July 11, 2000

DURHAM, N.C. - Duke University received information Tuesday from former Duke basketball player Corey Maggette that raises substantial questions about his eligibility to play for the Blue Devils during the 1998-99 season, Executive Vice President Tallman Trask III said.

Maggette said in a sworn statement sent to the university that he had accepted cash payments, in addition to expense money, from a summer league coach when he was a high school student in 1997. Under NCAA rules, Trask said, such payments could jeopardize the eligibility of a student-athlete.

"We have forwarded the information to the NCAA," Trask said.

"We were unaware of the possibility of a violation until allegations were made last fall," Trask said. Maggette left Duke in the spring of 1999 to enter the NBA draft.