PHOENIX -- Despite an apology and a plea for probation, former Arizona State basketball star Stevin "Hedake" Smith is going to prison for his role in a point-shaving scandal.
"I realize what I did was wrong," Smith said at his sentencing Monday. "I wish I could redo it."Smith, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit sports bribery, was sentenced to a year in prison for shaving points during the 1993-94 season.
His attorney asked the court for probation, citing Smith's cooperation with authorities, his decision not to shave points during the fifth game as planned and his inability to play professionally overseas this year.
But U.S. District Judge Robert C. Broomfield emphasized the damage to Arizona State's reputation and Smith's central role in the conspiracy.
"Without you, it wouldn't have happened," Broomfield told Smith.
Smith, who joined the point-shaving plan partly to pay off a gambling debt, is preparing to file for bankruptcy protection.
Smith, who holds Arizona State's career record for steals and is No. 3 in scoring, apologized to his mother, the university and then-coach Bill Frieder, who left Arizona State in part because of the scandal.
In addition to prison time, Smith was sentenced to three years' probation, fined $8,000 and prohibited from gambling. He must surrender to federal authorities by Dec. 13 to begin serving his sentence.
Prosecutors said Smith fixed four games, partly to erase a $10,000 gambling debt to Benny Silman, a former Arizona State student. Smith was paid about $100,000 for the first three games; he never received the $50,000 he was to get for the fourth.
Silman, who masterminded the point-shaving scheme, is serving a 46-month prison sentence.
Isaac Burton Jr., the only other player to be indicted, was sentenced in June to two months in jail, six months of home detention and three years' probation. He received $4,300 from Smith to help shave points in two of the games.
Bets were placed on five Arizona State games in Las Vegas between December 1993 and May 1994. Four were fixed successfully, prosecutors said. The bettors reportedly lost all their money in the last game, against Washington, when the Sun Devils came back to beat the point spread.
After Silman and Smith agreed to the scheme, Silman brought in Joseph Gagliano, who in turn told Joseph and Dominic Mangiamele and Vincent Basso about the fixed games. The gamblers received various sentences in June, some including jail time.
Another defendant, Anthony Joseph Frank, was accused of paying Smith to fix the fifth game without knowing about the main conspiracy. He was acquitted at trial.