It’s been less then 24hrs since the New York Times released their story about Eric Bledsoe. Since then, more details have been released about Bledsoe’s grades and the alleged rent payments.
Andy Katz from ESPN released an article today that did a nice job of summarizing the situation and how UK may or may not be involved. Let’s take a look….
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
[QUOTE]Kentucky has not been contacted by the NCAA about the Bledsoe investigation, a source from the school told ESPN.com’s Andy Katz. The source also said Bledsoe would have been academically eligible at Kentucky had he returned for his sophomore season.
The source added that Kentucky had no knowledge of any illicit benefits given to Bledsoe prior to his enrolling.
[/QUOTE]If the NCAA is investigating the issue, wouldn’t UK be notified? The NCAA did look into the issue with Bledsoe’s grades, but nothing ever came of it. As long as UK hasn’t heard anything to this point, you could say that “no news is good news”.
Now let’s look at what Katz had to say about Bledsoe’s grades…
[QUOTE]His grade-point average improved significantly after scoring an A in an online biology course, which replaced a D from his sophomore year. And, after failing to achieve an A in his first three years, Bledsoe scored two others in his senior year at Parker — Algebra 2 and Algebra 3, the latter taken in night classes.
Steve Ward, who coached Bledsoe at Hayes High, acknowledges his former star guard had plenty of academic work to accomplish when the school closed after his junior year.
“When he was at Hayes he was borderline,” Ward told ESPN.com. “When he left me I don’t know what happened.”
Asked if he was surprised that Bledsoe qualified, Ward said: “Not really. I knew if he applied himself he would have been able to. So I wasn’t totally surprised.”
[/QUOTE]
Just in case you couldn’t figure it out, this is an issue with people that surrounded Bledsoe in High School, including his High School Coach. Many college coaches questioned Eric’s eligibility after his sophomore year and many considered him to be ineligible due to his grades. Moving into is Junior and Senior years, Bledsoe hit the books and attended night school and summer school to pull his GPA to an acceptable level.
Now for the rent issue. This is the one that could stick…
[QUOTE]The New York Times report said a woman who rented a home to Bledsoe and his mother claimed that at least three months’ rent was paid for by A.H. Parker coach Maurice Ford, which would violate NCAA rules, and an anonymous college coach said Ford asked for money to recruit Bledsoe.
Ford denied any wrongdoing, telling the Times: “I’m a poor black man. And when one black man tries to help another black man, there’s always something wrong.”
[/QUOTE]you can read the [URL=”http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=5231161″]complete article here…[/URL]
If this is true, It could be the start of a lot of heartache for CAT fans…. Here’s my take:
[LIST=1]
[*]The NCAA – The NCAA said Bledsoe is cleared to play and now they could rule he was actually ineligible. That in it’self is a joke. What if you we’re to make decisions like that at your place of business? Would you be able to hold anyone accountable because you changed your mind? Of course not!
[*]Bledsoe’s Grades – I truly believe he made the grades. Kudos to him for putting in the time and taking control of his future. Great job Erick.
[*]The Rent – If it’s true, I’m not sure what to think about it. I hate it for Bledsoe, Bledoe’s family and UK. I don’t think I could ever get upset over the fact that it happened. What is a mother supposed to do. Her first priority is to provide a home for her children.
[/LIST]It’s been said that Bledsoe comes from an extremely tough situation and money is something that was just simply not around. Accepting rent money when you’re not sure where the next meal is going to come from is something I’m sure all of us would consider. How could anyone hold that against them.
I wish Eric and his family the best. No matter what happens, I’m sure the fans will always be behind him.
