The NCAA might have a full-blown, off-court controversy on its hands come Friday, when the Final Four teams (Virginia, Auburn, Texas Tech, Michigan State) formally address the large media gathering in Minneapolis.
Or maybe it's just a big misunderstanding.
Only time will tell.
Here's the deal: Earlier on Thursday, Virginia forward Kyle Guy reportedly made waves about the NCAA allegedly requesting the removal of his wedding registry from public view, as a likely means of discouraging UVa and/or college basketball fans from purchasing gifts.
At first blush, it seemed like an over-reach on the NCAA's part, since a small percentage of college athletes are married, or on the brink of getting hitched.
Plus, by most accounts, Guy and longtime girlfriend/fiancee Alexa Jenkins weren't attempting to circumvent any NCAA-rulebook loopholes by entering into a fake marriage.
The narrative changed later in the day, once NCAA executive director Mark Emmert weighed in on Guy's situation.
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According to sports business reporter Darren Rovell, Emmert said, "I heard about that just as I was walking in just now, and I immediately grabbed my people and said, 'What's this all about?' What we know right now is that nobody in the NCAA said anything of the sort.
"We don't know what the source of that information was, whether it came from the institution (Virginia) or not. It's certainly not the case that that's a violation of NCAA rules. We allow people to have all the usual and accustomed gifts among family and friends, at all holidays and weddings of the sort. There's not a prohibition against that.
"We've been reaching back out already to the university to try to find out what transpired there. That's simply not an inaccurate story."
Guy has averaged 15.2 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists this season, while shooting nearly 45 percent from the field.
As such, there have been whispers of Guy leaving school early to enter the NBA draft in June ... which brings us to this:
a) If Guy's truly set to turn pro after Monday night, why would he care about the NCAA seeking a registry removal, knowing the UVa star's amateur status would soon cease to exist?
b) Why should the NCAA care about seemingly responsible athletes getting married during their college years? That's a rare level of maturity for any college-aged couple.
c) If the NCAA really had a problem with college kids getting married ... then the group should also start cracking down on holiday gifts from friends and family – a tongue-in-cheek suggestion which will never happen.
d) Let's hope Guy didn't fabricate the original allegation.
Otherwise, he might have single-handedly created the biggest distraction topic for the weekend ... even one that precludes Virginia from capturing its first-ever NCAA basketball championship.
