A source also told ESPN.com that Kentucky has been investigating Wall’s eligibility for months because his former AAU coach was a certified agent.
Brian Clifton, Wall’s AAU coach, was a certified agent with FIBA, basketball’s international governing body, for nearly a year. Under NCAA rule that equates to Wall accepting illegal benefits from an agent. Consequently Wall could have to repay any and all expenses Clifton footed during that period before he can play with Kentucky.
NCAA rule also stipulates that an athlete can be withheld from at least 10 percent of a team’s games as part of the punishment.
Wall was one of the top recruits — if not the top recruit — of the ‘09 class and if he’s ineligible for any part of the season it’s going to be a blow to the Wildcats. If not for the NBA’s age-limit rule, Wall probably would have headed straight for the pros, so this is another situation that could have been avoided if qualified high schoolers could bypass the collegiate ranks and play in the NBA immediately after graduating.
After a long dance, top high school recruit John Wall is headed to Kentucky to play for John Calipari.
Wall, ranked the No. 1 point guard, No. 5 overall, on the ESPNU 100, informed Miami coach Frank Haith Tuesday morning that he had committed to Kentucky. The reasoning, according to a source, was because he just wanted to play for Calipari.
If Calipari had stayed as coach at Memphis, there would have been no drama in Wall’s commitment. Privately, Calipari was convinced Wall would have chosen the Tigers, but the coach’s departure to Kentucky created a soap opera in the renewed recruiting chase.
Wall teased Duke, and actually gave Miami an informal commitment last week, according to a source close to the situation. But ultimately, the Word of God Christian Academy playmaker out of Raleigh, N.C., didn’t stray from his original plan: He chose to play for Calipari, except the pursuit for a national title will be out of Lexington instead of Memphis.
According to sources, this had been an issue for Wall’s adviser, Brian Clifton, who likely will be the one to represent Wall when the player eventually declares for the NBA draft.
A source close to the situation at Duke said multiple times that if Clifton were making the call, Duke would have been selected. But Wall, according to sources, made the decision.
Dajuan Wagner, Derrick Rose, Tyreke Evans…It’s clear that Wall sees Calipari as a conduit to the NBA, not that he’d have much problem becoming a lottery pick at Duke or Miami. It will be interesting to see how Calipari uses both Wall and Eric Bledsoe, who also recently committed to Kentucky.
- SPORTSBYBROOKS has the details about Zach Randolph’s DUI early Monday morning. Why does a guy making $17 million per season ever have a reason to drink and drive?
- THE LOVE OF SPORTS describes in great detail why Tom Izzo’s Michigan State team is so important to the state of Michigan and the city of Detroit.
- DEADSPIN wonders if John Calipari’s daughters should get off of Facebook now that they’re members of the Kentucky royal family.
- NESW SPORTS has video of maybe the most uncomfortable four and a half minutes in the history of NBA pregame/halftime/postgame shows. Cheryl Miller was not happy with Scot Pollard’s tardiness to the set and she let him know about it.
News Channel 3 has learned from a source very close to the situation that U of M coach John Calipari is leaving to be the new coach at the University of Kentucky.
Right now, Calipari is at his home meeting with members of his staff explaining the decision.
We have live crews stationed in the area as well as working with our sister station in Lexington, KY.
Coach John Calipari is spending Monday meeting with Memphis officials and contemplating what is expected to be a multiyear, multimillion-dollar offer to coach Kentucky, a source close to the situation said.
Calipari had a morning meeting with his players Monday to discuss his interest in the Kentucky opening, and players left convinced their coach would leave their program for Kentucky’s, the Memphis Commercial Appeal reported, citing a source close to the situation.
Calipari met with Kentucky officials on Sunday at an undisclosed location, at which time he was given an outline on the length of a deal and contract dollars to succeed Billy Gillispie, the source said.
But more than the money, Calipari has to decide if he wants to leave a program in Memphis that he has transformed into a national championship contender for one of the most tradition-rich programs in the sport that has recently fallen upon hard times.
Calipari’s top recruit, DeMarcus Cousins, has made an oral commitment to Memphis, but because national letters of intent do not have to be signed until next month, Cousins could easily follow Calipari to Kentucky if he were to become the Wildcats’ coach.
