Former University of New Orleans (UNO) guard Dae Dae Hunter has publicly admitted to point-shaving as part of a sports betting scheme.
The ex-NCAA student-athlete’s confession on ABC’s “Good Morning America” could further weaken the US public’s belief in the integrity of elite athletes.
Earlier this month, the NCAA banned Hunter, fellow ex-UNO teammates Dyquavian Short and Jamond Vincent, plus Arizona State’s Chatton “BJ” Freeman and Mississippi Valley State pair Donovan Sanders and Alvin Stredic.
The NCAA’s infractions arm found Hunter and the other six ex-college basketballers guilty of manipulating their performances to affect the outcomes of games, either by losing, not covering betting lines, trying to hit prop bet targets, “or providing information that enabled others to do so” during the 2024-25 college season.
shooting the ball and not actually trying to make it”
Hunter said that he deliberately played beneath himself at times, “basically shooting the ball and not actually trying to make it.” The former UNO guard also said he deliberately misled the Commission’s investigators and tried to lie to them “because I thought I wouldn’t get my way out of it.”
As to why Hunter chose to cheat, he told GMA: “I just had a child. The school wasn’t paying me, so I was trying to get money to actually take care of my child.”
The NCAA’s head has been spinning since September when it announced it was investigating 13 men’s basketball players from six different schools, including UNO, Arizona State, and Mississippi Valley State. In October, the NCAA added that it was investigating a minimum of 30 current or ex-players for betting allegations and that multiple sportsbooks had flagged the shady activity. Just last week, the NCAA admitted it was “aware of the charges and is looking into” college athletes linked to a case involving a major Lucchese family-backed sports betting ring.
