RALEIGH, N.C. _ N.C. State pushed the NCAA in the university's response to the Notice of Allegations. So did former Wolfpack coach Mark Gottfried.
In its response, the NCAA has pushed back, specifically about an alleged $40,000 payment from T.J. Gassnola, a former Adidas consultant, to the family of former N.C. State star point guard Dennis Smith Jr.
The NCAA outlined a cluster of communication between Gassnola, former N.C. State assistant basketball coach Orlando Early and Shawn Farmer, a middle man for the sneaker company and the Smith family, during Smith's recruitment in its response to N.C. State and Gottfried.
N.C. State released the NCAA's 48-page response on Monday. The next step in the case is for a hearing with the NCAA's Committee on Infractions to be scheduled. There is no timetable for the hearing.
There are four violations in the Notice of Allegations the NCAA sent N.C. State in July. The most damaging, the two Level I charges, are tied to an alleged payment to Smith during the recruiting process in 2015.
Gassnola, who worked as a grassroots coach out of Massachusetts, testified in the federal fraud trial of former Adidas executive Jim Gatto, that he flew to North Carolina and delivered a $40,000 payment to Early. Gatto was convicted of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud in federal court in New York last spring. His case was part of the FBI's investigation into pay-to-play schemes in college basketball.
Gassnola pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud before the trial and received a lenient sentencing in exchange for his cooperation as a government witness. Gassnola testified that Early was supposed to give the money to Farmer, who had worked as a trainer for Smith, and that Farmer was to give the money to Smith's family.
Smith, who left N.C. State after the 2016-17 season for the NBA, has since denied that he, or anyone in his family, received the payment. Early has not cooperated with the NCAA or made any public comments about the case.
Key in the NCAA's response, which was prepared by its enforcement staff, is how it viewed Early's role, the source of Gassnola's money and how that differed from the interpretation by N.C. State and Gottfried, who filed separate responses to the NCAA in December.
