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Kentucky Coach John Calipari said Sunday that he did not make the decision on what games heralded freshman John Wall must sit out as part of the punishment for having some recruiting expenses paid by an agent.

In announcing Wall’s punishment Friday night, UK said the freshman would sit out Monday’s exhibition game against Cambellsville and the season opener against Morehead State on Nov. 13.

Calipari said that “they” told him what games Wall would miss. The UK coach did not identify who “they” were.

Were “they” the NCAA staff? UK’s athletic administration?

As part of the punishment, the NCAA ordered Wall to pay back $787.58. That payment would go to a charity, the Lexington Hope Center, which  UK said would help pay for thanksgiving meals for the homeless.

Calipari said he did not know how long Wall would have to make the payment or how many recruiting trips the $787.58 represented.

UK spokesman DeWayne Peevy said that Wall must make the $787.58 payment before he can compete in Friday’s exhibition game against Clarion. Peevy said that UK’s compliance officer, Sandy Bell, had advised Wall to save his Pell Grant money in anticipation of having to make such a payment. So Wall would have no difficulty making the payment.
When asked if Wall’s punishment was fair, Calipari noted that a judgment had been made. “It’s behind us,” he said.

Wall was not made available for interviews.

With heralded freshman John Wall sitting out Monday’s exhibition against Campbellsville, Kentucky may start sophomore Darius Miller at point guard, Coach John Calipari said on Sunday.

When asked who would backup another freshman, Eric Bledsoe, at the point, Calipari said it would be Miller.

“Or he may start,” Calipari said of Miller, a former Kentucky Mr. Basketball from Mason County.

Miller has played the wing almost exclusively for UK. But Calipari said he had noticed that Miller’s play improved when he had the ball.

“He’s like Tyreke Evans,” Calipari said, referring to the star freshman he had last season at Memphis. “When you put the ball in his hands, he’s much better.”

Miller said he had not played much point guard during practices, but he sounded confident of playing the position in an emergency.

The expected starter, freshman John Wall, will sit out the Campbellsville exhibition as part of his penalty for having an agent, his AAU Coach Brian Clifton, pay for some expenses during the recruiting process.

I just had a pleasant conversation with Tywanna Patterson, the mother of Kentucky  big man Patrick Patterson. She asked that a clarification be made about the game story on UK’s Blue-White Game.

Patterson did not drive his vehicle, a Lincoln Mark LT, to the game.

His parents did buy him the Lincoln Mark LT. The truck was “a gift for all his hard work,” his mother said.

The car remains in Huntington. Patterson’s parents intended the car as a Christmas present, she said.

Kentucky’s Patrick Patterson and John Wall are among 50 players named to a pre-season watch list for the Naismith Award, one of the trophies recognizing a college basketball player of the year.

Patterson, an all-Southeastern Conference player last season, bypassed the NBA draft to return for his junior season. Wall is a freshman many project as the first pick in the 2010 NBA draft.

Patterson and Wall are among eight SEC players named to the watch list. The others are Devan Downey of South Carolina, Tasmin Mitchell of LSU, A.J. Ogilvy of Vanderbilt, Tyler Smith of Tennessee, Jarvis Varnado of Mississippi State and Terrico White of Ole Miss.

In late February, the Atlanta Tipoff Club will release a list of top 30 candidates for the award. Four finalists will be announced in March.

On the same day that University of Kentucky president Lee Todd said he did not want a player facing eligibility questions being the subject of newspaper stories, the school’s Media Information department made John Wall available to a USA Today reporter on Tuesday.
The reporter, Marlenn Garcia, asked Wall about the amateurism issues that cast a cloud over his eligibility. Wall said he’s been waiting five months for a resolution.
“I’ve just been waiting,” Wall told Garcia. “It’s a process you have to go through. I’m sitting back and relaxing.”
In a separate interview, Patrick Patterson told Garcia he was unconcerned about Wall facing any serious consequences.
Southeastern Conference Commissioner Mike Slive said last week that Wall’s eligibility had not been certified.
On Tuesday, Todd twice referred to Wall as a “child” that the president wanted to protect from reporters.
“Why drag some child and his mother through all that because people want to sell newspapers?” Todd said.
Todd could not be reached to comment on his Sports Information staff making Wall available and the story in yesterday’s USA Today. Garcia said an assistant Media Information staffer, John Hayden, sat in on player interviews.
DeWayne Peevy, the head of UK’s Media Information department, said Wall was free to make any comment he wanted.
As for Todd’s wishes, Peevy said late yesterday afternoon that he had not read the president’s comments nor had he read the USA Today story. “It’s hard to comment without knowinng exactly what was said,” Peevy said.

