Silvio De Sousa

On 13 January 2018 the NCAA ruled De Sousa immediately eligible to play for the 2017–18 Kansas Jayhawks.[8] In his freshman season he averaged 8.8 minutes, four points, and 3.7 rebounds per game over 20 games,[1] helping the Jayhawks to their 14th consecutive Big 12 Conference Championship, Big 12 tournament championship, and Final Four appearance in the NCAA tournament.

During the October 2018 college basketball corruption trial of two Adidas officials and an aspiring NBA agent, testimony was given by TJ Gassnola, a former consultant for Adidas, alleged that De Sousa's guardian, Fenny Falmagne, had accepted $60,000 from an unnamed Maryland booster to steer De Sousa to that program. Gassnola further testified that he gave $2,500 to Falmagne to cover the cost of online courses that De Sousa needed to graduate high school early. He also agreed to pay $20,000 to Falmagne to help release De Sousa from the commitment to the Maryland booster, but that the proposed payment was never made. De Sousa ultimately committed to Kansas, one of the named victims in the federal indictment.[9][10][11] Falmagne has vehemently asserted that neither he nor De Sousa accepted any money to steer De Sousa to Kansas, stating that "Coach Self is not about that (paying players). That is one of the things I really appreciate about him. ... That's when we went over there (to visit KU)."[12]

With De Sousa's amateur status now in question, on 24 October 2018 Kansas announced that De Sousa would be held out of competition until an eligibility review was completed.[13] On 1 February 2019, the NCAA ruled him ineligible for the remainder of the 2018–19 season and all of the 2019–20 season. Kansas Athletic Director Jeff Long immediately announced that they will appeal. Head coach Bill Self called the entire process and decision "mean spirited" and "vindictive".[14] On 18 April 2019, Kansas officially filed the appeal with the NCAA on De Sousa's behalf.[15] The following day, he declared for the 2019 NBA draft but also announced he planned to return to Kansas if he won his appeal.[16] On 24 May 2019, the NCAA announced that he had won his appeal and will be eligible to play in the 2019–20 season. The following day, he officially withdrew from the draft.[17]

On 21 January 2020, in a game against Kansas State, De Sousa was dribbling out the ball in an 81–59 game in favor of Kansas when he was stripped by Kansas State player DaJuan Gordon with 3.1 seconds remaining in the game. De Sousa blocked Gordon's dunk attempt as time expired then stood over and taunted him, which sparked a brawl between both teams. De Sousa threw several punches and picked up a chair before he was restrained by assistant coach Jerrance Howard.[18] De Sousa was suspended indefinitely by Kansas for his role in the brawl.[19] The Big 12 announced his suspension will be 12 games, however, Bill Self stated he may continue the suspension beyond the 12 games. He was eligible to return for the Jayhawks’ final regular-season game against Texas Tech on 7 March.

On 16 October 2020, De Sousa announced he was opting out of the 2020–21 season to focus on a personal matter.[20]

On 20 July 2021, De Sousa transferred to Chattanooga for his final year of eligibility.[21]

On 5 August 2021, De Sousa was found not guilty of aggravated battery in a case stemming from 1 January 2020, shortly before the brawl against Kansas State. According to the complaint, De Sousa had been involved in an early morning altercation outside of a bar in Douglas County which resulted in a man losing sight permanently in one of his eyes.[22]