Just when you thought it was safe to bring out the summer grill and forget about some of these people, a few of our favorite college basketball names are back in the news.
**A Kentucky basketball blog says Xavier Henry is not happy at Kansas and that he could still end up at Kentucky. Henry initially committed to Memphis and then changed his mind after John Calipari took the Kentucky job.
Sources say Henry will not attend the first summer school session at Kansas but that Xavier and his brother, C.J., still plan on attending the school. Xavier also just worked the last four days at a Kansas camp with the players in Wichita. The family has made no official comment.
**Speaking of Calipari, an Open Letter to Kentucky President Lee T. Todd Jr. on Kentucky.com blisters Calipari for the latest recruiting scandal and his track record in that department.
Here’s an excerpt:
“Furthermore, Dr. Todd, you better hope that Calipari’s recruitment of mega-prospects John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins — which began on Memphis’ recruiting budget and ended with signatures on Kentucky letters of intent — was on the up-and-up.
Every media outlet with an investigative capacity has incentive now to take a fresh look at how Calipari’s program was operating.”
Another column follows up on the “Outside the Lines” story that ran on ESPN this weekend.
Memphis Commercial Appeal columnist Geoff Calkins said it was “simplistic” to divide the college basketball world into good guys and bad guys.
“The fact is there’s a lot of people in the world who have mixed feelings about John,” he said. “So I think it’s simplistic to say the higher you go, the more shots you take. Because I can name people pretty darn high who don’t have the reputation John has.”
**Finally, the Washington Post has a rather unflattering story out today on Lance Stephenson. It all seems pretty accurate to us.
I hope, for his sake, Lance’s situation is settled soon and he finds a suitable place. Time is running short.
If anyone else wants to follow along with this 21st century soap opera, it’s posted earlier but worth repeating:
http://twitter.com/mosesdupre
Hey Zag,
Any word on Jayvaughn Pinkston’s interest in St. John’s? ESPN has SJU in the lead. I wanted to know if it’s really true, or if he’ll leave just like every other NY superstar.
Lance, it’s never to late to come to St. John’s. Norm will find away to get tou a spot on the team. Our doors are always open.
Jayvaughn, please stay home.
AZ,
Last week, I talked about the request for documents from Memphis.
WELL…..
Expect some more news….about the Memphis violations….tomorrow.
Request for Information has been made and received by Univ of Memphis..
Details of Memphis’ investigation into the alleged fraudulent SAT are in the school’s response to the NCAA’s notice of allegations received Jan. 16, Lipman said.
The response of Memphis, which was requested by various media outlets through a Freedom of Information Act request, could be forthcoming as early as Monday night or Tuesday morning, according to Lipman.
BREAKING NEWS ********
Last week, I talked about the request for documents from Memphis.
WELL…..
Expect some more news….about the Memphis violations….tomorrow.
Request for Information has been made and received by Univ of Memphis..
Details of Memphis’ investigation into the alleged fraudulent SAT are in the school’s response to the NCAA’s notice of allegations received Jan. 16, Lipman said.
The response of Memphis, which was requested by various media outlets through a Freedom of Information Act request, could be forthcoming as early as Monday night or Tuesday morning, according to Lipman
http://www.wildcatsportsreport.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=10
Could be.
I’ve wondered this for a while though. What’s up with the ellipsises? They’re obviously not being used correctly…
AZ,
The BIG question which has been ASKED but, Memphis has refused to directly address.
Everyone was aware of the GRADE changes.
And the grades were changed in order to MAIL the high school transcripts to the various colleges.
But, one month after the GRADE changes were noticed.
All the colleges which received the FAILS transcripts were NOTIFIED.
So, how does Memphis accept this player with such Ds?
Note:
Memphis legal can not say that they were NOT informed about the grade changes….
Which transcript was used in the ROSE admission process by Memphis?
..
“Memphis legal can not say that they were NOT informed about the grade changes….”
That would be a smoking gun if true, but where are you getting that info? Transcripts are amended all the time and universities have a process in place…
He wouldn’t have to sit out, he just couldn’t accept another scholarship until 2010, since only once you sign your Grant and Aid agreement, you are agreeing to accept the scholarship from said school. He could still play, just have to walk on.
Wow, I’m actually starting to feel bad for the guy that started this with his silly twittering:
http://kentucky.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?fid=1150&tid=128804349&mid=128804349&sid=888&style=2
His whole internet life is being ruined. Not that he doesn’t deserve some of it for making stuff up, but seems like he really is sad about it.
