John Calipari commits minor NCAA violation by talking about Ashton Hagans

John Calipari jumped the gun a bit last week, and will likely be getting a warning from the NCAA about it.

The Kentucky head coach talked to reporters in Destin, Florida, and a quote about Ashton Hagans technically violates an NCAA bylaw, as first reported by SEC Country’s Kyle Tucker.

“He wanted us all along and we had waited, and Mark did a good job and jumped on it. I told him, ‘You’re smart,’” Calipari said, according to The Athletic’s Seth Emerson. “But then the kid opens up when he figures out that stuff is happening. And we get a terrific player.”

Hagans has verbally committed to Kentucky, but he’s still working on reclassifying to the 2018-19 year, so he has not yet signed a letter of intent.

According to NCAA bylaw 13.10.2.1, until Hagans signs his LOI, Calipari is only allowed to comment on him to confirm whether or not he is recruiting him.

The institution may not comment generally about the prospective student-athlete’s ability or the contribution that the prospective student-athlete might make to the institution’s team; further, the institution is precluded from commenting in any manner as to the likelihood of the prospective student-athlete committing to or signing with that institution.

This violation won’t affect Hagans’ eligibility at Kentucky, so odds are he still ends up at playing at Kentucky next season, as long as his school work gets sorted out.

For now, enjoy some highlights of the future Wildcat in action:

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