An Eric Bledsoe family member and close friend have stepped forward to say that they combined funds to pay for Bledsoe's apartment in Alabama.
If the report is accurate, it goes a long ways towards discrediting the New York Times report claiming that Bledsoe received illegal benefits during his high school career in Birmingham.
Here is an excerpt from ESPN.com:
Billy Fagnes, who is a first cousin to Bledsoe's mother, Maureen Reddick, said his family paid most of the rent on the house where Reddick and Bledsoe lived during his senior year at Parker. Also, Jerome McMullin, who described himself as a close family friend, said that although Ford found the family an affordable home, McMullin helped the family pay the rent during some difficult financial times. Ford did not pay any rent, McMullin said.
"They went through some hard times and I helped them pay their rent," said McMullin, adding that he paid a total of about three months of rent. "I took them to get food for them. There's a lot of things they didn't have and people stepped up to the plate and helped out. I never asked for anything or any kind of favor. I did it out of the goodness of my heart. Maurice didn't do anything."
"It was me and my family who paid it," Fagnes said. "One time, I gave the rent money to Maurice Ford because the landlady was running late and I'm a contractor and had to get to work. So I gave it to Maurice Ford to give to her."
The FBI says Karen Sypher has a history of causing problems as she falsely accused a man of sexual harassment in 1999.
Excerpt from ESPN.com:
Prosecutors said in a court document that Sypher filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against an auto glass business owner in 2001, a case prosecutors say had similarities to the Pitino case.
In the earlier case, prosecutors say, Sypher had consensual sex with the man, then was hired by him. She claimed to be pregnant when he ended the relationship and sued the man after she was fired a few months later, claiming sexual harassment.
Prosecutors alleged that the accusation was false. They made the argument in a trial brief filed in U.S. District Court in Louisville in advance of Sypher's trial on charges she attempted to extort $10 million from Pitino, then lied to the FBI about it and falsely accused Pitino of rape in retaliation for his reporting the extortion attempt.
Assistant U.S. Attorney John E. Kuhn Jr. said in the brief the earlier alleged extortion attempt, which did not result in criminal charges, will be introduced at Sypher's trial, which starts July 26. Sypher has pleaded not guilty. She is accused of demanding college tuition for her children, her house to be paid off and $10 million.
Egypt was completely overwhelmed by the USA 17 squad as the Americans rolled to a 132-64 victory in Germany.
Michael Gilchrist, who has committed to Kentucky, and Brad Beal each scored 18 points to lead the way for the United States.
Marquis Teague, who has also committed to UK, added 12 points. Kentucky recruits Quinn Cook and Tony Wroten Jr. dished out 10 and 8 assists, respectively.
The undefeated Americans finish up pool play today with Serbia.
NOTE: Kentucky head coach John Calipari will be in Germany to watch a handful of Kentucky recruits in action.
He really takes care of his guys," says Magic rookie Daniel Orton, one of five Kentucky players who was chosen in the first round of the recent NBA draft. "And he knows how to sell his program to players."
Calipari sells them on the NBA dream — and, more times than not — he delivers. Orton, competing this week on the Magic's summer-league team, wasn't even a Calipari recruit (he was recruited by former UK coach Billy Gillispie) and didn't even start at Kentucky, but he says just being part of Calipari's NBA minor-league team helped prepare him for the pros.
How many times have we heard college coaches talk about how their No. 1 goal is to recruit a fine bunch of "student-athletes" and help them matriculate through their first-rate institution of higher learning? And then we hear the horror stories like the one that came out of Florida State during the school's recently concluded NCAA investigation when fired learning specialist Brenda Monk claimed that the Seminoles admitted players into college despite a second-grade reading level.
Or how many times have we heard University of Florida football coach Urban Meyer talk about instilling discipline in his program and then, almost like clockwork, another one of his players is arrested for firing a weapon, drinking and driving or charging money to a dead woman's credit card.
Or what about Georgia athletic director Damon Evans taping a public-service announcement last season that ran at all home football games and warned fans about the evils of drinking and driving? Evans, of course, resigned earlier this week after he was arrested for DUI.
