Following a prolonged waiting period, highly touted Kentucky Wildcats freshman Skal Labissiere has been cleared to suit up for the team this season, according to Yahoo Sports’ Shams Charania.
Advertisement
Labissiere received paperwork clearance on Friday after the NCAA had investigated him for his relationship with his Memphis-based guardian Gerald Hamilton.
Labissiere has been practicing with the team.
Labissiere was brought to the United States from Haiti by Hamilton, who runs Reach Your Dream Prep, a high school program to help worldwide and at-risk students find college scholarships through athletics. But Kentucky coach John Calipari discussed Labissiere last week during the SEC media day.
Labissiere was ruled ineligible by the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association after trying to transfer before his senior season of high school. DraftExpress has pegged him as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 draft ahead of celebrated prospects like Duke’s Brandon Ingram, LSU’s Ben Simmons and California’s Jaylen Brown.
“Everything is good to go”, Calipari said before referring back to the school’s policy not to comment on a player’s eligibility until the first game.
Advertisement
In fact, Labissiere is viewed to be similar to Anthony Davis in style of play. “Last year at this time, five of our kids hadn’t been cleared yet”. I think my team will be fine and you guys will figure it out when we go out the first day and everybody’s got uniforms.
