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Who are 3 ex-Eastern Michigan players named in NCAA gambling probe amid NBA scandal
The NCAA said Jalin Billingsley, Da'Sean Nelson and Jalen Terry's failure-to-cooperate violations are Level I.
Three former Eastern Michigan basketball student-athletes, Jalen Terry, Da'Sean Nelson, and Jalin Billingsley, refused to cooperate with a probe into potential sports betting violations, the NCAA said.
The Division I Committee on Infractions made the decision and the NCAA noted that this lack of cooperation constituted a violation of rules.
What happened with the three players?
The NCAA enforcement staff, in January 2025, got notifications from several monitoring services regarding suspicious betting activity on the January 14 game involving Eastern Michigan. They also determined that abnormal betting activity had taken place on two previous games in that season too.
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The school was contacted and a collaborative investigation was launched. Then, on Jan 29, two days after consultation with legal counsel, the three student athletes had their phones imaged, the NCAA said. There were multiple interview requests made to them as well. On March 17, then, 10 days after the school's basketball season ended, the three players' counsel informed the NCAA enforcement staff that their clients wouldn't be participating in the process. An instruction was given to destroy the images.
Due to the conduct of the three, a determination of whether sports betting violation had taken place could not be made.
Who are Jalen Terry, Da'Sean Nelson, and Jalin Billingsley?
Jalen Terry is from Flint, Michigan. In the 2024-25 season the Guard appeared in 31 games with 31 starts, leading the team in scoring, by averaging 16.6 points per game.
He ranked first on the team in three point percentage at 38 percent, with 2.90 three pointers made per game, in the process, ranking amongst the top marks in EMU history.
Da'Sean Nelson is from Toledo, Ohio, and the Forward appeared in 31 games, having 28 starts. He averaged 16.1 points per game, and was ranked second on the team.
Jalin Billingsley played as a Forward and is from Cleveland, Ohio. He appeared in 32 games, getting 20 starts. He ranked fourth on the team with 10.5 points per game. Billingsley had a special moment leading the Eagles to 83-58 win over Siena Heights on Nov 8 with a career high of 32 points and 10 rebounds.
What punishment could they face?
Failure to cooperate in an NCAA investigation, which includes refusing to interview or produce relevant materials, violates NCAA rules. The trio's failure-to-cooperate violations are Level I.
“When individuals choose not to cooperate — particularly when cases involve potential integrity issues — those choices can and will be met with serious consequences including prohibitions on athletically related activities, the loss of eligibility and/or being publicly named in an infractions decision,” the committee said. Those found to have violated NCAA rules are ineligible and can only be reinstated with the assistance of an NCAA school.
While permanent ineligibility is a possibility, Jalin Billingsley, Da'Sean Nelson and Jalen Terry have no collegiate eligibility remaining, the NCAA said.
This comes amid the NBA betting scandal in which the FBI is probing a betting scheme and a poker game scheme, and have arrested 34 people including those in the NBA and in organized crime.