One thing you can say about Calipari is this: He is not a fraud. He doesn't pretend to be the great educator. Or a great disciplinarian. Or a great molder of young men.
He is a great recruiter — period. His goals are simple: Recruit the best players he can, win as many games as he can and then send those players to the NBA.
Summary: Things could not have started worse for Orton in the summer league; after two games, he's averaging 2.5 PTS and 2.5 REB - which, remarkably, are below his college averages
Joe Crawford (Kentucky)
DNP - Coach's Decision
Summary: Disappointing that Crawford that not get in the game.
Summary: Evans played well off the bench for Utah today; he was after the ball and played with energy. He'll need more games like this to make the roster.
Summary: The turnovers are a little alarming but Williams was excellent on the offensive end; he was comfortable and looked like a talented second year player should look in the summer league.
Summary: Meeks continues to shine when given the opportunity; he was the best offensive player on the floor for the 76ers today and led the team in scoring.
Kentucky's Orlando Antigua and Louisville's Steve Masiello were named top 25 high-major assistants by FoxSports.com.
Antigua is ranked No. 16 and Masiello is No. 24.
Here is an excerpt:
16. Orlando Antigua - Kentucky Antigua has followed Calipari to Kentucky after joining the most successful four-year run in basketball history at Memphis. He helped coach the Memphis Tigers to a spot in the 2009 NCAA Sweet 16. Prior to Memphis, Antigua worked at his Alma mater, Pittsburgh where he helped lead the Panthers to the NCAA Tournament in all five years on staff, including the 2004 and 2007 Sweet Sixteen.
24. Steve Massiello – Louisville Considered by his peers as one of the best recruiters in the game today, Massiello is entering his 6th season on Rick Pitinos staff. Massiello played an integral role in Louisville landing several top 10 recruting classes during his time on staff, as well as reaching back to back Elite Eights in 2008 and 09.
PIKEVILLE, Ky. – Kelly Wells has wrapped up this year’s recruiting class with a transfer whose former coach is well-familiar with Pikeville College.
Dwayne Wheeler will join the Bears after playing one season at the University of Charleston for Greg White.
White coached the Bears for five seasons in the late 1980s, where he coached both Todd May, a first-team All-American, and Donnie Jones, who led the nation in assists and is now an NCAA Div. I basketball coach at the University of Central Florida.
At the NCAA Div. II school, Wheeler, a 6-1 guard, started 10 games as a freshman and averaged 2.8 points, 1.7 assist and 1.3 rebounds per game.
“Dwayne is the final piece to our recruiting puzzle for the 2010-11 season,” said Wells. “We are thrilled to add Dwayne to the PC family. He is a proven winner and an explosive athlete.
“He will be able to play both guard positions and will have three years remaining to play at PC. Dwayne’s skill set is very impressive on the offensive and defensive areas of the game. He is an excellent fit to our style of play and team.”
Wheeler played at Princeton Day Academy in Lanham, Md., where he averaged 17.1 points and nine assists per game. At Baltimore’s Mount Carmel High School, he averaged 15 points, six rebounds and four assists while helping the team compile a 25-3 record.
The Bears are scheduled to open the 2010-11 season on Oct. 29 in the East Kentucky Expo Center against Temple Baptist College. They then visit the University of Kentucky on Nov. 1.
Daniel Orton produced a stat line in his first NBA appearance that basically summed up his freshman season at Kentucky: 3 points, 3 rebounds, 1-8 from the field, 4 turnovers, just over 13 minutes of action, 5 personal fouls, 2 blocked shots and he was ejected for fighting with Josh McRoberts. The only thing missing was an obvious goal tending violation.
It is way too early to ridicule Orton, but his first day on the job could not have gone much worse.
He discovered that the NBA game, even at the summer league level, is much faster than anything he has participated in during his college or high school careers.
Orton was behind the action throughout his appearance and was not able to adjust.
My advice to Daniel Orton: use today as a learning experience, make some adjustments and come out better in the next game.
The USA U17 team jumped on China early and rolled to an easy 113-73 victory in the 2010 FIBA U17 World Championships.
James McAdoo led the way for the Americans (3-0) with 26 points on 13-14 shooting. Brad Beal added 20 points, including a barrage of 3-pointers early.
