliance within our men’s basketball program and across the board here at Georgia Tech. As a department, we will use this as an opportunity to review our protocols and our educational efforts and will continue to prioritize compliance with NCAA rules.”

The two guards received a combined $1,275 from a non-booster including meals, transportation and some apparel. Those violations are considered minor by the NCAA if restitution is made and the players sit out a certain amount of games. The amount of time can vary depending on the circumstances but is unlikely to exceed 30-percent of the season or roughly ten games. Okogie who is also injured could miss at least that much time as he recovers from a finger injury suffered in the exhibition against Georgia State.

Pastner echoed Stansbury's thoughts.

“Nothing is more important to me than having an atmosphere of compliance,” Pastner said. “This isolated situation can and will be a learning opportunity for our entire program. We’re moving ahead and looking forward to having Tadric and Josh back in game action early this season.”

THE FLATS – Georgia Tech announced on Thursday that it has self-reported rules violations committed by men’s basketball student-athletes to the NCAA. As a result, senior Tadric Jackson and sophomore Josh Okogie will be withheld from regular-season competition, pending a resolution from the NCAA.

Georgia Tech’s internal investigation determined that violations of NCAA rules occurred. Specifically, Jackson received apparel, meals and transportation totaling less than $525 from an individual who is neither employed by Georgia Tech athletics nor a booster, while Okogie received apparel, meals and transportation totaling less than $750 from the same individual.

The student-athletes received the benefits during a period beginning in November 2016 and ending in May 2017. Head coach Josh Pastnerbecame aware of possible violations on Oct. 2, 2017 and immediately reported them to Georgia Tech’s compliance office. On Oct. 6, 2017, the compliance office determined that violations had occurred and declared the student-athletes ineligible. Georgia Tech is still awaiting a final resolution to the situation from the NCAA.

The internal investigation showed that the violations were isolated and occurred without the knowledge of the coaching staff.

“While we never want to learn that NCAA rules violations have occurred, I applaud Coach Pastner and our compliance staff for taking immediate action as soon as these violations came to light,” Georgia Tech director of athletics Todd Stansbury said. “I continue to be proud of the culture of compliance within our men’s basketball program and across the board here at Georgia Tech. As a department, we will use this as an opportunity to review our protocols and our educational efforts and will continue to prioritize compliance with NCAA rules.”

“Nothing is more important to me than having an atmosphere of compliance,” Pastner said. “This isolated situation can and will be a learning opportunity for our entire program. We’re moving ahead and looking forward to having Tadric and Josh back in game action early this season.”

Jackson will participate in Thursday night’s exhibition game versus Faulkner (Okogie will miss the game due to a finger injury sustained in last Saturday’s exhibition game versus Georgia State). The student-athletes will not travel with the Yellow Jackets for next Friday’s season opener versus UCLA in Shanghai, China.