Kentucky freshman 7-footer Skal Labissiere, the projected No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft, has not yet been cleared by the NCAA, according to a report from ESPN.com.
“Not yet,” Labissiere’s guardian, Gerald Hamilton, told ESPN, declining to specify the reason why. “We’re just trying to get everything squared away. They are asking a few questions.
“They haven’t cleared him, but we’re sticking with our faith,” he added. “There’s no real concern about anything from the Kentucky compliance people.”
Labissiere is allowed to practice with the team while he awaits NCAA clearance.
“We don’t confirm eligibility of any of our student-athletes until the first game,” a Kentucky spokesman said via email. “Everyone has been practicing.”
Prior to enrolling at Kentucky, Labissiere said he expected to be cleared.
“I’ll be able to play right away,” Labissiere told Kyle Tucker of the Louisville Courier-Journal in April. “The NCAA is going to clear me and I’ll be able to play right away.”
A Memphis-based AAU coach told SNY.tv and CBSSports.com last November that Hamilton hoped to profit off Labissiere, a native of Haiti.
Hamilton was not immediately available for comment.
CBSSports.com and ESPN also reported then that the NCAA had begun to build a file on Labissiere.
Since then, Labissiere’s stock has exploded and he is now projected as the No. 1 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft by DraftExpress.com.