Kentucky recruit Quinn Cook scored 7 points and dished out a game-high 13 assists.
The USA men will continue FIBA U17 World Championship preliminary play facing Egypt on July 6, then closes out preliminary play against Serbia on July 7. The top four finishing teams from each preliminary round group will advance to the July 9 medal quarterfinals, with semifinals games scheduled for July 10 and the gold and bronze medal games to be contested on July 11.
One of the elements that attracted the Nets to Williams on the first round of the 2009 draft was versatility. Williams showed that during an often-rocky season, playing three different spots on the floor: point guard, shooting guard, small forward. So he is ready for Year 2.
"It's a lot easier. I know what to expect," said Williams, part of the Nets Summer League team that plays tonight in Orlando. "It's about winning. Everything else really comes second."
Williams showed his skills as a scorer, rebounder, passer and defender and was named Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for April as the Nets wound down a disastrous season. He did so playing three spots in the lineup, something he will be asked to do, beginning with the Orlando games tonight. The Nets, with No. 3 pick, Derrick Favors, play the Sixers, with No. 2 pick, Evan Turner, at 7 o'clock.
With the Nets roster in such flux pending free agency, a multiple position guy like Williams is invaluable.
"Besides who we get free agent wise -- and I hope we get everybody -- at the end of the day we go with what we've got, and my role should be a little more than it was last year. It can't be less," said Williams, who feuded with interim Kiki Vandeweghe but still averaged 8.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.9 assists. "So I'm ready for any position I'm put in. I'm willing to play one, two, three."
Morehead State head coach Donnie Tyndall is hoping for big things from Miami (OH) transfer Drew Kelly.
Here is an excerpt of Tyndall's thoughts from 14WFIE.com:
Tyndall will have Miami of Ohio transfer Drew Kelly at his disposal after the first eight games of the season. Kelly, a 6-7, 253-pound forward, can play for the Eagles after the absence because of NCAA transfer rules.
Tyndall says Kelly has the potential to average double figures in scoring and snag five to six rebounds a game as a freshman.
Kelly was Tennessee's Mr. Basketball in 2009 after averaging 31 points and 15 rebounds as a senior at Centennial High School in Brentwood. Kelly was a redshirt at Miami, so he will have four seasons of eligibility at Morehead.
Kelly is the grandson of the late Lake Kelly, a legendary defensive coach who coached at Austin Peay, Oral Roberts and assisted Joe B. Hall at Kentucky.
I was told over the weekend that Darnell Dodson is still a member of the University of Kentucky basketball program, but will not play during the 2010-11 season.
If he is able to improve in some areas, he will reportedly have an opportunity to play in 2011-12.
We will call this an unverified report for now, but something to keep an eye on as the summer progresses.
The University of the Cumberlands has produced its fair share of great athletes who you just know can make an impact at the next level. The men’s basketball program has also had its share of success over the years, but one player right now is standing out among the rest.
Luke Fitzgerald (Cleveland, OH) graduated from the University of the Cumberlands and began his professional basketball career with the Bluegrass Stallions in Lexington, Kentucky. After putting up monstrous numbers off the bench there, he was being seen all throughout the county and the world as an impact player. One team in particular, the Dandenong Rangers from Australia, took the opportunity to get Fitzgerald to the land down under.
Fitzgerald signed a contract with the Rangers and has made a huge impact on the team since his arrival. In 18 games, Luke is leading his team in points per game (17.3) and rebounds per game (8.8). On the season, Fitzgerald is shooting an impressive 80.2% from the free throw stripe as well as 54.8% from the field. The Rangers are 8-10 on the season, but are on a 4-game winning streak and are 6th in their division.
“I had to learn to understand the Aussie accent,” said Fitzgerald laughing. “That was something I struggled with but the people I’ve met have been very helpful. I’m happy to provide whatever coach wants from me. If he wants points, I’ll score, if he wants me to rebound, then that’s what I’ll focus on. I’m keen to do whatever I’m asked to do.”
Fitzgerald is also joined in Australia by another former Patriot in Tenille Cann, who is also playing professionally in Australia for the Hume City Broncos and averaging 10.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game.