Memphis is also a top destination for point guard John Wall, so he might follow Calipari to Kentucky as well if the coach decides to take the job. He has had great success at mid-major schools like UMass and Memphis, but can he have the same success one of the country’s proudest basketball programs? He’s a terrific recruiter and a good defensive coach, so I think he’d get Kentucky back into the top 10 in two or three years, tops.
Billy Gillispie is out as coach of Kentucky in his second season at the helm, and the school has called a 4:30 p.m. news conference to announce the change.
School officials had been quiet about Gillispie’s job status after the Wildcats tumbled through the second half of the season to finish 22-14, tied for the second-most losses in the program’s 106-year history.
When something like this happens, I wonder if his fate was sealed after the team missed the NCAA tournament or if a NIT championship would have been enough to buy him another season.
Let the rumor mill begin…Billy Donovan? Rick Pitino?
You have to think that UK wouldn’t make this move unless they had a plan in place.
Despite a internet report that he had been fired, Billy Gillispie is still the head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats.
School officials have been quiet about Gillispie’s job status after the Wildcats tumbled through the second half of the season to finish 22-14, tied for the second-most losses in the program’s 106-year history.
University president Lee Todd said recently Gillispie’s position would be evaluated at the end of the season. Todd attended the loss to Notre Dame but did not respond to requests for comment by The Associated Press on Thursday.
Athletic director Mitch Barnhart was planning to meet with Gillispie, though the coach said during his radio show Thursday night no meeting had been scheduled.
In response to an Internet report Gillispie is going to be let go, the University of Kentucky issued the following statement Thursday night: “UK men’s basketball coach Billy Gillispie has not been fired. There have been no meetings between Gillispie and UK officials today, and there is no scheduled press conference for tomorrow.”
When asked after the loss to Notre Dame if he expected to be back, Gillispie said the decision wasn’t up to him.
“You’re asking the wrong guy,” he said. “All I know is to go to work, recruit, coach and that’s what I did, that’s what I’ve done and that’s what I’ll continue to do.”
The folks at Kentucky are considering two questions:
1) How good of a coach is Billy Gillispie?
2) Can we get anyone better?
It used to be that a coach would have three or four years to guide a program, but in this day and age when the top players are only stopping at the college level for one or two seasons, the leash seems to be a lot shorter. Two years ago, Kentucky thought so much of Gillispie that they signed him to a seven-year deal. UK fans and boosters are notoriously fickle about their team, but if you feel strongly enough about guy to sign him for seven years, it’s hard to justify letting him go after a 22-win season. Granted, his team lost 14 games this season, but still.
I’m not a big fan of his after seeing how he treated a sideline reporter that reportedly rebuked his advances, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to understand why a school would fire a guy after two seasons of his seven-year deal. Unless, of course, they’re firing him for being a jerk to sideline reports. Then I understand completely.
3:31 PM ET Update: It’s official — Gillispie has been fired.
- DEADSPIN has video of Kentucky head coach Billy Gillespie coming off as kind of a dick to sideline reporter Jeannine Edwards. The Wildcats went on to lose to Old Miss, 85-80. Karma, anyone?
- SPORTS AGENT BLOG informs us that Mark Sanchez has decided to hire his brother as his agent. Methinks this might not end well…
- HUGGING HAROLD REYNOLDS put together a solid list of the XLIII things that Bruce Springsteen has done that were bigger than the Super Bowl halftime show.
- Via YARDBARKER, AWFUL ANNOUNCING brings us video of just how low Tiki Barber has sunk to pursue a career in broadcasting.
- SPORTSBYBROOKS explains why the UFC is opening its own fleet of gyms.
Ole’ Miss beat Florida on its home turf this year. So what? Clearly the Gators are over it and their 63-5 trouncing of Kentucky on Saturday went a long way in proving that.
The BCS standings say that UF is the 10th best team in the nation, but nobody should buy that. On neutral ground, the Gators beat half the teams ranked ahead of them (I’ll leave it up to you to determine which of those teams you think they’re better than) in the polls, and in Gainesville they probably defeat most of the teams ranked ahead of them.
This thought process isn’t based solely on what they did to Kentucky on Saturday either. The Wildcats didn’t stand much of a chance going into the game, although their defense has shown improvement this year. No, this is based on the fact that the Gators still own some of the best talent in the country and are one of the few programs that can say they have a complete football team. Their loss to Ole’ Miss was an aberration and obviously the defeat not only has motivated them, but also has re-focused them as well.
