JARED PECK Lexington Herald-Leader

Former University of Kentucky basketball players John Wall and Karl-Anthony Towns each said this week that while they have heard of the kinds of allegations being talked about in the recent federal investigation into college basketball recruiting, neither of them took part in that kind of thing.

Wall, an NBA All-Star point guard for the Washington Wizards, said it was foolish to entertain such offers in an interview on CSNMidAtlantic.com.

“If you are the No. 1 guy or the top guy, you’re going to have guys come at you,” Wall said. “But you have to be smart about it. If you are only going to school for one year, there’s no point in doing all the extra stuff.

“If you don’t have any money and have been poor your whole life, another eight months won’t hurt.”

Wall said he wouldn’t comment on the allegations, but added “I was trusting no one. Listen, I grew up without a dad since the age of 9. It was my mom working three or four jobs to support our family. If she could provide (for) me then, then she could provide for me when I was 17 or 18 years old for a few months. You know what I mean? You couldn’t do nothing for me then. I’d been poor my whole life. Eight months? What is that money going to do for me? I was fine with it.”

Towns, who, like Wall was a No. 1 overall NBA draft pick out of Kentucky and now plays for the Minnesota Timberwolves, told Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated that the allegations that have swept up a number of programs including Louisville are not surprising.

“It’s something that people kind of felt, but we didn’t know how big it truly was,” Towns said. “I would be sitting here lying to you if I said it was surprising and shocking. I don’t think it’s surprising or shocking. The number of people involved is shocking. That’s the biggest thing. I’m very, very fortunate to have had a very good time in college and be with a great school and doing the right thing.”