“It is a great experience down here,” said Luke. “Everyone shows me so much love and the community and organization has really made me feel at home. They gave me a house and car and made it really easy for me to adjust to life over here although it did take me a while to get used to driving on the opposite side of the road! It was great to meet up with Tenille and better yet to see that she is doing well playing professionally here as well. She really helped me get used to a lot of things. She’s a pretty good tour guide as well.”
During Luke’s senior year at Cumberlands, Fitzgerald averaged 17.2 points per game which ranked him number four in the Mid-South Conference and #41 in NAIA Division I. Also, Luke pulled down 7.9 rebounds per game earning him second in the Mid-South Conference and 31st in NAIA. Fitzgerald ranked number two in the Mid-South Conference and sixth in the NAIA for field goal percentage. He shot 60.4% (201-333) from the field last season. While at Cumberland, Fitzgerald scored 1,498 points which ranks him number ten on the all-time career scoring list at Cumberlands. He also pulled down 776 rebounds for his career. After his senior year, Fitzgerald was awarded his second NAIA All-American honor; the first time he was named to the third team, and the second time as a first team All-American. Luke is one of only four Patriot players to be awarded two All-American honors.
“I’m still adjusting to new things each day, but I’m loving it along the way,” said Luke. “Cumberland is definitely known about here in Australia now, and this is just the beginning.
A superstar player from the Northwest is trying to decide between the Kentucky and Washington as a college home.
That was Enes Kanter.
That was Terrence Jones.
Now, that is Tony Wroten, Jr.
Wroten says his final two are UW and UK and let's look at three varying opinions on the decision: 1) A neutral source:ESPN.com:
Wroten currently plays for Garfield High in Seattle, but the situation seems to have Terrence Jones saga written all over it. Kentucky coach John Calipari has lured one recruit out of the Pacific Northwest and can certainly do it again.
Not that Wroten plans on pulling a Jones or anything in terms of going back and forth on a decision, as he told KJR:
"I’m not going to do UW dirty like that. Whenever I choose my school, I’m going to go with that decision. I ain’t going to put on the hat and then change the next day. I’m not like that."
Wroten is so talented that ESPNU has him as the No. 24-ranked recruit despite him missing his entire high school junior season due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament suffered from playing football.
Kentucky commits Michael Gilchrist and Marquis Teague have been recruiting Wroten while playing together over the summer, so maybe the Wildcats have an edge there.
Well, Kentucky is pretty darn good at basketball. Maybe they suck at actually being "STUDENT-athletes" (notice the emphasis on student), but the last time I checked Kentucky made it to the Elite Eight. How is this possible? Because John Calipari is such a great coach! Oh the definition of coach in this matter would be: a sleazy man that will do anything to get his favorite recruits (see: recent allegations).
And even better? You can go play basketball with two other people that don't know the meaning of "commitment." Not that I am hating on either Kanter or Jones, but what was the point of committing to UW in the first place?
So in summary, the negatives: being part of a shady program, being coached by a shady coach, playing with players that don't know what the word "commitment" means, playing miles and miles away from home where absolutely no one cares about what you accomplished in high school, and having to compete for playing time with other five-star recruits.
The positives? ESPN coverage 24-7, a guaranteed winner, playing with some of the best talent in the country that will make you look way better than you actually are.
How about Washington?
Well besides, being your hometown school, it is also the same school that Garfield graduates Brandon Roy, Tre Simmons, and Will Conroy all have gone to. It is also the same school that launched the NBA career of your cousin, Nate Robinson. Brandon Roy and Nate Robinson are two very happy people in the NBA. How was that made possible? They were nurtured at Hec Ed by Lorenzo Romar and a loyal legion of Husky fans.
It's about tradition here up at the UW. We want to succeed with the hometown guys. UW basketball is on the map, now it's time for guys to keep the momentum up.
3) And my very simple point-of-view:
Wroten is a basketball player and Kentucky is the greatest basketball program in the history of college basketball.
Kentucky 2011 recruit Quincy Miller was praised by Latinbasket.com for his play at the 2010 FIBA Americas U18 Championships.
