BIG 12 Missouri's Ricky Clemons still considers coach like a father

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) -- Former point guard Ricky Clemons said allegations he received illegal payments and academic help during his career at Missouri have not changed his feelings for coach Quin Snyder, who Clemons says is like a father to him.
"I trust him," Clemons told the Columbia Daily Tribune in Saturday's editions. "Coach, he's like my dad forever. I'm like a son to him."
Clemons, 23, was kicked off the basketball team in July after he completed a jail term arising from two misdemeanor convictions for assaulting then-girlfriend Jessica Bunge.
The NCAA has been investigating claims by Bunge that Clemons received money and clothing from the Missouri coaching staff. In the past week, tapes of Clemons' phone conversations from the Boone County Jail revealed discussions of payments to Clemons and current players Rickey Paulding and Arthur Johnson.
Paulding and Johnson have denied receiving any money. Snyder has said he cannot discuss the allegations because of the ongoing NCAA investigation.
Clemons said he and Snyder have not spoken since August, and he refused to visit with the coach while he was jailed or since he was released.
Snyder is one of the few people who has shown he cared about him off the basketball court, Clemons said. Clemons no longer keeps in touch with his mother or his father.
Clemons also said that Elson Floyd, the university president who agreed to help Clemons at Snyder's request, is not responsible for the turmoil at Missouri.