For what it’s worth, Carl Henry spoke at length about the situation to Rivals.com and stated that there was 0 truth to the rumor, that he and his sons are very happy with their decision and Coach Self and he’s never heard of this dupre character either (Xavier said that earlier). Pretty strong statements from Carl, putting an end to this quite interesting social media frenzy.
http://kentucky.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=951582
Does anyone else think this whole story couldn’t have been fed to Dupre by the UK coaching staff to try and draw the media attention away from the debacle going on down there right now? I’m not sure if that would be giving Calipari more credit than he’s due or not.
Well if Carl Henry said it ……you can take that to the bank LOL
too much smoke here …..there’s fire somewhere ….I’d say it’s 75/25 Xavier leaves Kansas and goes to play with Cal
Funny because the rumor was never Kentucky, it was UCLA. Try to follow along son.
I’d also love to know what UK’s going to do with John Wall doing his Greece tour next year. You know, smoke, fire, etc.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but Carl was the only reliable source during Henrygate 2009, was he not. He said it was Kansas all along and that no visit to the holler was needed and in fact it was Kansas all along and no visit occurred.
There were a lot of internet reports on the same sites being quoted here that claimed Carl was lying, but shockingly it was them that were wrong and Carl was right.
Strange…
Looks like the Wall rumor is false …however no word on his test scores yet …this is why the best coach in basketball has recruited 2…….. 5 star PG’s. Sucks to be a Cal hater doesn’t it ?
Part of me wants to say “don’t waste your time with someone as obtuse as this”.
But Pastaboys statements are so out there it’s just so hard not to want to refute his claims. When someone says so a-matter-of-factly like, “Looks like the Wall rumor is false”, ” just smoke here, there’s fire somewhere”(in reference to this message board) and then insists not to site sources how could he even be considered legitimate!
Its over guys. Carl Henry squashed the false rumor late last night or this morning.
Henry’s still coming to KS–never has second thoughts. Just some twittering db that got everyone’s panties in a bunch. You can’t believe everything you read on the internet fools.
a KY. blog who I consider fair and reliable ……http://www.allkyhoops.com/ …..has a pretty good evaluation of the 3 internet rumors from yesterday …. I would have posted the link but most in here would simply ridicule the site .
your retarded
pasta boy you are trully an idiot, if you had followed Xavier’s recruitment you would know that he chose Memphis solely to play with his brother not because of Cal. If CJ had not been there it would have been a no-brainer to Kansas. I trully hope you are a UK fan so you will have to deal with the fallout that Calipari leaves behind. Kentucky is dead and gone, maybe you should have hired Ashley Judd.
LOL …. are you going to hold your breath now and yell liar liar …pants on fire
Why do you think CJ went to Memphis brainiac ? Cal enticed him there so he would have a better shot at Xavier . Say what you want but the fact that Xavier DID NOT enroll in summer school is very telling ….. I’d say Bill Self ( the stiff) better sit down and talk to him or he could lose him .
pastaboy, you are the most annoying and worst poster on this site. Even worse then USC.trojan.
Your intelligence has already shown true with how much you love Coach Cal. The guy is a program wrecker. He has been to two schools. Both schools will have to give back Final Four banners. Coincidence? I think not. Now he has signed a recruiting class where half of them arent even eligible yet? WAY TO GO JOHNNY!!
You are probably 15 yrs old and you believe everything you hear and read.
Xavier Henry is a Jayhawk and will be a Jayhawk.
http://www.kusports.com
Go eat some pasta. It will make you big and strong and possibly add some brain cells to that little head of yours.
Meanwhile Caliparigate and the Wall/Cousins summer of learnin’ goes on.
Apparently the Cousins to Germany rumor was started by the same site that broke the news that he was de-committing from UAB. Maybe they just struck it rich that time or maybe they have someone on the inside?
As for Wall, it’s now June so you figure he has 2 more shots at the ACT to get it a qualifying score before August semester. Does anyone know how low he is right now? Is it GPA or Test score or combo that’s killing him? You couldn’t blame the guy for going to Greece if school just isn’t his thing. I’ll go tour Greece for a year and make a few mil.
