Misconception

Kentucky pays their players. They are the bastion of cheating in college basketball, have always been and will always be.

The Facts

Kentucky was put on probation in the early 1950's due to a point shaving scandal that hit a number of schools. The entire 1952-53 season was cancelled. The next year, Kentucky went undefeated during the regular season, however, then-coach Adolph Rupp chose not compete in post-season competition because some of his starting players were prohibited from playing due to being in graduate school (in a bizarre ruling by the NCAA which actually dissuaded players from graduating on-time).

Kentucky again was put on probation in the late 1980's. Chief among the violations cited were paying money to Chris Mills (a Los Angeles prep phenom now playing with the New York Knicks) and the cheating of Eric Manuel on his ACT test (see Manuel.)

Some questioned whether the NCAA would come down hard on Kentucky.

"Yeah," cracked Jerry Tarkanian, the University of Nevada-Las Vegas coach long critical of the NCAA's kid-glove handling of Kentucky, "they're going to find them guilty and then give Cleveland State three more years of probation." - by Thomas Stinson, Atlanta Constitution Journal, February 5, 1989.

Despite this, the NCAA came down very hard on Kentucky despite an ineffectual investigation. The resulting probation stripped Kentucky of the heart of its future team. Players such as Chris Mills, LeRon Ellis, Eric Manuel, Sean Sutton, Rex Chapman and Shawn Kemp all left the program over a two-year stretch for various reasons. The team had its scholarships reduced and was banned from television appearances or post season play. Head coach Eddie Sutton resigned, along with his coaching staff which included Dwane Casey who was implicated in the Mills situation. The situation was a mess but was turned in the right direction by the hiring of former UK player and experienced SEC coach C.M. Newton as athletic director. Newton soon hired Rick Pitino to resurrect the program with the priority being on keeping the Kentucky program clean.

Rebuttal

Kentucky may have cheated in the past, I don't have any evidence one way or the other other than what has been documented, although it seems very likely they did. Kentucky now, however runs a very tight ship under Pitino and C.M. Newton and recently Tubby Smith. It's extremely difficult to "prove" innocence but here are some examples:

• One of the first things Pitino did when coming to Kentucky was to separate the overeager alumni from the players. This reduced a lot of the temptations that were present under previous coaches.

• Pitino also does not seem to go after recruits who "have a hand out." An example was in 1995, Robert "Tractor" Traylor was being recruited by Kentucky and reportedly was looking for more than just a scholarship, he eventually was dropped. Traylor later signed with Michigan which has since become embroiled in recruiting problems.

• When Kentucky recruited Clifford Rozier, who was transferring from North Carolina, Sean Woods took him to a party in Louisville which broke a minor NCAA rule. Instead of fighting the NCAA for a player who would have been a perfect complement for the team, Pitino dropped his recruitment and ironically, he ended up with Louisville where he became a first-team All-American player.

• When recruits fell into trouble with the law, Pitino stopped recruiting them. This includes such players as Richie Parker and Allen Iverson.

• Kentucky did not recruit Lawrence Funderburke when he transferred from Indiana although they were in desperate need of front court talent at the time and Funderburke seemed to be highly interested in the Cats. C.M. Newton was worried more about the image of the University and the team in deciding not to accept him.

• Even Eddie Sutton and Joe B Hall, coaches under suspicion of cheating in some way during their tenure at Kentucky often showed signs of being fairly disciplinary coaches. They were not receptive to behavior even some of the coaches considered to be "clean" such as Dean Smith or Bill Frieder let slide by.
  
  
  • Joe Hall kicked Dwight Anderson, a lightening quick guard off the team for alleged drug abuse.
    
  • Eddie Sutton stopped recruiting Norris Coleman and Harvey Grant when they ran into problems with law enforcement.
    
  • Shawn Kemp was kicked off the UK team before his first season even started for allegedly trying to pawn one of Sean Sutton's necklaces.
    

The bottom line is that what happened in the past has no bearing on the present as none of the principal players are at UK anymore. Tubby Smith, Rick Pitino and C.M. Newton run a very clean program which has shown to be extremely careful in staying within the rules set out by the NCAA. Those who claim that Kentucky still cheats can send their evidence to the

N.C.A.A.
700 W. Washington Street
Indianapolis, IN 46206-6222
(317) 917-6222

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