Kentucky coach John Calipari said during an interview with ESPN that prized freshman big man Nerlens Noel has been cleared by the NCAA to practice and play.

Calipari, appearing on SportsCenter as part of a series of promotional interviews advancing of Wednesday night's all-access ESPN program about the UK program, was asked about Noel's eligibility.

"He's cleared to practice and cleared to play in games. ... Everything is good to go," the coach said.

UK spokesman DeWayne Peevy said the school will have no update on Noel prior to the first game.

Sports Illustrated reported in August that the NCAA had expanded its review of Noel's eligibility. The report said the review was not on academics but on activities surrounding Noel's recruitment, including how he paid for unofficial campus visits.