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

Kentucky, John Calipari commit secondary NCAA violation

Tennessee v Kentucky

LEXINGTON, KY - FEBRUARY 06: John Calipari the head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats gives instructions to his team against the Tennessee Volunteers during the game at Rupp Arena on February 6, 2018 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Getty Images

Kentucky head coach John Calipari committed a minor recruiting violation last week at the SEC spring meetings.

Cal was asked about Ashton Hagans, a five-star point guard from Georgia that was originally committed to Georgia in the Class of 2019 before reopening his recruitment and pledging to the Wildcats in the Class of 2018. Cal answered.

“He wanted us all along and we had waited, and Mark did a good job and jumped on it. I told him, ‘You’re smart,’” he told The Athletic. “But then the kid opens up when he figures out that stuff is happening. And we get a terrific player.”

The problem?

Hagans has not yet finished the academic requirements to reclassify, according to Kyle Tucker, which means that he has not yet signed a letter of intent with the program, and that means that it is against NCAA rules for Cal to comment on the record about the player.

All things considered, this is not a big deal and amounts to nothing more than a secondary violation. Kentucky will get a slap on the wrist from the NCAA, Hagans will not have his eligibility questioned and we’ll all forget this happened by the next time the Cavs and Warriors tip off in Cleveland.