By Keith Taylor
Kentucky Today
University of Kentucky President Eli Capilouto told the board of trustees on Friday morning that the school will conduct an internal investigation and will cooperate with authorities following a Yahoo Sports report that linked current and former UK basketball players to an FBI probe into college basketball where players received impermissible payments, violating NCAA rules.
“We began immediately to conduct our due diligence, and we will cooperate fully with any appropriate authorities,” he said. “That is our commitment as a university to our Board of Trustees and to the Commonwealth. I will keep you informed of any developments should they arise in this matter.”
Kentucky leading scorer Kevin Knox and former player Bam Adebayo and Nerlens Noel were among the players listed in a report released by Yahoo Sports. The report includes expenses of NBA agent Andy Miller, Christian Dawkins and ASM Sports.
Kentucky coach John Calipari in a statement denied any ties to Miller, Dawkins or ASM Sports.
“I have no relationship with Andy Miller or any of his associates. Neither my staff nor I utilized any agent, including Andy Miller or any of his associates, to provide any financial benefits to a current or former Kentucky student-athlete. We will cooperate fully with the appropriate authorities.”
Kentucky Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart said the school is looking into the allegations.
“We are aware of the report today by Yahoo! Sports,” he said. “We have not been contacted by the FBI or the NCAA, but since learning of the report, we have reached out to both the NCAA and our league office. We will be conducting an internal review. At this time, we have no further comment.”
It’s not known if Knox will play when the Wildcats take on Missouri Saturday night at Rupp Arena. Knox is Kentucky’s leading scorer (15.4 points per game) and tallied 23 points in a win at Arkansas earlier this week.
Adebayo received a loan from an agent while he was a high school player, according to the Yahoo report. Knox also is alleged in the report to have had dinner with the agency. Adebayo and Noel are listed in the report as receiving loans for as high as five figures, include one referenced as a “bad loan” for $36,500. He also is listed as receiving another loan for $12,000.
“There’s nothing wrong with meeting with an agent,” Atlanta-based lawyer Stu Brown, who has represented schools and coaches in past NCAA compliance cases, told Yahoo. “But then it becomes a question of who pays for the meal.”
Former and current players from high-profile programs Duke, North Carolina and Michigan State also are mentioned in the report.