This was linked earlier by Wild Weasel, but it deserves a place on the front page. The Sporting News reports that Nerlens Noel is on his way:

Kentucky coach John Calipari can breathe easy. He’ll again have a shot-blocking phenom to anchor his defense as the Wildcats attempt to win back-to-back national titles.

Nerlens Noel, the No. 1-ranked recruit in the Class of ’12, says he has finished all the prerequisite course work required and will join his Wildcats teammates on campus Aug. 19, three days ahead of the fall semester.

Obviously, those of you who read this space have known for a while this was going to happen. There was never any suggestion anywhere from anyone actually in the know that Noel was in any kind of difficulty, or was unlikely to qualify.

Still, this comes as very good news for the Big Blue Nation, and certainly good news for Coach Cal as he tries to get his young charges ready for the season. And according to TSN, Noel is doing everything he can to get a leg up:

Noel, while finishing his class work, wasn’t allowed to participate in summer practices at UK. He is working as a counselor this weekend alongside future teammates Kyle Wiltjer and Willie Cauley-Stein at the adidas Nations basketball camp in Garden Grove, Calif. The trio also is getting in some games themselves.

Really nice that this is finally out of the way.