Kentucky Wildcats players Terrence Jones and Stacey Poole were involved in a minor car accident early Friday morning, leading head coach John Calipari to impart a team-wide curfew effective for the rest of the season. The accident occurred around 2:30 a.m. when an alleged drunk driver swerved into the lane of an SUV carrying Jones and Poole as passengers. The SUV was reportedly being driven by Larry Warren, a former high school teammate of Jones.
The details of what happened after the accident are a bit hazy. Jones reportedly left the scene after the accident, though why exactly is unclear. He was found along Alexandria Drive appearing "slightly under the influence with alcohol" according Lexington News 18. Warren denied that the three men had anything to drink outside of bottled water during the concert they saw that night, however, and according to a statement from Calipari "no evidence of drugs or alcohol was found."
Calipari's statement was released through his own website, CoachCal.com, saying that while the players had not broken team rules, he would be instituting a curfew to avoid any more trouble.
As of yesterday, this team did not have a curfew and our normal procedure is to begin the season without one. I usually let the actions of my team determine a curfew. However, because of the actions of a select few, this team has showed me an inability to make proper judgment and decisions that they've been given the freedom to make.
There is no word yet on the status of either player for tonight's game against Marist.
For more on the Wildcats and this developing story, visit Kentucky blog A Sea Of Blue.