Here is the statement issued by DeWayne Peevy, UK’s media relations director for men’s basketball, regarding the news of allegations made about the Memphis program while it was led by new Kentucky coach John Calipari:

In response to Memphis receiving a letter from the NCAA…

STATEMENT FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY First and foremost, there are no NCAA allegations against UK Head Men’s Basketball Coach John Calipari. Coach Calipari was forthcoming with the University of Kentucky during the hiring process about any issues under investigation at the University of Memphis at that time.

It is normal procedure for the NCAA to ask a former coach to participate in a hearing. Therefore, Coach Calipari will participate as requested.

Coach John Calipari has received a letter from the NCAA stating that he is not at risk of being charged with any NCAA violations in this case.

This is a University of Memphis issue and the University of Kentucky will not comment any further.

UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY MEN’S BASKETBALL COACH JOHN CALIPARI “Even though I’m not at risk, I will fully cooperate with the NCAA hearing. Beyond that, I concur with the statement from the University of Kentucky and will have no further comment.”

I am pleased to see a strong, swift reaction by UK. Obviously the important thing is that are NO allegations against Calipari. The nightmare scenario that flashed through every UK fan’s head upon hearing this news is not going to happen. It’s also important that UK was aware of the investigation when the decision was made to hire Calipari in the first place. Calipari’s future at UK is secure at this point and UK does not appear to be in danger.

Exhale.

However, just because this is not a disaster, it does not mean it is good news. In fact, it’s pretty far from it.

About 48 hours ago, I, along with most UK fans, saw John Calipari as some sort of infallible savior. Then the Landon Slone thing happened. Even though that really was not a huge deal in the grand scheme of things, it could have been handled better. Calipari did begin the road to rectifying that situation by apologizing to Slone, and hopefully the two will meet this week.

Fast forward with me to about 8:30 pm on Wednesday. I’m sitting down to a nice dinner with family, getting ready to eat some delicious BBQ from Mark’s Feed Store, then, a series of text messages sapped my appetite and left me struggling to get through just a few bites of my sandwich.

Of course, the texts were about the Memphis Commercial Appeal report that Memphis was under NCAA violations for MAJOR violations.

My mind went racing. Why can’t anything just work out seamlessly? What role did Coach Calipari have? Did UK know about this? Will Calipari’s job status be evaluated as a result?

The worst case scenario that I considered was that UK could have possibly made an even worse hire than Billy Gillispie. They would be coach-less again in only 2 months. The joyride of the last 58 days was going to come to a stunning halt and all of the work. The divorce papers were filed before the honeymoon was over and UK Basketball was back in the dark ages.

Then my rational side kicked in. The report did not mention Calipari specifically. UK HAD to have completed the due diligence in making this hire. The allegations were originally filed back in January, so the NCAA had to have informed UK if hiring Calipari was going to be a mistake. It’s just not logical to think that Calipari would be in direct trouble as a result of this.

Fortunately, DeWayne Peevy’s and Coach Calipari’s statements prove that my rational side was right.

When the news first broke, my emotional side came up with the unthinkable worst case scenario I spelled out a couple paragraphs ago. The best case scenario and reality revealed that John Calipari had committed no violations. Even so, this still, at best, signals a troubling trend.

Any UK fan who convinces themselves otherwise is delusional.

There stands a very good chance that John Calipari could have taken two separate schools to Final Fours…but that the NCAA will not acknowledge that either actually took place.

At best, John Calipari has surrounded himself with people and players who put his schools at risk (first Marcus Camby, now apparently it’s Derrick Rose). Maybe that is a function of going after the absolute top talent as I have heard some say. If that’s true, it’s a sad statement about amateur athletics.

There is no disputing that the eyes of the world are going to be on the Kentucky program for as long as John Calipari is coach, and beyond. That being the case, John Calipari needs to make sure he does not put himself or the UK program in harm’s way, because everyone is going to be watching. 

There are many, many positives to that visibility, but at the same time, it’s a microscope.  I do believe though, that Calipari is acutely aware of that fact.  He’s benefited and suffered from the spotlight in the past, and I am sure he will continue to do both.

The developments of the past few hours do not deter my expectations for what UK Basketball is going to be like on the court in the coming seasons. It’s going to be fun. However, John Calipari and the entire UK Athletic Department need to make sure that their antennas are up, because everybody is tuned in.  Oh yeah, and to UK fans, don’t forget to prepare for some not-so-good natured ribbing from other fanbases (Look no farther than our own reader You need a reality check).

I’m going to do everything I can to get some rest tonight, because if the last 2 months are any indication, tomorrow will not be quiet on the UK front, for better or for worse.