https://247sports.com/college/kansas...robe-119016511
Some of the biggest questions heading into the 2018-19 season for the KU men’s basketball team have been around the status of sophomore Silvio De Sousa.
De Sousa appeared to be linked to the latest release of the FBI probe into college basketball. Neither he nor his guardian were named in the most recent report, but some of the details in the indictment seemed to line up with De Sousa’s arrival at KU.
So far, De Sousa has been a full participant in KU’s offseason, at least publicly. He’s participated in camps, practices, autograph-signing sessions and scrimmages, while just about everyone interviewed about him has spoken of De Sousa as if he is going to be eligible for next season.
While that doesn’t necessarily mean everything is perfect behind the scenes, it is an approach worth noting.
With that, here are some of the voices that have spoken about De Sousa this offseason and what they’ve been saying:
Bill Self
In a recent interview with The Athletic's Seth Davis, Bill Self was asked specifically about De Sousa’ eligibility. He noted he couldn’t speak “specifically about that situation,” but said “at this time we feel very confident that everybody that is eligible to participate for the next year will be participating.”
“There’s been nothing at this point in time to lead us to believe anything other than that,” Self told Davis.
That comment wasn't especially revealing, but again, it's a different approach than if Self were just to "no comment" the question or say it's something with which KU will have to wait and see. It's also worth noting that according to the same FBI release that appeared to reference De Sousa, KU is only seen as having been potentially defrauded and not as having committed any alleged wrongdoing.
KU assistant coaches
The KU assistants have continued to talk about De Sousa as if they’ll have him for the upcoming year.
In an interview with 247Sports, KU big men coach Norm Roberts spoke about De Sousa unprompted when asked about the big men as a whole for the upcoming season. In a recent media session with several reporters, KU assistant Kurtis Townsend did the same.
“I think we’re going to have a really, really good team,” Townsend said. “I think Silvio is much improved and his body looks great. Doke is going to be really good. Dedric has a chance to be an all-league type guy.”
Again, this doesn't necessarily mean one thing in either direction. But it is worth noting considering the assistants could simply choose to leave his name out when they speak of the team. So far, the approach has been to talk as if it's business as usual.
Silvio De Sousa’s guardian
De Sousa’s guardian, Fenny Falmagne, has spoken on multiple occasions about the potential allegations against both himself and De Sousa. As recently as April, he told KUsports.com: “Nothing ever happened.”
“I have never taken anything from Adidas. Silvio hasn’t done anything for them,” Falmagne told KUsports.com. “That’s the whole thing. He had no affiliation with Adidas. Zero. He never played for Adidas.”
Falmangne also told KUsports.com that he was not going to hire an attorney as he didn’t feel it was necessary. He also denied the potential allegations to the Kansas City Star.
“He did not take any money, we did not take any money,” Falmagne told the Star. “The kids and I never took money from anyone.”
Silvio De Sousa
The most recent party to speak on the De Sousa news was De Sousa himself. The Kansas City Star caught up with him at a camp in Topeka and spoke with him about a variety of topics, including improvements he wants to make for the upcoming season and his adjustment joining KU in the middle of last year.
According to a story written by the Star’s Gary Bedore, when asked about the probe, De Sousa answered:
“I am not really worried about it. I know I didn’t do anything so I don’t need to worry about it.”