Kentucky self-reports minor recruiting violation involving Drake

The most memorable part of Drake's ill-fated appearance at last year's Big Blue Madness may no longer be him donning Kentucky warmups, participating in the pre-scrimmage layup line and missing a jump shot by an embarrassingly large margin.

That has been surpassed by something that happened a couple hours later.

A Freedom of Information Act request by SportingNews.com revealed Wednesday that Kentucky has self-reported a minor NCAA rules violation stemming from impermissible communication between Drake and three prospective recruits who attended Big Blue Madness. Kentucky actually went so far as to send a cease-and-decist letter to Drake after he posed for photos with guard Charles Matthews, forward Carlton Bragg and center Stephen Zimmerman.

In the letter obtained by SportingNews.com, Kentucky officials said they patrolled the halls at Rupp Arena and warned both Drake and the recruits in attendance they could not have contact. Those efforts were not successful as Drake crossed paths with Matthews, Bragg and Zimmerman while visiting with the team in the locker room after the event.

The level III violation Kentucky received is negligible and will not lead to further punishment, a fair outcome considering the encounter with Drake clearly had no impact on the recruitment of Matthews, Bragg and Zimmerman. Matthews had already committed to Kentucky before Big Blue Madness, while Bragg chose Kansas last year and Zimmerman picked hometown UNLV this past spring.

What will be interesting to see is if this impacts the relationship Kentucky coach John Calipari has cultivated with Drake the past few years.

Drake coached one of the intrasquad teams at Big Blue Madness in 2009. He sat behind the bench during the NCAA tournament in 2010.  He invited Calipari and the entire Wildcats team on stage with him during a concert in Lexington a few years ago. He credited Calipari with inspiring him to finish high school.  And he received a 2012 national championship ring with the name "Drizzy" engraved in it.

Having Drake attend Big Blue Madness every year is largely a coup for Kentucky because it makes the event an even greater selling point for recruits.

The Wildcats just would be better off if they can find a way to keep him and the high school prospects in attendance from crossing paths.

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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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