Calipari tells ESPN that Nerlens Noel can play, but UK won’t confirm eligibility

By Jon Hale
jon@kyforward.com

Nerlens Noel. (Photo from UK Athletics)

In an appearance on ESPN’s SportsCenter Wednesday, UK head coach John Calipari appeared to assuage any fears that his star freshman forward Nerlens Noel might not be eligible to start the season.

“He’s been cleared to practice, cleared to play games,” Calipari told ESPN. “Everything is good to go.”

While that statement appears to be good news for UK, a spokesman quickly sent a message to media members saying the school had no update on Noel’s eligibility.

“No update on Nerlens noel,” said UK Executive Associate Athletics Director DeWayne Peevy. “We will not confirm eligibility of any student-athlete until the first day of competition.”

That is the same statement Peevy gave at UK’s media day last week before Calipari said Noel “will practice, and if we played tomorrow, he would play.”

SNY.tv reported last week that Noel had still not been fully cleared to play by the NCAA.