Caleb Swanigan: NCAA Yet to Clear The Purdue Freshman

According to reports, the NCAA has yet to clear Purdue freshman Caleb Swanigan to play basketball this season.

Caleb Swanigan, the highly touted Purdue Boilermakers freshman, has not yet been cleared to plays reported to play by the NCAA according to Bleacher Report’s Jason King.

In regard to why Swanigan hasn’t been cleared, King said, “According to the source, the NCAA is investigating the relationship between Swanigan and Roosevelt Barnes, a Purdue alum who adopted Swanigan in May of 2011, prior to his eighth-grade year.”

But being cleared isn’t that unusual, especially for top recruits or those coming from overseas. Nathan Baird of the Journal Courier points to Kentucky’s Skal Labissiere – ranked No. 1 by Rivals – as another top recruit who had a long waiting period to be cleared by the NCAA.

More from Purdue

If there is anyone who would know a great deal about having to wait to have their best players cleared, or not cleared, it would be Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari. On SEC Media Day, Calipari was bombarded with questions about Labissiere’s eligibility. In typical Calipari style, he was pretty blunt on the situation.

“Everything is good to go,” Calipari said before referring back to the school’s policy not to comment on a player’s eligibility until the first game. “There’s probably 50 players that have a review. Last year, we had five players have a review; a couple of them got cleared the week before the game.”

Swanigan will not be able to play in any scrimmages – even the secret ones – exhibition games, or regular season games until he receives NCAA Clearance. Purdue’s first – and only – exhibition game is Nov. 8 and their regular season opener is Nov. 13.

Not having Swanigan would be a huge blow to this Boilermakers squad that is expected to do big things. They could weather the storm for a few games, and could still have a terrific season if Swanigan never receives clearance, but it’s not something they or their fans want to find out.

As always, follow Ink on Indy to keep up with the latest Purdue news, and follow me on Twitter and Facebook.

Next: Breaking: Pacers Release Toney Douglas

More from Ink on Indy

Home/Purdue