John Clay's Sidelines

Jeff Goodman over at Fox Sports reported last night that his sources say that John Wall will be cleared of any eligiblity issues before the season opener.

Meanwhile, it’s amazing how many, especially on Twitter, are trying to make this a Calipari problem.

Examples:

• @ResJudicaca: love that wall may b ineligible 4 kentucky. loved what calipari did 4 memphis but he left 2 go 2 ky after he left memphis in trouble w/ ncaa

• @Bruz1: Wait. John Wall might be ineligible? So Calipari may have cheated? No way! I’m shocked, he’s the cleanest coach out there. Whoa.

• @JAlexanderH: And now ninjas say John Wall can’t play this year. I’m laughin cuz its Calipari again, but I wanted to see the ninja play…

• @billyliucci: John Wall’s eligibility at UK in question? Imagine that from a recruit who committed to Scott Drew and John Calipari.

• @chriswilliams2: All part of the deal you make with the devil when you hire Calipari.

And those are just a few.

What about Duke and Ryan Kelly?

That’s the question some Kentucky fans are asking in wake of news that John Wall is facing some eligibility issue because of his dealings with his AAU coach Brian Clifton, who for a time was a certified agent.

Turns out Kelly, a 6-foot-10 freshman at Duke, was a teammate of Wall’s on Clifton’s AAU team.

Did Kelly receive money from Clifton? Did Kelly take any unofficial visits in which Clifton helped pay expenses?

A Sea of Blue, as well as plenty on Twitter, have brought up the Kelly question.

Meanwhile, Duke Basketball Report says there is a difference.

Continue reading ‘When it comes to Wall, what about Duke’s Ryan Kelly?’

(H-L photo/Mark Cornelison)

Update: Jeff Goodman of Fox Sports reports that sources say Wall is likely to be cleared before the Sept. 13 opener.

Update: Dan Wolken of the Memphis Commercial-Appeal adds a thought about the Wall situation.

Big Blue Links for Friday:

• The ESPN story on John Wall’s eligibility issue.
• Gary Parrish of CBS Sportsline reports that UK is confident that Wall will be eligible, but may miss 3-4 games.
• My two cents on the Wall story.
• Jerry Tipton of the Herald-Leader reports that Patrick Patterson embraces the leading-man role.
• Chip Cosby of the Herald-Leader gives the UK football team mid-season grades.
• Chip also reports that Derrick Locke has been upgraded to probable for Saturday.
• Mike Griffith of the Knoxville News-Sentinel reports on the SEC Media Day back-and-forth between John Calipari and Bruce Pearl.

Continue reading ‘BBL: Is John Wall issue no big deal?’

Matt Simms

SEC links for Friday:

• Dave Hooker of the Knoxville News-Sentinel reports that Tennessee will offer ex-Louisville quarterback Matt Simms.
• Tommy Hicks of the Mobile Press-Register writes that SEC coaches expect a stronger basketball season this year.
• Rick Cleveland of the Clarion-Leger is on a Gator hunt.
• Robbie Andreu of the Gainesville Sun writes that Florida wants to cut down on sacks.
• Joe Biddle of the Tennessean writes that Alabama’s Mark Ingram is making a real run at the Heisman.
• Wes Rucker of the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports that Tennessee will be keying on Ingram.

Continue reading ‘SEC links: Tennessee to offer Matt Simms’

Three points on the espn.com story in which SEC commissioner Mike Slive confirmed that there are eligibility issues with John Wall:

• 1. I don’t think this is a huge deal. Wall’s AAU coach, Brian Clifton, is known to be a bit of a controversial figure and it was known that for a time that Clifton had himself certified as an agent. If he was an agent, and paid for Wall’s two trips to UK, and any other unofficial visits, Wall will have to return the money to be declared eligible. Since UK already has been looking into this, that may already be happening. I’d say it’s unlikely that Wall took “substantial benefits” from Clifton. He had to know that would truly jeopardize his long-term eligibility. Remember, this was a very highly-recruited kid. Many people were keeping a watchful eye on the process.

• 2. Still, my guess is that Wall will have to sit 2-3 games over this. That’s the way the NCAA operates. And it’s not out of the realm that the NCAA will want to use Wall as an example to other high-profile recruits that they need to watch the details as far who pays for what on visits, and they need to stay away from agents.

• 3. The ill-informed are going to say (are already saying) that this is another John Calipari issue. Another got-cha. In truth, it has little to do with the Kentucky coach. Wall’s two unofficial visits to Lexington, the ones espn.com cites, happened when Billy Gillispie was the Kentucky coach. In fact, there were those who believed that UK might not get Wall because Clifton was not a Calipari fan. Ah, but nationally some are going to see the headline “Wall faces eligibility issues” and immediately pin the blame on the Kentucky coach. They don’t really care about the facts.

Update: First impression, this doesn’t look like a huge deal to me. It would depend if Wall took money knowing that his AAU coach was a certified agent. And who paid for Wall to attend those UK functions, both of which occurred well before Calipari became coach, by the way. So this issue would be present even if Billy Gillispie was still the Kentucky coach. Still, it wouldn’t surprise me if Wall has to sit 2-3 games. But that’s just a first impression.

SEC commissioner Mike Slive confirmed to espn.com that UK freshman John Wall is facing an eligibility issue.

Sources told ESPN that the issue concerns Wall’s former AAU coach.

An excerpt:

A source told ESPN.com that the Kentucky compliance department had been working feverishly to clarify Wall’s eligibility in recent weeks and had been going back to the 2007 to see exactly how much money is owed. Wall made two unofficial visits to Kentucky that fall while Billy Gillispie was head coach — in September he attended a UK-Louisville basketball game and in October returned for the Wildcats’ Big Blue Madness opening night practice.

Good report from my buddy Chip Towers in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Raymond Sanders, the Stone Mountain, Georgia running back who rushed for 135 yards and two touchdowns last Friday as his team, Stephenson High School, was televised on ESPN.

And oh yeah, Sanders is committed to Kentucky.

And plans to stay committed to Kentucky.

An excerpt:

“Kentucky was on me early,” said Sanders, who leads DeKalb County with 14 touchdowns and is second to Southwest DeKalb’s ken Malcome in rushing with 116 yards per game. “I committed before the season started. I felt it was the right fit for me as far as academics, athletics, facilites, coaching staff. I just thought it was a perfcect fit. So I’m committed to Kentucky and I’m going to stay a Wildcat.”

Update at 5:40 p.m.: As expected Irving committed to Duke.

Big Blue Links for Thursday:

• Dan Wiederer of the Fayetteville Observer writes that Kyrie Irving only visited UK and Texas A&M as favors.
• Gary Parrish of CBS Sportsline thinks Irving will pick Duke today at 5:30 p.m. on ESPNU.
• Bob Herzog of Newsday reports that Tobias Harris will announce Nov. 19 on ESPNU.
• Ken Tysiac of the Raleigh News and Observer writes it’s going to be an interesting week for Duke.
• Chip Cosby of the Herald-Leader writes on UK linebacker Danny Trevathan.
• Brett Dawson of the Courier-Journal also writes on Trevathan.
• B.W. Jones of the Kentucky Kernel writes on running back Alfonso Smith.
• Larry Vaught of the Advocate-Messenger writes that UK has a true Kentucky offensive line.
• My column on the seventh-ranked UK volleyball team, which was upset by Tennessee last night.
• T.J. Walker of the Kentucky Kernel reports on Tennessee’s upset of the volleyball Cats.

Continue reading ‘BBL: Irving announces today; Harris to announce Nov. 19′

SEC links for Thursday:

• Robbie Nieswanger of the Morning News reports on SEC suspending officiating crew from Arkansas-Florida game.
• Ray Melick of the Birmingham News writes that the SEC should get out of the referee business.
• Mike Herndon of the Mobile Press-Register writes that the SEC’s overall strength is under debate.
• Joe Person of The State reports on the latest development in the South Carolina-Alabama tape-gate.
• Mr. SEC says Nick Saban and Steve Spurrier are pointing fingers at each other.
• Austin Ward of the Knoxville News-Sentinel reports that Alabama’s Mark Ingram has Tennessee’s attention.

Continue reading ‘SEC links: League faces slippery slope with officials’

There’s such a blizzard of information out there about basketball recruiting, it’s hard to keep it all straight. So here’s a roundup of what we know, or what we think we know, about UK basketball recruits to this point. (Feel free to add any additional information.) In alphabetical order:

Tobias Harris

• Attended Kentucky’s Big Blue Madness on Oct. 16.
• Says he will visit Georgia Tech at some point.
• Reports are he will also visit Louisville, West Virginia and Maryland.
• May visit Louisville on Nov. 1.
• Made official visit to Tennessee, which painted his image on a rock.
• Has visited Syracuse.
• Ranked as No. 5 player in Class of 2010 by Rivals.
• A 6-8 forward from Glen Head, New York.

Kyrie Irving

• Confirmed that he will make his choice on ESPNU on Thursday.
• Will choose between Duke, Texas A&M and Kentucky.
• Dave Telep of Scout.com reports that Irving will make announcement on Thursday.
• Zagsblog reports on Oct. 20 that Irving has committed to Duke with an announcement coming this week.
• Irving denies Zagsblog report via his Twitter account.
• Attended Kentucky’s Big Blue Madness on Oct. 16
• Has already visited Texas A&M and Duke.
• Has said he will visit Georgia Tech at some point.
• Has said he will visit Seton Hall.
• Was thought to be a lean toward Indiana at one point, but eliminated Hoosiers.
• His family is close to UK assistant coach Rod Strickland.
• Ranked No. 9 in Class of 2010 by Rivals.
• A 6-3 guard from Elizabeth, New Jersey.

Continue reading ‘Where UK basketball recruits stand to this point’