VIDEO: James Wiseman Reveals Emotional Toll of NCAA Suspension in Revealing Interview

The NCAA's ruling against former Memphis standout James Wiseman has sparked a national conversation on the treatment of student athletes over the past couple of months. But for him, it's a conversation that was drowned out by his own tears each night he was deprived from the game of basketball. Wiseman sat down for an interview ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski to discuss the immense emotional toll his suspension had on him.

Wiseman was a projected No. 1 overall NBA draft pick coming out of high school, but was suspended early into his freshman season at Memphis. Wiseman's family accepted $11,500 in moving expenses in 2017 from coach Penny Hardaway, who was then the head coach at Memphis East High School.

When Hardaway made the move to the collegiate ranks in 2019 to take over the Memphis Tigers, and brought Wiseman with him, the NCAA had ruled that Hardaway acted as a booster. Wiseman was then subject to a 12-game suspension, and despite taking legal action to get back onto the court, the victory was only temporary.

Wiseman's suspension was reinstated by the NCAA, and his college career came to a premature end.

Wiseman revealed that he cried every night in his dorm while he was dealing with the NCAA's ruling.

"I was really in the middle of a hurricane," Wiseman said. "That's like the worst place you could possibly be. Just having the mental agony and the suffering, crying every night because I just wanted to get on the court so much."

After a two-game stint back on the court due to an appeal of his suspension, the his ban was reinstated, and Wiseman's family was forced to donate $11,500 to charity.

A month later, Wiseman announced that he would leave the team and school and turned his attention to preparing for the NBA draft.

"I wanted to have a great collegiate career," Wiseman said. "I wanted to win a national championship. But throughout the course of the first two games, everything started to go down in terms of my mental [well-being]. I was getting depressed. It was dehumanizing for me."

Despite the drama that overshadowed his brief college career, Wiseman did flash in his limited time on the court at Memphis, and is a high-stock NBA prospect. There is still a lingering chance that he will be the number one overall selection this June.