Central Florida Ensnarled in Controversy

If you are a college AD or administrator and you find yourself talking to Pete Thamel of The New York Times, odds are something ain’t right.

It’s kind of like when a corporate executive or government official finds him or herself staring smack into the cameras of “60 Minutes” and uttering something like, “I have no knowledge of that event,” or “I can’t recall the details.”

The latest college basketball controversy the Times investigated centers around Central Florida recruit Kevin Ware and Kenneth Caldwell, a Chicago man with a criminal record who comes off as a runner for Andy Miller’s ASM Sports agency and who is directing kids toward UCF. Here’s the link to the Times story. And here’s a good follow-up by  Pat Forde of ESPN.com.

Both stories also delve into the recruitment of 6-10 Michael Chandler of Lawrence North in Indianapolis, who committed to Louisville and Xavier before landing at UCF.

“I never even heard of Central Florida until he committed to them,” Jack Keefer, Chandler’s high school coach, told The Times.

Meantime, the Times reported, Abigail Grantstein, an assistant director of enforcement for the NCAA, was at Lawrence North this week to look into the Chandler situation.

As for Ware, a 6-foot-4 guard from Conyers (Ga.) Rockdale County High School, he told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution he has decommitted from UCF and is considering other options.

“Louisville and Georgia are my [frontrunners],” he told the AJC. “I just have to talk to the coaches and see if they are still interested in me. I really don’t know where things stand.”

(Photo courtesy AJC)

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