The site named him player of the event, forward of the event and first team All-FIBA Americas U18.
Here are the honors handed out by Latinbasket.com: Player of the Year: Quincy Miller-Scott of USA Guard of the Year: Myck Kabongo of USA Forward of the Year: Quincy Miller-Scott of USA Center of the Year: Lucas Nogueira of Brazil
1st Team
G: Myck Kabongo of USA G: Austin Rivers of USA F/C: Quincy Miller-Scott of USA F: Jereme Richmond of USA C: Lucas Nogueira of Brazil
2nd Team
G: Ivan Loriente of Uruguay G: Raul Togni of Brazil G: Kyrie Irving of USA F/G: Carlos Paredes of Argentina C: Kyle Wiltjer of Canada
Honorable Mention
Aaron Brown of USA Mathias Calfani of Uruguay Tony Mitchell of USA Kevin Acosta of Mexico Christopher Ortiz of Puerto Rico Khem Birch Canada Charles Pemberton (92) of U.S.Virgin Islands Gary Browne (92) of Puerto Rico
There was a tremendous turnout of 122 kids that participated in UNITE's Shoot Hoops Not Drugs basketball camp in Pike County.
Former Kentucky basketball star Jeff Sheppard spoke to the participants.
Here is an excerpt from The Williamson Daily News: Former University of Kentucky basketball star Jeff Sheppard told participants that fundamental skills used to play basketball – or any other sport – can be applied to the rest of your life.
“The best way to get from where you are today to where you want to be is to set a goal,” Sheppard said. “None of us is perfect, but you need to set goals, work hard and avoid being distracted by bad influences – such as using alcohol or other drugs.”
“The best way to stay on a straight line is not to try and do it by yourself,” continued Sheppard, the NCAA’s Final Four Most Valuable Player in the Kentucky Wildcats’ 1997-98 national championship season. “You cannot win in life by yourself. It takes a team. It takes you hanging around the right people.”
Participants in Tuesday’s camp represented Pike, Martin, and Floyd counties.
Former Kentucky and NBA star Antoine Walker pleaded not guilty Wednesday in a Las Vegas court to criminal charges alleging that he failed to repay hundreds of thousands of dollars in gambling debts to three casinos.
Walker has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and the gambling debts were among Walker's largest debts.
A trial is set for November 22 and Walker's attorney has stated that he is negotiating a deal that will allow Walker to avoid jail time. He is facing up to a 12-year sentence if convicted.
A Louisville sports agent named Jim Ellis questions the validity of a TMZ.com report that cited an anonymous source as saying the NCAA is looking into the eligibility of four Wildcat players.
"I don't think there is anything to this than just allegations," said Jim Ellis, a Louisville attorney who has represented a lot of athletes in the past as an agent. Ellis sees no substance to what TMZ is reporting.
"The fact that a UK player former or present talked to an agent is not illegal," said Ellis.
According to the gossip website, the NCAA is taking an aggressive look at four UK basketball players. TMZ says that a source was interviewed by an NCAA investigator, and the agency is interested in two current players and two who were just drafted by NBA teams. TMZ also says one player allegedly had multiple meetings with an agent, dating back to the players' senior year in high school. The website is reporting that the insinuation is that the agent had an agreement with the player before he went to Kentucky.
The USA U17 basketball team (1-0) opened the FIBA U17 World Championships with an 82-70 victory over Germany on Friday afternoon.
Michael Gilchrist, who is committed to Kentucky's 2011 Class, led the way with 24 points and 15 rebounds. He was 9-14 from the field and 6-6 from the free throw line.
Quinn Cook, who has also mentioned Kentucky on his list of schools he is interested in, added 14 points and Brad Beal added 11 from the Americans.
Marquis Teague, who will join Gilchrist at UK, added 4 points. Tony Wroten, who likes Kentucky and Washington, also added 4.
The USA continues FIBA U17 World Championship preliminary play today against Lithuania, then faces China on July 5, Egypt on July 6 and closes opening round play against Serbia on July 7. The top four finishing teams from each preliminary round group will advance to the July 9 medal quarterfinals, with semifinals games scheduled for July 10 and the gold and bronze medal games to be contested on July 11.