It’s hard to be sure of anything with the questions surrounding John Wall’s eligibility. But NCAA spokesperson Cameron Schuh sent an e-mail this morning which indicates that Wall can play in Kentucky’s annual Blue-White scrimmage game Wednesday night.

Last week Southeastern Conference Commissioner Mike Slive said that “amateurism issues” had to be answered before Wall and Mississippi State freshman Renardo Sidney gained full eligibility.

A player in that position can practice with the team but cannot play in competitions until full eligibility is certified, Schuh said in an e-mail earlier this week.

That raised a question: Does an intra-squad scrimmage count as a “competition?”

Schuh responded Wednesday morning by citing NCAA Bylaw 17.02.8, which Schuh said defined a competition as a game against an outside opponent.

Of course, it cannot be that clear cut. The bylaw also says such a player cannot compete in the uniform of the school. So we won’t know for absolutely sure until the Blue-White scrimmage. But it appears Wall can play.

Wall’s association with AAU coach Brian Clifton is at the heart of the amateurism issue that must be answered. Clifton had been a certified agent for FIBA.

Without ever saying John Wall’s name, University of Kentucky President Lee T. Todd Jr. acknowledged Tuesday that one of the school’s basketball players faces questions about his amateurism that could affect his eligibility.
Last week, Southeastern Conference Commissioner Mike Slive told ESPN.com that the UK player was heralded freshman John Wall.
“I think the commissioner made his statement which I’m not sure he intended to make, but he made it,” Todd said after a meeting of UK’s Board of Trustees.
Todd said he felt “very comfortable” with no UK official admitting a question existed on a player’s eligibility until Tuesday because “there’s no reason to expose him to a whole lot of newspaper articles when it’s not necessary till we get a final decision.”
Todd declined to comment about his confidence that Wall will ultimately gain his eligibility or how long it will take the NCAA to render a decision or if Wall can play in Wednesday night’s Blue-White Game.
An NCAA spokesperson said last week that players who have not gained academic or amateurism eligibility can practice but not play in competitions. The spokesperson did not respond to a follow-up question about whether an intrasquad scrimmage qualified as a competition. Or whether the competition had to be against an outside opponent.
When asked if Wall faced a serious threat to his eligibility, Todd said, “No comment. If we chose to talk about it, we would have talked about it a long time ago. You’ll know about it (the decision) when we know about it.”
Todd defended the UK decision not to comment.
“It may come out that there’s nothing there,” the UK president said, “so why drag some child and the mother through all that because people want to sell newspapers.”
Todd said he felt no obligation to simply inform UK fans that a question existed about Wall’s eligibility.
“I think the fans would like to know what the outcome is,” he said. “But I don’t think they need to know all the ins and outs because it’s a child’s life we’re trying to protect. And there are privacy rules that we abide by and I feel very comfortable abiding by those privacy rules.”
Another SEC school, Mississippi State, has admitted for weeks, if not months, that amateurism questions must be answered so one of its heralded freshman, Renardo Sidney, can gain his full eligibility. Obviously, MSU does not share Todd’s allegiance to privacy rules.
“I’m not making decisions for anybody else,” Todd said.

In an e-mail sent Thursday morning, former UK teammate Rex Chapman vouched for Ed Davender’s basic honesty and good nature. But Chapman acknowledged his disappointment about police charging Davender with three felony counts of theft by deception this week in connection with allegations of selling UK tickets he did not possess.
“That’s just bone headed,” wrote Chapman, who played with Davender on UK teams in the 1980s. “And I’ll tell Ed the same thing when we talk. He’s obviously lost his way recently a bit. Times are tough and in this economy I’ve seen people resort to things they would never have even considered otherwise.
“Moreover, I am positive that anybody Eddie D harmed or wronged in this whole deal will be repaid what they are owed. It’s the kind of guy he is. It may take him some time, but I know he’ll make it right. It’s who he’s always been.”
Chapman recalled an incident in December, 1991 in which he wanted to give Davender $2,000 to buy Christmas presents. Davender was working three jobs to try to earn money to buy gifts for the children of a brother who had been imprisoned.
Davender only accepted the money under the condition that Chapman expect to be repaid by the next Feb. 1.
“I want everyone to know that Eddie D not only brought me back the $2000 that he borrowed, but he added some $250 on to the tab just to show his appreciation,” Chapman wrote. “I wouldn’t accept it and we nearly got in a fight over it. Over the past 25 years or so Ed and I have had that type of relationship, though. He has gotten in a bind with family issues here and there, and I have loaned him a few dollars here and there. In all these years Ed Davender has NEVER NOT paid me back on time . . . or when he said he would. Not once.”

