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Texas point guard Myck Kabongo will travel to Maui but hasn’t been cleared to play

Texas' Kabongo battles for the ball with Cincinnati's Wright during their men's NCAA basketball game in Nashville

Texas’ Myck Kabongo (12) battles for the ball with Cincinnati’s Cashmere Wright (L) during their men’s NCAA basketball game in Nashville, Tennessee March 16, 2012. REUTERS/Harrison McClary (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT BASKETBALL)

REUTERS

According to a release sent out by the school Texas sophomore point guard Myck Kabongo has been cleared to travel with the team to Maui, where they will play in the Maui Invitational next week.

However the Toronto native still has not been cleared to play as a result of an ongoing investigation into how his expenses were paid for on a summer trip to Akron, Ohio for a workout.

While friend and former Findlay Prep teammate Tristan Thompson, a forward for the Cleveland Cavaliers, came forward and admitted that he paid for Kabongo’s expenses the NCAA is looking into a relationship between Kabongo and agent Rich Paul.

Thompson stated that Kabongo’s brother reimbursed him for the payment of Kabongo’s expenses for that trip to Akron.

“Did I pay for him? Well, yes and no,” Thompson said. ”You know, I actually had to pay for it and then had his brother reimburse me, which is totally fine with the NCAA, we discussed that. Again, we want to respect the process. I think everything’s going to work out. I don’t see no eligibility issues, but that’s for the NCAA to work out.”

With Kabongo sidelined the first two games Texas head coach Rick Barnes handed the keys to the offense to freshman Javan Felix, one of three freshmen to start for the 2-0 Longhorns.

In two games Felix has struggled with his shooting, going 5-of-18 from the field in wins over Fresno State and Coppin State. In the 55-53 win over Fresno State, Felix finished with ten points, nine rebounds and an assist but while failing to score in the win over Coppin State he dished out nine assists.

Over the course of two games the New Orleans native has tallied ten assists and 11 turnovers with an average of 35.5 minutes per contest.

Offensively for the Longhorns it’s been sophomore Sheldon McClellan leading the way, as he’s the lone player averaging double figures (22.5 ppg) while shooting 50% from the field. Six players are averaging between 5.0 and 7.5 points per game, with freshman forward Ioannis Papepetrou averaging 7.5 points and 8.0 rebounds.

Texas’ first game in Maui is against host Chaminade and while the Silverswords have pulled off a few upsets throughout the history of the event, it’s unlikely that Texas would be in serious trouble if Kabongo was forced to sit that one out.

Take care of Chaminade and the Longhorns would face either Illinois or USC in the semifinals.

Raphielle also writes for the NBE Basketball Report and can be followed on Twitter at @raphiellej.