Banned player coming clean
Former University of New Orleans basketball player Dae Dae Hunter has admitted to point-shaving in college games last season. Appearing on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” Hunter said he knew full well what he was doing and needed the money.
Earlier this month, the NCAA permanently pulled Hunter’s and five others’ eligibility for manipulating games or sharing information for betting purposes. The accused included Hunter’s New Orleans teammates Dyquavian Short and Jamond Vincent, Mississippi Valley State players Donovan Sanders and Alvin Stredic, and Arizona State’s B.J. Freeman.
According to the NCAA’s investigation, the three New Orleans players conspired with known sports bettors to either lose games outright or lose by more than the point spread. The players were paid in exchange for their cooperation.
Bettors needed bad team to be worse
Point shaving does not always involve losing on purpose. In some instances, the team is the betting favorite and the player tries to influence the game enough so that his team still wins, but just doesn’t cover the spread. In Hunter’s case, though, it sounds like bettors picked him and his teammates because New Orleans was terrible – the team went 4-27 last season.
In the interview, Hunter said that the bettors selected the games based on how likely they thought New Orleans would lose by more than the spread. They then engaged Hunter, Short, and Vincent to make sure it happened. Since the team was so bad, it probably didn’t appear to most observers that anything fishy was going on.
For example, one of the seven games that was manipulated was the December 28, 2024 contest against McNeese State. New Orleans was a massive 23.5-point underdog, so the fact that they lost 86-61 would have looked completely unsuspicious.
Hunter played only 14 minutes and scored just three points on 25% shooting.
Baby needed diapers
Hunter told “Good Morning America” that in the games in which he shaved points, he would shoot the ball and “not actually try to make it,” though he would sometimes accidentally put the ball through the hoop.
“I’d make a couple and miss a couple.”
When asked if he thought about the ramifications if bettors lost their wagers, he replied, “Ninety-five percent [of the time], we were going to get the job done.”
Since New Orleans was so bad, it was probably much easier for Hunter to justify point shaving, as there were no post-season tournaments or championships on the line. But in an interesting moment, Hunter got choked up when asked why the money was so tempting. After excusing himself, Hunter returned to the interview and said that he had a newborn child, and since he wasn’t getting paid by the school, he needed the money to support the infant.
While the NCAA has not published details of every game and every payment in question, it did reveal that text messages between Short and Hunter made reference to a $5,000 payment for the McNeese State game.
The post Former College Basketball Player Admits to Point Shaving appeared first on Poker News Daily.
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