Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Ben McLemore denies former AAU coach’s allegations

While in Chicago taking part in this week’s NBA Draft Combine, former Kansas shooting guard had to answer some questions regarding the allegations levied by his former AAU coach, Darius Cobb, a couple weeks ago.

In a story done by USA Today in early May, Cobb stated that he accepted $10,000 from a runner in an attempt to have him steer McLemore towards a particular agent when the time came for the freshman to choose his representation.

On Thursday, McLemore stated that he felt “shock and betrayal” upon hearing the allegations and denied any wrongdoing.

During an exclusive interview Thursday with SI.com and Campusinsiders.com, McLemore said he felt both shock and betrayal when he heard that Cobb had gone public with these allegations. “My reaction was like, ‘Wow,’ ” he said. “That was someone that I could trust, and I put a person in my circle that I felt comfortable with and I know a long time that I wanted to help me through this process [of selecting an agent]. And for him to say the things he did and put that out there like that, I wish it wasn’t true ... [Cobb] put me in jeopardy and my family in jeopardy.”

McLemore said that he has not spoken with Cobb since the article was published -- “I’ve pushed him out of my circle,” he said -- and that the story was the first he had heard about payments from Blackstock to Cobb. “I didn’t see no money going around. My mom hasn’t seen no money going around. We don’t know nothing about it,” he said. “So it was kind of new to me.”


Also of note in the story done by Seth Davis of SI.com is the fact that McLemore stated that he would cooperate with NCAA investigators if they were to ask to interview him about the allegations.

That certainly sounds good, but here’s the thing: McLemore wouldn’t be obligated to speak with the NCAA. As a former student-athlete there really isn’t anything the NCAA can do to force McLemore to speak.

And refusing to speak is something that more than a few former student-athletes have chosen to do when under investigation (former Duke forward Lance Thomas was in a similar situation regarding an investigation into purchased jewelry earlier this year).

The question now is whether or not the NCAA will look to investigate these claims, and with Cobb being cut out of McLemore’s circle the former coach could be seen as someone with an axe to grind more than anything.

But if they do choose to do so and request a conversation with McLemore, outside of his hope to keep Kansas out of hot water there really isn’t a lot of motivation for the projected lottery pick to speak.

Raphielle can be followed on Twitter at @raphiellej.