THE LATEST LINE: SEMO HOOPS FINALLY CAN MOVE AHEAD

Thursday's ruling handed down by the NCAA infractions committee against Southeast Missouri State University's men's basketball program was interesting from a couple of angles.

First of all, serious supporters of SEMO hoops -- not to mention coach Gary Garner, his staff and players -- had to be elated by the three-year probation and loss of a scholarship.

Not to minimize that penalty, but it's about the best ruling anybody who backs the Indians could have hoped for. There is no postseason ban -- which is what Garner feared the most -- meaning SEMO will be eligible to compete for the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament title and the automatic NCAA tourney berth that goes with it.

Then there is the position taken by former coach Ron Shumate, who was fired last May after the alleged violations under his direction surfaced.

Even though the NCAA's report states that several major violations occurred in the program while Shumate was SEMO's head coach -- and that he was directly involved in at least two of them -- Shumate continues to profess his innocence, just as he did the day he was fired.

When I spoke with him over the telephone Thursday after the NCAA released its report, he told me he probably was guilty of a few of the minor violations his program was found to have committed.

But Shumate emphatically denied involvement in any major infractions, namely giving cash and loans to players and paying a player for work not performed as a student-worker. He also said he has no knowledge of any of his assistant coaches -- who were also cited by the NCAA -- committing major violations.

I guess nobody will ever know how much truth there is to what Shumate says. He's maintained all along that the current administration was out to get him and he said that's what ultimately wound up happening.

Well, it's one thing for an administration to want to get a coach. That has probably happened at some schools.

But I find it hard to believe that the NCAA was out to get Shumate as well. Jerry Tarkanian, maybe. But Ron Shumate, a coach of an obscure, lower-level Division I basketball program, a guy the NCAA probably hadn't even heard of until its investigation began? Now that seems kind of improbable.

I've written many times over the years that I've always had plenty of respect for Shumate, both professionally and personally.

And I'm not going to tell you that I believe he is lying. Innocent people have been convicted in the courts and I'm sure there have been cases of innocent people being condemned by the NCAA.

But the way our justice system works, the jury is the final word. And the way the NCAA operates, the committee on infractions is the final word. People can formulate their own opinions from there.

In the meantime, it's good to finally have closure on an ordeal that began more than a year ago.

And I don't know about you, but I'm already looking forward to next basketball season.

~Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian