Big Blue Links for Saturday:
The New York Times report on NCAA investigating Eric Bledsoe’s senior year in high school:
Brenda Axle, the landlord for the house where Bledsoe and his mother moved for his senior year of high school, said that Bledsoe’s high school coach paid her at least three months’ rent, or $1,200. By moving there, Bledsoe was eligible to play for Parker, which he led to the Alabama Class 5A title game. Maurice Ford, the coach, denied paying the money.
ESPN.com follows up on the Bledsoe story with more information:
ESPN.com reviewed copies of Bledsoe’s transcript after his sophomore and junior year, as well as his senior year at Parker High School. Though coaches projected Bledsoe as a non-qualifier entering his final year, he performed markedly better in the classroom as a senior with a college basketball scholarship on the line, taking a heavier workload that included a night school class and an online course to improve an earlier grade.
His grade-point average improved significantly after scoring an A in an online biology course, which replaced a D from his sophomore year. And, after failing to achieve an A in his first three years, Bledsoe scored two others in his senior year at Parker — Algebra 2 and Algebra 3, the latter taken in night classes.
Matt May of the Cats Pause on the NYT story:
The outlet did not indicate Kentucky had any involvement or knowledge of the issues, which are being investigated by the NCAA. A source at Kentucky told The Cats’ Pause the athletics department has not received a letter of inquiry from the NCAA and had no prior knowledge of any investigation into Bledsoe’s past.
Brett Dawson of the Courier-Journal on the New York Times story:
The story said that because the NCAA does not discuss ongoing investigations, the scope of its efforts was not known. But the NCAA has sent investigators to inquire about Bledsoe in at least three places in Alabama. But The Times said that its interviews with people connected with Bledsoe had turned up several potential NCAA violations.
Jon Solomon of the Birmingham News on the Bledsoe situation in Alabama:
Ward and Moore told The Birmingham News that NCAA officials said they also spoke with the Alabama High School Athletic Association. AHSAA Associate Executive Director Joe Evans, who handles eligibility and investigations for the association, declined to comment. Moore identified one of the NCAA officials he spoke with as Abigail Grantstein, NCAA assistant director of enforcement. Grantstein works with the NCAA’s Basketball Focus Group investigating Division I men’s basketball enforcement issues.
Continue reading ‘BBL: More on NCAA investigation into Eric Bledsoe’
ESPN.com’s Dana O’Neill has posted a story in which she says a source familiar with NCAA rules says that Kentucky would not be out of the clear, even if it did not know about Eric Bledsoe’s academic status or alleged improper benefits.