Here’s a press release from Asbury College:

Adam Delph, a 6’ 1” guard from Louisville, Kentucky, has announced that he is transferring to Asbury College to play for the Eagles in the ‘09-‘10 basketball season. “Adam will fit into our system extremely well. Our strength has always been our guard play and he will contribute to that from day one,” said Coach Will Shouse. “We are very excited about adding Adam to our roster of talented players.” Delph will formally sign with the Eagles on Monday August 17, 2009 at 2:00 pm in the Luce Center Gymnasium and has four years of eligibility.

He spent the ‘08-‘09 season as a University of Kentucky walk-on. At Louisville’s Pleasure Ridge Park High School he averaged 28 points per game and was named 6^th Region Player of the Year as a senior.

The Eagles start the 2009-10 season by hosting the Zweifel Classic on November 6 and 7. Asbury College placed 5^th at the National Christian College Athletics Association (NCCAA) National Tournament last season, had a 21-13 record overall, and finished the year 5-6 in the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (KIAC). Asbury also competes in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).

Former Kentucky guard Jodie Meeks returns to the Bluegrass State this weekend to stage several autograph sessions and, if he’d like, reflect on a solid start to his pro career.
Since being taken in the second round by the Milwaukee Bucks in June’s NBA Draft, Meeks got acquainted with his new team’s operation, led the franchise’s Las Vegas Summer League entry in scoring, made the event’s all-league team and signed a multi-year contract. The latter, which includes guaranteed money, seems significant given that second-round picks usually must first make the team to get a deal.
“I thought I had a great summer,” said Meeks, his matter-of-fact tone in keeping with his inclination toward modesty.
Mission accomplished. Jeff Weltman, an assistant general manager for Milwaukee, declined to speak about specifics of the deal.
But, Weltman added, “We hope he’s a Buck for a long time.”
After a junior season in which he broke UK’s 39-year-old single-game scoring record and set new scoring standards in two Southeastern Conference arenas, Meeks entered his name in the NBA Draft.
“I had no really high expectations,” he said. “Just impress as many people as I could.”
His plans changed as the workout process unfolded.
“I turned out playing really well,” he said. “With each workout, I gained a lot of confidence.”
A second-round pick might have been a letdown, but Meeks said he was more concerned with finding a “very good fit” rather than a particular position in the draft’s pecking order.
He’s liked the Bucks’ operation. He returns to Milwaukee on Tuesday to begin looking for a home and resume workouts in preparation for pre-season training camps.
For the Las Vegas Summer League, Meeks sought to gain greater familiarity with Milwaukee’s offensive and defensive systems.
He led the team in scoring (19.0 ppg), shooting 55.7 percent from the field and 53.3 percent from the NBA’s three-point distance.
Impressive numbers, but the competition was largely NBA rookies and one-year veterans.
“I don’t want to get hung up on the significance of that,” Weltman said of Meeks making the all-league team. “It’s a nice little feather in the cap for his hard work.”
Weltman noted how Meeks played well with fellow rookie Brandon Jennings, the point guard who famously played in Italy last season rather than try to gain eligibility for college.
Meanwhile, Meeks returns to Kentucky this weekend to sign autographs in Paintsville today (Brown’s Ford, 4:30 to 6 p.m.). Then he will be in Pikeville (Walmart 11-12:30 p.m., Pikeville High School 6-7:30 p.m.) and Hindman (Sports Complex 2-3:30 p.m.) on Saturday. He will be in Lexington’s Fayette Mall on Sunday at John Millard’s Art Gallary 2-4 p.m.
Of the autograph sessions, Meeks said, “I want to show my appreciation for the fans.”