According to a report from Kyle Tucker of SEC Country, John Calipari committed a minor NCAA violation last week during the SEC Spring Meetings in Florida.
Calipari was asked by reports to comment on Kentucky commit Ashton Hagans. Calipari answered the question, which is a minor NCAA violation because coaches aren’t allowed to comment on unsigned players. Hagans has committed to the Wildcats, but has not signed.
Here is an excerpt from SEC Country:
“He wanted us all along and we had waited, and Mark did a good job and jumped on it. I told him, ‘You’re smart,’ ” Calipari told The Athletic’s Seth Emerson and other reporters in Destin, Fla. “But then the kid opens up when he figures out that stuff is happening. And we get a terrific player.”
Hagans and his father told SEC Country two weeks ago that he’s finishing up an English class — the last of four online courses he needed to graduate high school early — and plans to enroll at Kentucky no later than August. It will probably be much sooner.
Still, it is against NCAA rules for college coaches to comment publicly on recruits who have not signed a national letter of intent or offer of admission, other than to acknowledge they’re recruiting that player, and that means Calipari committed a secondary violation in talking about Hagans.
