Rondo Rides in Style, NCAA Says "OK"

As a very proud University of Kentucky alumnus, I hesitate to bring further attention to this story. However, Eddie Sutton, Dwayne Casey, Chris Mills, Claude Bassett and Hal Mumme provided enough fodder for truckloads of jokes about the (allegedly) corrupt nature of the University of Kentucky athletic department, so hopefully my decision to post this is simply the electronic equivalent of delicately placing a smoldering match on top of an already blazing forest fire.

Valerie Honeycutt and Jerry Tipton of the Kentucky Herald-Leader filed a report in Friday's edition detailing circumstances surrounding the smooth ride currently being driven by sophomore PG Rajon Rondo. I would imagine that the collective public muttering was quite audible around Lexington when student-athlete Rondo was seen cruising the streets around campus in a 2006 Yukon Denali.

The car is apparently titled to Derek Anderson, a member of Kentucky's 1996 national championship team, a Louisville native and current member of the Houston Rockets. Anderson and Rondo apparently forged a tight bond while Rondo was still a young prep star in Louisville, and according to the Herald-Leader, the NCAA investigated Rondo's driving the ex-Wildcat's vehicle prior to Rondo bringing it onto campus. The NCAA felt that Anderson and Rondo's relationship was genuine and that it developed well prior to Rondo's becoming a recruiting target of Tubby Smith's staff. Therefore, Rondo driving Anderson's SUV meets the standards set forth by the NCAA and violates none of its regulations. My favorite part of the article is that Rondo "uses the vehicle often, but not exclusively". Of course he does! What right-minded sophomore in college could get by with only a 2006 Yukon Denali. Every time my mom's old 1983 yellow Volvo station wagon conked out on the side of a campus thoroughfare, I recognized the desparate need that I had for backup transportation. Unfortunately, my backup was my own two feet. If I had only known the "Rondo Rule", I would have made a point to develop a "mentor-protege" relationship with Rick Robey when he was living down the street from my childhood home.

Too bad Sam Bowie did not decide to settle down in Toronto after his playing career was over. That would have prevented my buddies and me from snickering at Jamaal Magloire when he was seen sputtering down Euclid Avenue in a broken-down, early 80's Toyota Corolla.

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