Ricardo Garcia — Reporter
San Jose State men’s basketball will play its upcoming season without its former senior leading scorer Richard Washington after it was announced that he would be suspended for the entire season.
The decision was made after the NCAA discovered that Washington had signed with a non-certified agent and participated in an unapproved tournament for profit.
Washington also declared for the NBA draft during the offseason but withdrew with the intention of returning to San Jose State to play his final year of eligibility.
Despite his decision to withdraw from the draft, the NCAA still found him to be in violation of his eligibility and proceeded with his suspension.
Washington believes that his decisions were a result of a lack of counsel because of not having a compliance officer to go for advice at the time.
“I made a mistake, but there was no one to educate me on the draft process,” Washington told Basketball analyst Jeff Goodman. “I had no guidance. … I feel like the NCAA doesn’t care about who I am as a person. I’m just a piece of paper to them.”
The senior guard averaged 19.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists for the Spartans and led the entire Mountain West in scoring during the 2020-2021 season.
Washington has plans to appeal the decision while he continues his studies with the hope of shortening or completely removing the suspension.
This situation draws the question of how the team will do without one of its most valuable players.
Only time will tell as the season opener rapidly approaches. The Spartans will open the season at home against Cal State Fullerton on November 11 with tipoff time to be announced.
Follow Ricardo on Twitter @SJSURicardoG