CatsPause.com - NCAA certifies Wall with conditions

October 30, 2009

Matt May
CatsPause.com Senior Writer

John Wall will play for Kentucky this season, but he'll miss an exhibition game and the regular season opener before doing so. The NCAA certified Wall on Friday under the condition he repays money received for travel expenses.

The freshman guard must repay $787.58 of expenses, consisting predominantly of travel expenses incurred during Wall's unofficial visits to various institutions during his junior year at Word of God Christian Academy. He will miss UK's first exhibition against Campbellsville on Nov. 2 and the regular season opener against Morehead State on Nov. 13.

"I'm grateful to have this decision behind me," Wall said in a university issued statement. " All I ever wanted was to go to school and play ball with my team," said UK freshman John Wall. "This has been really hard for my mom and I want to thank her for her support during this process."

Wall's eligibility has been in question since Southeastern Conference commissioner Mike Slive confirmed to ESPN.com late last week that Wall and Mississippi State freshman Renardo Sidney faced concerns in that area. On Friday the issue was finally cleared after five months of waiting.

"We're appreciative of the process and the NCAA's willingness to listen," UK Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart said. "The NCAA staff worked to keep the welfare of the student-athlete in mind throughout this process. I'm happy for Coach Calipari and John Wall that he will get a chance to represent the Wildcats this season. He's a great young man and deserves to be able to concentrate fully on his academics and basketball."

Matt May is the basketball beat reporter for The Cats' Pause. If you have questions or comments about the Cats e-mail him here.

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