The NCAA has cleared Kentucky freshman big man Skal Labissiere, but Kansas freshman Cheick Diallo is not yet cleared, sources told SNY.tv on Friday.
Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports first reported the Labissiere news.
“We don’t confirm eligibility of any our student-athletes until the first game,” a Kentucky spokesman told SNY.tv.
Kentucky coach John Calipari said this week that he wasn’t overly concerned about Labissiere’s eligibility.
“No, I’ve said it before there are probably 50 to 60 kids who went through it and there are probably 15 more going through it now,” Calipari said Wednesday. “Last year we had five going through this at this stage, meaning our team. And so we’re comfortable where this is for him right now. He’s good.”
The 6-foot-11 Labissiere is projected as the No. 1 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft by DraftExpress.com, while the 6-9 Diallo is projected at No. 9.
The NCAA was reportedly looking into questions surrounding Labissiere’s amateurism after Memphis-based AAU coach Keith Easterwood told SNY.tv and CBSSports.com last November that Labissiere’s guardian, Gerald Hamilton, hoped to profit off Labissiere, a native of Haiti who lived with Hamilton after escaping an earthquake in his homeland in 2010.
Gary Parrish of CBSSports.com published excerpts of an email the NCAA sent to Easterwood asking specific questions about Hamilton:
**Has Mr. Hamilton ever texted you asking for your help in finding someone that could advance Mr. Hamilton a sum of money related to Skal Labissiere?”
**Did Mr. Hamilton ever inquire to you about how he could procure a ‘shoe’ deal for Skal Labissiere?”
As for Diallo, Kansas coach Bill Self recently said it could be a few weeks before they knew anything.
“We hope in two weeks, maybe three weeks, before we have a definite answer,” he said Oct. 7. “But right now, Cheick is like everybody else. He’s practicing.”
The 6-foot-9 Diallo was the MVP of the McDonald’s All-American Game and the Jordan Brand Classic and chose Kansas over Kentucky, St. John’s and other programs.
Photo: USA Today Sports