SportingNews.com reports that the University of Kentucky has not been informed of any NCAA investigation.
Here is an excerpt:
A source close to Kentucky's basketball program told Sporting News that the Wildcats have not been informed by the NCAA of an investigation into their basketball program, in regards to a report Friday by TMZ.
TMZ reported that the NCAA is looking into the possible relationships of agents with two current Kentucky players and two former players. Kentucky officials declined comment to Sporting News.
The University of the Cumberlands (UC) Men’s Basketball Program hosted their annual Big Man Camp this week from June 28th to July 1st. There were 65 participants from Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida in this year’s camp.
During the morning sessions, the campers worked on fundamentals in both post and guard play. That carried over into the early afternoon sessions before the campers were split up and put into teams for 3 on 3 and 5 on 5 games. The campers this week were very attentive and wanted to learn.
UC Men’s Basketball Assistant Coach Mark Vernon commented, “We had some very talented campers this week and all of them wanted to learn and really competed throughout hard. We had some great coaches that worked our camp that really gave the campers a chance to learn a lot about the game of basketball. All of these reasons made for another very enjoyable week and a very successful camp.”
Is it another one and done for Coach Cal? Both Rick Bozich of the Courier-Journal and Evan Daniels of Scout.com are hearing that Scott Padgett will be leaving the UK staff to take a job as an assistant coach for Manhattan College in New York City.
Padgett joined the staff with Calipari in the hopes of breaking in to college coaching. He would someday like to be a head coach.
Related News: Another former Kentucky player will be making a coaching move in the coming week. Stay tuned....
Sportsbybrooks.com is reporting tonight that a source is saying the NCAA is investigating former Kentucky point guard John Wall's relationship to an agent.
Here is an excerpt:
Today I looked into TMZ’s report and subsequently confirmed a former Kentucky player the NCAA is indeed investigating.
A college basketball source with knowledge of the investigation told me today that the NCAA is, once again, investigating the relationship between John Wall and longtime Wall associate Brian Clifton.
Wall had a close relationship with Clifton before attending Kentucky and played on a club team founded by Clifton before moving on to the Wildcats. Clifton claimed in 2008 to CBSSports.com that he was a certified player agent before creating founding the club team that Wall played on.
“Absolutely I was a licensed agent. But what I started and what I had given my life to was this [D-One Sports] program and I was about to watch it fall apart. Obviously I couldn’t let that happen. So at that time — after having not signed any clients — I figured that program was the most important thing for me. … And that was the end of the agent thing.”
Interestingly though, Clifton is now officially representing Wall under the auspices of his own management company, called “Pindar Enterprises.”
TMZ.com has released an article that cites a source "who was interviewed by an NCAA investigator" who says the agency is investigating the relationships of four Kentucky players, two current and two who were just drafted by NBA teams, with professional agents.
Here is a direct excerpt from the TMZ.com article:
According to a source who was interviewed by an NCAA investigator, the agency is interested in at least four players -- two current and two who were just drafted by NBA teams.
In the case of one former Wildcat, we're told the NCAA wants to know about his relationship with his current agent. We're told the investigator asked about multiple meetings the agent allegedly had with the player ... dating back to the player's senior year in high school.
The insinuation is the agent had an arrangement with the player before he went to Kentucky.
The increasingly slim hopes that Huntington Prep (WV) swingman Justin Coleman will be suiting up as a Louisville Cardinal this season may be on the verge of evaporating completely.
The fourth-best small forward in the class of 2010, according to Scout.com, currently has the following up as his status on Facebook.
Kentucky recruit Quincy Miller drained a game-winning 3-pointer from the corner with 25 seconds on the clock and the USA U18 team held on for an 81-78 win over Brazil in the gold medal game of the 2010 FIBA Americas U18 Championship.
Kyrie Irving led the Americans with 21 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists. Austin Rivers added 19 points.
Miller, who many consider a Kentucky lean, finished with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
The win marked the fifth U18 gold medal for the United States and improved the team's overall record int he event to 38-2.
Argentina, Brazil, Canada and the United States all qualified for the 2011 FIBA U19 World Championship in Latvia.
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