Kentucky Assistant Named by NCAA : Casey Mentioned in Seven Charges, Including One With Higgins

Dwane Casey, the embattled Kentucky basketball assistant, is mentioned in seven National Collegiate Athletic Assn. charges against the school--including one dealing with Sean Higgins, a former L.A. Fairfax High School star--according to a text of 13 allegations released Monday.

The university, which at first refused to release the names because of possible litigation, offered the text of all but 4 of 17 allegations delivered in October after a court decision last week ruled that the text was not protected under the state’s Open Records Law.

An allegation received by the university last July, which triggered the investigation, charged that Casey sent $1,000 to Claud Mills, father of Chris Mills, the Fairfax star being recruited by Kentucky. The principals have denied the charge.

Allegations from Monday’s released text charged that Casey offered money to Fairfax’s Sean Higgins, who is playing at Michigan. Higgins charged last year in a national magazine that he was illegally recruited by UCLA, but NCAA officials found only minor violations stemming from the allegations.

The text released Monday also revealed that Casey had improper contact with an Ohio prep star, and transported an Iowa student-athlete to the horse farm of Dan Issel, a former Kentucky and National Basketball Assn. player.

Officials also questioned Casey’s ethical conduct in complying with NCAA rules before and during its probe.

Kentucky officials said Monday that the NCAA had extended the deadline for the university’s response to the allegations from Monday until Jan. 30.

The university did not release four allegations Monday because attorneys filed a motion under the Kentucky rules of civil procedure for the court to amend its findings. A hearing is scheduled Friday.

School attorneys are seeking not to disclose names in an allegation charging that a prospective student-athlete and his friend were provided free lodging on a visit to the campus and that the student-athlete attended the school’s basketball camp at no cost.

“The university’s attorneys felt that there was something worthy of appeal,” Kentucky spokesman Bernie Vonderheide said. “Usually in these cases it’s dealing with personal rights of privacy.”