That a coach was suspended for making contact with an official isn’t exactly news. That the suspension could take effect this season, over two seasons two decades apart or not at all is a bit more intriguing.
NCAA suspends Illinois assistant for two NCAA Tournament games
Jamall Walker will be forced to sit out his next two NCAA Tournament games as a coach because of his behavior last March.
USA TODAY Sports
The NCAA announced on Friday that it has suspended Illinois assistant coach Jamall Walker for two NCAA Tournament games because of his conduct last March. According to the press release, Walker made inappropriate contact with a game official and verbally confronted the game officials and a police officer following Illinois’ loss to Miami in the third round of last season’s big dance.
Walker’s two-game tournament suspension applies to the next NCAA postseason opportunity that he will have as a coach, regardless of what school he represents. If the Illini make it to the Sweet 16 this season, he will have to sit out the opening weekend. If they win one game in the tournament, Walker gets fired and doesn’t get re-hired until 2039 by Western Kentucky, he’ll have to sit out his first NCAA Tournament game with the Hilltoppers.
“Coach Walker’s behavior violated the expectations that championship participants act in a manner that represents the highest standards of sportsmanship,” Ron Wellman, chair of the Division I Men’s Basketball Committee and athletic director at Wake Forest, said. “The nature of his actions led us to issue the two-game postseason suspension.”
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