Oklahoma State's Matt Pilgrim pleaded with the NCAA to be eligible for this basketball season.
"It was me talking about my situation," he said recently of the letter he wrote to petition for his eligibility, which was granted after he transferred last summer from Kentucky. "I tried to make them understand I had no control over the situation at my last school."
He doesn't mention his last school by name, but it was Kentucky, from which he and other players departed last spring after coach John Calipari was hired to replace fired Billy Gillispie.
Turnover among players is common as coaches are fired and hired. Kentucky had several leave as Calipari attracted the nation's top recruits in John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins and the roster became top heavy.
Five scholarship players, including recruit G.J. Vilarino, ended up finding new schools.
Starting over can be a chore, but Pilgrim, a 6-8 junior from Cincinnati, says it was worth it.
A forward who has played in 29 games and started 12, Pilgrim averages 8.3 points and 6.8 rebounds for Oklahoma State (22-10). The Cowboys are seeded seventh in the NCAA tournament's Midwest Regional and have a first-round game Friday against No. 10 seed Georgia Tech (22-12) in Milwaukee.
Calipari and Kentucky athletics director Mitch Barnhart declined to comment on players' departures through team spokesman DeWayne Peevy.
But according to a December report on ESPN's Outside the Lines, Pilgrim and another player who left Kentucky, Kevin Galloway, said they thought they would be stuck at the end of the bench and possibly without a scholarship (schools are limited to 13) if they stayed.
In Pilgrim's interview with USA TODAY, he declined to discuss Kentucky, but he made his feelings clear about that situation when he told Outside the Lines, "It hurt because I feel like I abided by the rules. I did everything I was supposed to do. I went to class every day. I didn't fail any tests. For following my part of the contract, they should follow theirs."
Pilgrim transferred to Kentucky in 2008 and sat out last season under transfer rules. He had transferred from Hampton to get the exposure that comes with playing for a blue-blooded school. "I thought of it as an opportunity," he said. In retrospect, he took a risk.
He had doubts initially about the move to Oklahoma State, he said. "But I had faith, and it worked out for the best."
He's happy with his role, trying to move the ball to create openings in an offense that features star James Anderson, who averages 22.6 points. Next season, Pilgrim will have another year of eligibility.
Vilarino will play in the NCAA tournament for Gonzaga. The guard landed there after a frank discussion with Calipari in which Vilarino was basically told he wasn't good enough, according to an interview the player's father, Gerry, gave the Lexington (Ky.) Herald Leader in May.
Vilarino averages 2.3 points for Gonzaga as a reserve.
How other former Wildcats fared:
•A.J. Stewart, who averaged two points at Kentucky, left for Texas State and had to sit out a season as a transfer. Although he's listed on the roster, he's not part of the team, spokesman Rick Poulter said, adding that coach Doug Davalos asked Stewart to focus on academics. "Right now his status for next year is probably questionable," Poulter said.
•Galloway, who averaged 1.9 points, transferred to Texas Southern, where he sat out as a transfer.
•Donald Williams left for Antelope Valley, a junior college in California. He averaged 16.6 points and is expected to receive an associate's degree, said coach Dieter Horton, who recently resigned. Wyoming, North Texas and Mississippi are interested in signing him, Horton added.
•Kentucky native Landon Slone lived a dream last season as a walk-on who played in 15 games. He says he couldn't get an appointment to speak to Calipari after his hiring and took the hint. He's now at Pikeville (Ky.) College, an NAIA school.
"I lost respect for (Calipari) then, during the time that I wanted to talk to him," Slone said, "but I do have a lot of respect for what he's done for the program."
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/mensbasketball/2010-03-16-kentucky-reshaping_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip
"It was me talking about my situation," he said recently of the letter he wrote to petition for his eligibility, which was granted after he transferred last summer from Kentucky. "I tried to make them understand I had no control over the situation at my last school."
He doesn't mention his last school by name, but it was Kentucky, from which he and other players departed last spring after coach John Calipari was hired to replace fired Billy Gillispie.
Turnover among players is common as coaches are fired and hired. Kentucky had several leave as Calipari attracted the nation's top recruits in John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins and the roster became top heavy.
Five scholarship players, including recruit G.J. Vilarino, ended up finding new schools.
Starting over can be a chore, but Pilgrim, a 6-8 junior from Cincinnati, says it was worth it.
A forward who has played in 29 games and started 12, Pilgrim averages 8.3 points and 6.8 rebounds for Oklahoma State (22-10). The Cowboys are seeded seventh in the NCAA tournament's Midwest Regional and have a first-round game Friday against No. 10 seed Georgia Tech (22-12) in Milwaukee.
Calipari and Kentucky athletics director Mitch Barnhart declined to comment on players' departures through team spokesman DeWayne Peevy.
But according to a December report on ESPN's Outside the Lines, Pilgrim and another player who left Kentucky, Kevin Galloway, said they thought they would be stuck at the end of the bench and possibly without a scholarship (schools are limited to 13) if they stayed.
In Pilgrim's interview with USA TODAY, he declined to discuss Kentucky, but he made his feelings clear about that situation when he told Outside the Lines, "It hurt because I feel like I abided by the rules. I did everything I was supposed to do. I went to class every day. I didn't fail any tests. For following my part of the contract, they should follow theirs."
Pilgrim transferred to Kentucky in 2008 and sat out last season under transfer rules. He had transferred from Hampton to get the exposure that comes with playing for a blue-blooded school. "I thought of it as an opportunity," he said. In retrospect, he took a risk.
He had doubts initially about the move to Oklahoma State, he said. "But I had faith, and it worked out for the best."
He's happy with his role, trying to move the ball to create openings in an offense that features star James Anderson, who averages 22.6 points. Next season, Pilgrim will have another year of eligibility.
Vilarino will play in the NCAA tournament for Gonzaga. The guard landed there after a frank discussion with Calipari in which Vilarino was basically told he wasn't good enough, according to an interview the player's father, Gerry, gave the Lexington (Ky.) Herald Leader in May.
Vilarino averages 2.3 points for Gonzaga as a reserve.
How other former Wildcats fared:
•A.J. Stewart, who averaged two points at Kentucky, left for Texas State and had to sit out a season as a transfer. Although he's listed on the roster, he's not part of the team, spokesman Rick Poulter said, adding that coach Doug Davalos asked Stewart to focus on academics. "Right now his status for next year is probably questionable," Poulter said.
•Galloway, who averaged 1.9 points, transferred to Texas Southern, where he sat out as a transfer.
•Donald Williams left for Antelope Valley, a junior college in California. He averaged 16.6 points and is expected to receive an associate's degree, said coach Dieter Horton, who recently resigned. Wyoming, North Texas and Mississippi are interested in signing him, Horton added.
•Kentucky native Landon Slone lived a dream last season as a walk-on who played in 15 games. He says he couldn't get an appointment to speak to Calipari after his hiring and took the hint. He's now at Pikeville (Ky.) College, an NAIA school.
"I lost respect for (Calipari) then, during the time that I wanted to talk to him," Slone said, "but I do have a lot of respect for what he's done for the program."
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/mensbasketball/2010-03-16-kentucky-reshaping_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip
