Kentucky Basketball: Former Xavier Standout Dezmine Wells May Become a Wildcat

Ben Roberts of the Lexington Herald Leader reports that former Xavier guard/forward Dezmine Wells visited the University of Kentucky campus on Wednesday afternoon. 

After an excellent freshmen season in 2012, Wells was expelled from Xavier University for what the school referred to as "a serious violation of the Code of Student Conduct" (per Shannon Russell of Cincinnati.com). It was later revealed (per Dana O'Neil of ESPN.com) that Wells had been charged with sexual assault, but those charges were rejected by a grand jury. Still, Xavier University held firm in its decision to expel Wells from the school.

He has since shown interest in Louisville, Maryland and Memphis. His decision to include UK in the mix, however, was surprising to say the least. It is unclear if Wells would be eligible to play this season, but his speed and inside scoring ability (especially at the small forward position) would be a big boost for a Kentucky team that is already loaded.

The cloud of a sexual assault charge, however, is hard to overcome, even if the kid is completely innocent. It's also pretty much guaranteed that if Calipari takes a chance with this kid, it will give even more fuel to those that constantly attack him and the Kentucky basketball program (Pete Thamel would probably have to breathe into a bag to keep from hyperventilating). 

Of course, none of this will matter if he ends up going to Louisville, which he seems to be favoring at the moment. But it will be interesting to see how Calipari, who is a master of getting the best players available and PR spin, works this situation.

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