Thursday, March 13, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
SUN WIRE REPORTS
A Detroit man made cash payments to current and former Michigan basketball players, the Detroit Free Press reported today.
Two sources told the newspaper that Ed Martin has giv en money to Wolverines players for years.
The sources said several current players have received money during the season and during summer breaks, but they did not know how many and did not name any current or former players.
But some players received "hundreds" of dollars, sometimes during meetings with Martin after games and outside the locker room at Crisler Arena, one source said.
Other players received cash in envelopes hidden inside cake boxes that Martin gave them, and he provided money to some players through their girlfriends, that source said.
The Free Press said it could not reach Martin for comment.
Reports published earlier this week in the Free Press and The Detroit News identified Martin, 63, s a basketball program booster who allegedly tried to rent an apartment for a player and tried to buy plane tickets for players' relatives, but was stopped from doing so by coach Steve Fisher.
In a report filed last week, the university informed the NCAA about two minor violations involving contact between Martin and current players.
The school acknowledged that Fisher and his staff did not report Martin's actions. But besides noting Fisher's intervention over the apartment rental and ticket purchases, the university told the NCAA it had had imposed sanctions upon the program and banned Martin from further contact.
The NCAA is reviewing the university's internal report, and also conducting its own investigation.
Dozens of interviews based on alleged payments to players have turned up no admissions that any player received money from a booster, university spokesman Walt Harrison said.
"We are committed to running a program that is above reproach and above suspicion," Harrison told the Free Press. "We will search out any solvent lead we have. Unless people come forward and allow us to interview them, we cannot investigate."
Fisher declined to comment, the newspaper said.
Earlier Wednesday, Wolverines forward Robert Traylor issued a statement saying neither he nor his aunt had done anything wrong in connection with the lease of a $47,906 vehicle.
The Detroit News reported that Traylor used the custom-built Chevrolet Suburban, but did not register the vehicle with athletic department officials as required.
Traylor said the lease was a decision made completely by his aunt, Lydia Johnson of Detroit. She works as a machine operator for a Detroit steel company, the News reported.
"She works two jobs, has great credit, and selected the car for both of us to drive," Traylor said. "It is her money and she should be able to spend her money as she wishes."
Jerry Bonanno, general manager of the Dearborn dealership where the Suburban was leased, said the lease payments exceed $700 a month without insurance. Michigan officials said they would investigate the matter.
The Wolverines face Miami tonight in the first round of the NIT.
* NO TIME TO CELEBRATE: Tulsa guard Shea Seals is just seven points away from becoming the Golden Hurricane's career leading scorer. If the seventh point comes during the opening round of the NCAA tournament against Boston University on Friday, don't expect Seals to take much notice of it. The senior said any acknowledgment on his part will have to wait until he can sit alone and think. "To be known as Tulsa's all-time leading scorer, that's a great accomplishment just to think about," he said. "I'll sit back and think about all the things we've accomplished, all the things I've accomplished." His achievements fill Tulsa's stat sheets: An average of 21.3 points this season, second in the school's career records for steals and assists and third in rebounds, first team in the Western Athletic Conference's all-Mountain Division and three previous appearances in the NCAA tournament.
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