NCAA Bans Former Iona Player Adam Njie Jr. in Alleged Game-Fixing Plot
While Njie Jr. claims he didn't actually shave points, the NCAA says that doesn't matter.
Another men’s college basketball player allegedly involved in a massive game-rigging scheme described in an equally massive federal indictment in January has been banned by the NCAA. In a release last week, the NCAA said that Adam Njie Jr. had been made permanently ineligible after allegedly conspiring to fix games while at Iona as a freshman in the 2024-2025 season.
Njie Jr., who claims he didn’t follow through on promises to shave points for gamblers, cooperated with investigators and “agreed to his violations,” according to the release.
Allegedly physically threatened by gamblers after one failed plan to shave points, Njie Jr. was mired in the same overlapping investigations that led to the conviction of Jontay Porter on fraud charges and has another former NBA player, Terry Rozier, set to stand trial in the Eastern District of New York on sports bribery charges in February.
Njie Jr. has not been charged with a crime.
Inside the Banishment of Iona Basketball Player
Six men described as “fixers” in the Jan. 15 Eastern District of Pennsylvania indictment of a sprawling men’s college basketball corruption scheme were identified by the NCAA as the bettors in the Iona case.
Njie Jr.’s potential involvement in a corruption scheme was unearthed by NCAA enforcement staff after interviewing a source involved in two other cases in July and September. That source said “two known bettors,” had contacted Njie Jr., about shaving points, leading to the Mississippi Gaming Commission flagging three wagers risking $15,000 on Rice covering the first-half spread against the Gaels in the Baha Mar Hoops Nassau Championship in the Bahamas.. With the game tied 35-35 at the half, Iona covered the spread, scoring the bets as losers.
Njie Jr. insists that he only shared information with what the NCAA says are “known bettors” before two games. He did not, he claims, follow through on a plan to help ensure his team failed to cover the point spread of a Dec. 1, 2024 game against Rice.
The guard scored nine of his 19 points in the first half to co-lead the Gaels in scoring.
Njie After Lost Bets, NCAA Says
The NCAA claims to have found evidence that Njie was threatened after the Rice game, and that he assured gamblers he would make up for the losses in a Dec. 6 game against Sacred Heart. Njie Jr. did not attempt a first-half shot against Sacred Heart as Iona trailed by 21 points at intermission and went on to lose 83-59.
The NCAA did not specify the alleged bet gamblers wanted to be manipulated in that game. The full-game line was between Iona -1 and -1.5.
In charging documents for the NCAA case, which involved more than 39 former players, federal prosecutors claim that alleged fixer Jalen Smith texted conspiring players during halftimes to do a better job of rigging their game.
Njie Jr. transferred from Iona to Dayton in 2025, but was not allowed to play during the NCAA and Department of Justice investigations. He transferred to Hampton in May.
Players Allegedly Offered Big Bribes
In the original EDPA charging documents, prosecutors noted that “the fixers targeted for their scheme NCAA basketball players for whom the bribe payments would meaningfully supplement or exceed legitimate NIL opportunities. The fixers also generally targeted for their scheme players on teams that were underdogs in games and sought to have them fail to cover the spreads in those games.”
Whether Njie Jr. actually shaved points is immaterial, according to the NCAA.
“The act of sharing information with a bettor is prohibited by NCAA legislation and is treated the same as point shaving from an NCAA enforcement perspective, regardless of whether the student-athlete goes through with throwing the game” the NCAA said in the release.
“Although the Committee on Infractions does not currently assess penalties for student-athletes who violate NCAA rules, their participation in violations is not without consequence. Student-athletes who are found to have violated NCAA rules are ineligible and can be reinstated only with the assistance of an NCAA school.”
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