Coach Cal has never violated any NCAA rule …ever …. he had nothing to do with Camby signing with an agent …..nor anything to do with Rose allegedly cheating on his SAT exam ……hardly a program wrecker …..he turned UMASS into a national power and did the same at Memphis ….these are the facts and they are irrefutable . As far as Xavier is concerned ….if I was a Gayhawk like you I’d want to know why he did not enroll in summer school . Instead of name calling you should try a little research .
what the hell would be the point of summer school when he’s only going to play for 1 year??? I’d do the same thing…..enjoy my last free summer as a kid before my life on the road begins…
and memphis…..has never and will never be a “National Power”
Yeah, it’s just a coincidence that the 2 final fours he’s been to have both been (or are about to be) vacated. That’s HALF (2/4) the final fours that have EVER been vacated in the history of the NCAA.
In other news, the same blog that has Cousins to Germany is saying Bledsoe is exploring the JUCO route and has been talking with Miami-Dade coach Matt Eisele (a known Calipari crony). Bledsoe is not seen as a 1-and-done (or 2-and-done) so the thought would be that he’d join Kentucky after meeting eligibility at the JUCO.
Memphis in basketball has been considered a national power off and on since the early 70′s ….Bartow …………… then Kirk in the mid 80′s …….. then Cal the past 4 years …..sorry ….these are the facts . Cousins to Germany is a laugher …… Bledsoe to juco is a new one ….. although he has passed his ACT ….. and is now working on grades this summer. So I doubt that’s a viable rumor …..Wall to Germany also is a laugher when one considers Sonny has been advising some guys in this class to stay away from Europe ( Stephenson comes to mind)
You guys really look silly sitting here trying to tear down Cal and his Ky. recruiting class ……. I challenge anyone hear to name one violation Cal has recieved from the NCAA …… also his class will be playing this fall ….everyone of them …maybe even Xavier ……sucks to be a Cal hater doesn’t it ?
This happens every year with Cal because he recruits the margins. You can call him a ‘great recruiter’ if you want, but more often than not he’s recruiting guys the other programs don’t want to take a chance on. This late drama is just one reason why the big boys don’t mess with guys like Cousins and Bledsoe (best offers for Cousins were KState and Kentucky, for Bledsoe it was Alabama, Cincy and Kentucky)
If I recall correctly Xavier qualified as a junior year in HS so he’ll certainly be playing this fall. For Kansas of course. He never really fit the Calipari mold anyway, did he?
Give me a break, now we find that Calipari will be calling into the Infractions Committee from China?
“After reviewing the information in this case, the committee now, more strongly than ever, believes that you should make yourself available to participate in the hearing in some manner,” wrote Paul T. Dee, the chairman to Cal.
USC.trojan
Once again, the Freedom of Information Act only applies to Official Government Documents. Stop being a moron.
Xavier fit the Calipari mold enough to sign with him …and if Cal was still at Memphis guess where he would be playing? …….he may still bolt to Ky. ….. he now realizes Self has no ability to teach guards ….. he’s a stiff who got lucky on a 30 footer at the buzzer …….. most insiders consider the Kansas NC a fluke …..Cal clearly had the better team .
Big Ben …once again you spout without facts . While at Memphis Cal never recruited Bledsoe very hard ……nor did he recruit Cousins at all . Bledsoe wanted to go to Ky. and thats where Cal ended up ….Cousins just kinda landed in his lap after UAB lost him . He did recruit Henry ….Dennis …. the Juco guys Dodson and Coleman …and John Wall …… the same John Wall recruited by Duke ( a big boy?) …. There was talk of Latavious Williams while Cal was at Memphis but it was generally accepted that Cal wasn’t interested due to his academic status . So once again Ben you spout fals info to try and justify a critisism of Calipari . It must really suck to be a Cal hater ……
It’s one thing to believe that Xavier had ever lost interest in Kansas, but to believe that he is heading back to Kentucky again is just laughable. I can’t decide if pastaboy is being serious or if he is looking to stir up more controversy to divert more attention away from all the negative pub surrounding Kentucky lately (Gillespie lawsuit, John Wall misdemeanor, etc.). Staying away from that sideshow circus at Kentucky was the best move for CJ/Xavier.
“Basketball Insiders” don’t dwell on the 20 foot shot that tied the 2008 Championship Game. No one that remotely understands the game does actually. Rather they watched a coach bring his team all the way back from a seemingly insurmountable deficit to win the game. Part of that is Self being a great game coach. The other part is Calipari being a terrible game coach.
Interesting that Self has more guards collecting a paycheck in the NBA than Calipari. Dribble on my friend.
