Kansas' Silvio De Sousa Declares for NBA Draft Pending NCAA Appeal

Adidas consultant T.J. Gassnola testified he gave $2,500 to De Sousa's guardian for online class registration.

Kansas forward Silvio De Sousa has declared for the NBA draft while waiting for the result of Kansas's formal suspension appeal, Matt Tait of KUSports.com reported on Saturday.

Kansas submitted an appeal of De Sousa's two-year suspension on Thursday, stating that the freshman forward was "unaware of and from which he did not benefit" regarding any alleged NCAA violations.

KU statement:

The University of Kansas today submitted its formal appeal on behalf of Silvio De Sousa, challenging the two-season penalty De Sousa received from the NCAA for alleged violations that he was unaware of and from which he did not benefit.

— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) April 18, 2019

The Jayhawks withheld De Sousa from the 2018-19 season as his NCAA eligibility was under review. Former Adidas consultant TJ Gassnola noted payments to De Sousa during an appearance in federal court in October 2018.

"Evidence showed Gassnola making note of a meeting with Kansas coach Bill Self and his staff, whom he assured Adidas was “here to help” with recruiting targets," Sports Illustrated's Dan Greene wrote in October. "On the stand, Gassnola described how de Sousa’s guardian needed a five-figure payment to get out of an agreement with Under Armour for de Sousa to attend Maryland."

Kansas attempted to regain De Sousa's eligibility in January, but the NCAA ruled in February its decision to suspend De Sousa for the end of the 2018-19 season and the entire 2019-20 season. 

On Saturday, De Sousa said he will return to Kansas if his appeal is granted. If not, De Sousa will enter the NBA draft.

De Sousa averaged 4.0 points and 8.4 minutes per game as a freshman in 2017-18. Kansas lost in the second round of the NCAA tournament in 2019, losing to Auburn.