Ex-College Basketball Player Admits To Point-Shaving Scheme

Former University of New Orleans men’s basketball player Dae Dae Hunter acknowledged his role in a point-shaving scheme last season during Monday’s interview with ABC’s Good Morning America.

Two Other College Basketball Players Participated

Hunter and teammates Dyquavian Short and Jamond Vincent were accused by the NCAA of losing or attempting to lose by more than the point spread in at least seven games for the Privateers last season.

The NCAA ruled all three players were permanently ineligible.

In his first public comments on the matter, Hunter told Good Morning America that the players were approached about the scheme by an unidentified bettor in Las Vegas.

Hunter said he would not always try to make shots, “make a couple and miss a couple,” adding that he was “money hungry” for “fast cash.”

“I just had a child, and the school wasn’t paying me money, so I was trying to get money to actually take care of my child,” he explained.

Dae Dae Hunter Admits To Lying To NCAA

Hunter admitted to lying to the NCAA when investigators initially reached out to him about his alleged involvement.

“I told them I wasn’t doing it,” Hunter said. “I told them I didn’t know anything, but basically the whole time, I knew everything.”

The NCAA recovered text messages between him and Short off Short’s phone, “in which Short and Hunter discussed receiving $5,000 and plans to go shopping at Sak’s Fifth Avenue the next day. Phone logs from the student-athletes also identified FaceTime calls on that same day with a known bettor flagged by sports book operators,” per The Athletic’s Brendan Marks.

Hunter added that he, Short, and Vincent had a specific phrase — “it’s time” — during games to indicate to one another when it was time to begin altering their performances.

“I’d go out there and I’d do my best shooting the ball, but not actually trying to make it, but making it,” Hunter said. “Like, make a couple and miss a couple.”

When asked if he was worried about the consequences of failing and bets not cashing, Hunter replied, “95 percent, we were gonna get the job done.”