University of Kentucky spokesman DeWayne Peevy says former basketball star Eric Bledsoe passed an extensive review process by the NCAA before joining the Wildcats.
The statement comes after a report in The New York Times that the NCAA is looking into questions about Bledsoe's academic history and recruitment.
In an e-mailed statement, Peevy said Bledsoe participated in the normal academic review process and also an extensive prospective student athlete review by the NCAA Eligibility Center and was cleared academically.
Bledsoe helped the Wildcats go 35-3 last season, averaging 11.3 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists. He declared for the NBA draft after one season and most projections have him going late in the first round or early in the second in the June draft.
The report posted on the Times' website late Friday says the NCAA has sent investigators to several places in Alabama to ask about Bledsoe, who declared for the NBA draft after one season with the Wildcats. Bledsoe graduated from A.H. Parker High School in Birmingham.
The Times said most of the questions center on Bledsoe's academic history, payments made for an apartment shared by him and his mother and whether his high school coach demanded money from schools that were recruiting him.
The NCAA does not discuss ongoing investigations, and Bledsoe and Kentucky coach John Calipari were unavailable to comment.
