Kentucky is returning to the Final Four for the first time since 1998. They defeated North Carolina on Sunday to punch their ticket to Houston. Still buzzing from their win over the Tar Heels, the Kentucky players had a surprise visitor waiting to congratulate them when they got back to the locker room: Jay-Z.
The game was played at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, which is where the Nets play their home games. Coincidentally, Jay is a minority owner of the Nets. Since he has ownership of an NBA team, his contact with potential future draft picks on the Kentucky roster before they officially declare for the draft has come under investigation by the NBA. But don’t worry Kentucky fans. This is an NBA violation, not an NCAA violation.
We’ve seen this happen before. In 2007, Celtics General Manger, Danny Ainge was fined $30,000 because he sat with Kevin Durant’s mother in the stands during the Big 12 tournament, which took place before Kevin announced that he was leaving Austin. That was simply an idiotic decision made by Ainge.
While Jay’s visit appeared innocent on the surface, apparently it wasn’t. His attempt at meeting and greeting the UK players may end up costing him. But let’s be for real. I sincerely doubt that he was doing anything other than simply meeting the team and possibly stroking his ego as well. I’m sure there was absolutely no alterior motive there. And besides, we sometimes lose sight of the fact that he’s a minority owner and possesses a very small piece of the franchise. Make no mistake, that’s Mikhail Prokhorov’s team. Jay seems like he is the face from an entertainment and PR standpoint, so I’m not even sure how much pull he has organizationally from a decision making angle. But to that end, I don’t want to understate his influence because young guys are certainly more drawn to him than Prokhorov.
If you’re looking for your everyday, predictable basketball talk, then go somewhere else, because Kevin Burke of The Kevin Burke Project brings provocative, thought provoking content about basketball as only he can. Kevin also hosts The Hoop Doctors weekly podcast show, which you can subscribe to for free on iTunes. Follow Kevin on Twitter and Facebook
