NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Louisiana State University has cleared freshmen Javonte Smart to play in Friday's game against the Florida Gators in the SEC Men's Basketball Tournament.
A spokesperson for LSU said Smart has fully cooperated in a joint investigation with the university and the NCAA following reports of wiretapped conversations involving head coach Will Wade.
LSU held Smart out of the season finale against Vanderbilt because he was mentioned in a wiretapped phone call about recruiting that resulted in Wade's suspension. Senior associate athletics director Robert Munson said then that the decision was made "only in an abundance of caution."
"Though the inquiry is not closed, after multiple additional interviews, there has been no wrongdoing identified to date," LSU communication's director Michael Bonnette said. "As a result, and because of his full cooperation and transparency in this matter, Smart has been cleared by university officials for play on Friday."
LSU suspended Wade a day after Yahoo published excerpts of Wade's phone conversations with a man convicted last year of funneling money to the families of basketball recruits.
Smart is a former Louisiana player of the year. This season he has averaged 11.5 points and scored 29 in a victory over Tennessee.