It’s hard to fathom Texas and/or Alabama losing this season, but it’s even harder to believe that the BCS Championship won’t feature two one-loss teams with how crazy the season has been this year. That said, there’s no reason to think the Gators can’t run the table with the way they’ve handled LSU and Kentucky the past two weeks. Therefore, Florida’s a program that pundits should start paying attention to again as true title contenders.
Time to check out the big games, top matchups and potential upsets as college football heads into Week 6.
Top 25 vs. Top 25: No. 14 Ohio State at No. 18 Wisconsin, 8:00 PM ET
This was supposed to be a matchup of the best two teams in the Big Ten, but after the Badgers were embarrassed last week in Ann Arbor, this game has lost a lot of it’s luster. Despite Michigan turning the ball over five times and spotting them a 19-0 lead, Wisconsin fell apart in the second half as the Wolverines pulled off a 27-25 upset. For the Buckeyes, they seem to be playing with a chip on their shoulder after losing to USC a few weeks back, especially freshman QB Terrelle Pryor, who is out to use this game as proof that he can play on a big stage. It’ll be interesting to see how the dazzlingly Pryor does in his first road start of his young collegiate career; OSU has not won back-to-back games vs. Wisconsin since 1995/1996. Oddsmakers have established the Buckeyes as 1.5-point favorites.
No. 13 Auburn at No. 19 Vanderbilt, 6:00 PM ET
Vandy is off to a surprising 4-0 start this season, but their record is a bit deceiving. The Commodores rank last in the SEC in total offense and defense, and have been out gained in 3 of their 4 games this season. But they sit undefeated largely due to their plus-nine turnover margin, which leads the nation. They’ll get their first real test of the season against Auburn, who crushed the Commodores 45-7 in their last trip to Vanderbilt Stadium in 2003. The Tigers also handed Vandy a 35-7 beat-down last year and are trying to build some momentum off of last week’s 14-12 win against Tennessee. Still, this is the first time Vanderbilt has been ranked since 1984, so the home crowd will noty doubt be psyched. And it’s not like Tommy Tummerville’s team has been that dominant this season. (See the Tigers’ 3-2 victory over Mississippi State as proof.) Vandy is a 4.5-point home underdog.
No. 23 Oregon at No. 9 USC, 8:00 PM ET
The Trojans try to bounce back from their humiliating 27-21 loss to Oregon State last week – a defeat that dropped them from the top spot in the rankings. When these two teams met last year in Eugene, the Ducks used an electrifying home crowd to knock off the Trojans 24-17 in USC QB Mark Sanchez’s first start. It would be wise for Oregon to borrow the blueprint left by the Beavers and attack the middle of the Trojans’ beat up defense on the ground. Head coach Pete Carroll is dying to use this game to show USC can still compete for a national title this season and will try to flatten the Ducks, but Oregon’s defense is good enough to keep them in the game. The Trojans are currently 17-point favorites.
Upset Watch:No. 4 Missouri at Nebraska, 9:00 PM ET
It’s hard to fathom that the Tigers would stumble this week in Lincoln coming off a bye week and with so much on the line. But Heisman Trophy candidate Chase Daniel has yet to see a decent defense outside of Illinois in the opener. And even though MIZZOU hammered the Huskers last year, Nebraska’s defense is a lot better than the unit that surrendered 41 points to Daniel and the Tigers last year. Missouri has better talent and the better overall team, but one thing to keep in mind is that the home team in this series has won the last six in a row. MIZZOU is an 11-point favorite.
Other notable games: No. 1 Oklahoma at Baylor, 12:30 PM ET Saturday
The Sooners play their first game since being anointed the top ranked team in the nation. They get a decent opponent in the Bears, who have been a dramatically improved team with scrappy freshman Robert Griffin under center this year.
Kentucky at No. 2 Alabama, 3:30 PM ET Saturday
After crushing the Bulldogs in Athens last week, Nick Saban’s Tide can’t fall victims to the upset themselves this week against the unranked Wildcats.
No. 5 Texas at Colorado, 7:00 PM ET Saturday
Longhorns’ QB Colt McCoy will look to continue his bid to become this year’s Heisman Trophy winner, but he’ll face a decent Colorado team who is 3-0 at home this year.
