School:
Rockdale

Ware decommits, UCF under investigation


Print E-Mail Story Comment

May 3, 2011

By Staff Reports


The University of Central Florida has been contacted by the NCAA amid reports of possible improper recruiting activities concerning former Rockdale basketball star Kevin Ware.

Ware, who committed to Central Florida on April 19, pulled out of his commitment on Thursday followed by various media outlets, including the Associated Press, New York Times and Orlando Sentinel reporting possible recruiting violations. The NCAA is now investigating an alleged link between UCF and Ken Caldwell, who reportedly has ties with ASM Sports Agency, which was reported by ESPN.com and the New York Times late last week.

The news reports also said that Caldwell helped push athletes toward UCF and arranged to have coaches listen to conversations with some players - which would violate NCAA rules

Associate director of athletics for communications Joe Hornstein said there hasn't been an on-campus visit by the NCAA regarding the basketball or football programs.

UCF confirms it is conducting an internal review of recruiting practices by its programs.

"We take the current allegations of NCAA violations very seriously," Hornstein said in a statement on the allegations. "Our review of this matter began immediately upon receiving notice. It is premature for us to provide comment regarding these allegations at this time, without having the opportunity to thoroughly and completely review the facts. Following our review we will appropriately address this matter."

UCF's probe is checking into the recruitment of highly ranked basketball recruits Ware and Michael Chandler, and football recruit DeMarcus Smith.

"Kevin doesn't want to go anywhere where coaches aren't honest," Rockdale coach Alvin Williams told the News. "He wants to go where the coach follows the rules and teaches what he needs to know.
"To put it in his words, he's going to college to get an education." 

The headline of Ware's Twitter account no longer says Knightmare in honor to his new team as it did a week ago. He could not be reached for comment.

The 6-foot-4 guard who helped lead Rockdale to its first state championship appearance since 1987, has had to deal with several problems during his recruitment in the last couple of months.

He was released from a national letter of intent he signed with Tennessee after coach Bruce Pearl was fired. He subsequently signed a grant-in-aid with UCF last month. But he recently backed out of his commitment to the Knights.

 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.


 

Comments

http://sports.rockdalenews.com/ encourages readers to interact with one another. We will not edit your comments, but we reserve the right to delete any inappropriate responses. To report offensive or inappropriate comments, contact our editor. The comments below are from readers of http://sports.rockdalenews.com/ and do not necessarily represent the views of Publication or Morris Multimedia.

You must be logged in to post comments.  [LOGIN]



 


Powered by
Morris Technology