LOL. “Cal wasn’t interested because of his academic status”. That has to be the quote of the year.
really a 30 foot shot? Wow sounds like the legend of Mario grows by the years or you just have no idea what you are talking about. Also Cal clearly did not have the better team…because they didn’t win. No one gives a rip what “most insiders” think because that’s why they play the game. Sports history is filled with the teams that should have won.
You can back Cal all you want, but I will happily keep supporting the “stiff” coach who is a great coach and great man. You can keep the used car salesman. We in Lawrence love Coach Self.
We had to go through this nonsense with pastaboy on one of the Memphis boards around the time of Bledsoe’s recruitment. It’s just on and on, the guy is relentless and generally full of it. He demands you state facts when debating with him, but his responses contain things like “generally accepted” and “very telling”. Stuff like rumors that were started by someone Xavier himself said he didn’t know are allowed to be facts for pastaboy’s arguments because they support his BS, but rumors from the people who broke Cousins leaving UAB become “laughable” since they would tarnish the “#1 Recruiting Class” shine. When all else fails and you continue to disagree that makes you a “hater”, but outside of LaLa Land (where pastaboy resides) that just makes you a realist. X isn’t going to Kentucky, we all know this, too many actual FACTS and statements from him and his family do not support this, but pastaboy doesn’t want to hear it so for your own sake I’d say let the fool ramble on and ignore him.
As for Cal, I’m a blue-blooded Memphis fan and as much as I would love to say this is all his fault, given the information available I can’t see how Cal or Memphis were complicit in this conspiracy and I don’t see why either would have known Rose cheated. The only guilty parties I see are Derrick Rose and the NCAA Clearinghouse….of course neither of those parties will be punished or blamed because that would get in the way of a good story, but that’s the reality of the world we live in. I also don’t buy into the stuff that the NCAA is out to get the non-BCS schools. Let’s be real, Indiana is one of the storied NCAA programs and they got hit with violations akin to a death sentence, the NCAA has shown they aren’t afraid to take any school down, Kentucky would be wise to keep this in mind.
Duke? Zags reported months ago that Duke, Kansas and UNC had all pulled out of the Wall derby (probably due to the Clifton situation). This was even before his arrests.
The root of this scandal is Wesley. Someone posted it the other day, Wesley, and others like him, should be considered boosters in the future.
Not sure if you remember, but KU lead and controlled that championship game for thirty five minutes. It wasn’t until Derrick Rose rattled off four straight buckets in the last 7 minutes that Memphis grabbed the lead. Look what happened in the overtime(granted we had all momentum), but the beginning of the game started the same way. Coach Cal can’t even hold Bill’s nutsack when it comes to coaching. The better team/program/coach won that day.
This is how I remember it too: Kansas controlled the game, Rose took over the game (and was clearly the best player on the court), Kansas adjusted, Kansas won.
Calipari stared at the court wondering what just happened.
Why do you all care about this kid soooooo much he is on eplayer for one year and will not turn a team around. Michael beasley has not turend Kansas State into a power house so lance will not do that either because he is not as good. Th kid is highley6 over rated and is probably soon to be a convicted sexual assaulter.
Kids a tool and couldst beat top 2010 recruit Shane the persian pulveriser bornstein 1 v 1
kids a tool
Cal clearly had the better team? Are you insane. More NBA players from KU were on that team, it didn’t have the best player in the land (Rose) and it still beat down Memphis with a TEAM effort. CDR was a joke, nothing buy hype from playing inferior CON USA competition, Dorsey a wanna be thug. You think Cal will bring Kentucky back to the top and he won’t. You have to be able to coach young kids to play right, DDM is not teaching them anything but one on one principles, pathetic. And DDM was stolen from a JUCO coach!! What great coach has to copy a JUCO team to win!! I have many relatives in Kentucky and I would like to see them on top again, but I’m sorry it won’t happen with former JAYHAWK assist John Calipari. One more thing, you say Cal has not been CAUGHT with violations, well, this new one at Memphis ain’t done yet, so there’s still a chance. I hope it’s all clear for him, just so I can rub it in your face when we PWN Kentucky for the NC. And in Rupp, just like we did without our best player at the time, Wayne Simien. And please come back to Allen Fieldhouse, I love seeing us win by 30 or 50 pts when the Cats play here, lol. The WORST loss in Kentucky history, baby, at KU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wait a minute, didn’t Kentucky go through a point shaving scandal quite awhile back, like around the 50;s or 60′s or something like that. Oh, I almost forgot the payment to recruits in the 80′s also. What’s that pasta, these FACTS make you look like a gay porn star!! You’ve been caught cheating before, it will happen again, just wait.