KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Canadian sophomore guard Myck Kabongo will practise with Texas until NCAA investigators who have raised questions about his relationship with a professional agent make a determination in his case.
Longhorns coach Rick Barnes said Wednesday that the Toronto native has not been declared ineligible, but that's the extent of his knowledge. A school spokesman confirmed last week that Kabongo has talked to investigators and the school compliance department is communicating with the NCAA.
"We don't know anything," Barnes said. "We're going about our business and we'll do that until we find out what the situation might be, and we'll just go from there."
Yahoo Sports first reported the probe into Kabongo's relationship with Rich Paul, the agent of Miami Heat star LeBron James. The report said that Paul called NBA front offices on behalf of Kabongo before the 2012 draft, when Kabongo ultimately chose to remain at Texas.
Paul represents former Longhorns Tristan Thompson of Brampton, Ont., and Cory Joseph of Montreal.
The report also said the NCAA is also investigating whether Paul was involved in a trip to Cleveland last spring that included at least one workout with professional trainer Jerry Powell, along with who paid for the trip and the workout.
"We haven't thought about it," Barnes said. "We're just talking about what we have to do as a team. We feel we have enough people that we got to do what we've got to do."
Kabongo is arguably the most important player on a young Longhorns roster. He started 34 games as a freshman last season, and was third on the team in scoring at 9.6 points per game. Kabongo was fourth in the Big 12 with 5.2 assists per game.
The Longhorns went 20-14 last season, squeaking into the NCAA tournament for a program-record 14th straight time. They were beaten in their opening game.
Every player expected to contribute this season is either a freshman or sophomore.
"Myck's worked really hard. He's worked really hard as a leader, and he brings a lot of energy every day," Barnes said. "We'll just wait and see and we'll go from there."
