Two Connecticut Starters Ineligible

HARTFORD, Conn. — Sophomore point guard Ricky Moore and senior center Kirk King, both two-year starters for the University of Connecticut, were declared ineligible Thursday amid allegations they accepted improper gifts.

The university and the Big East Conference agreed that Moore and King would not play until all questions are answered regarding the allegations.

The university and the Big East did not identify the gifts. Published reports Thursday said King and Moore had accepted airplane tickets in 1995.

Moore’s mother, Dorothy Moore, told The Augusta (Ga.) Chronicle that her son accepted a round-trip plane ticket from Hartford to Augusta shortly before his first fall practice. She said Moore learned after accepting the trip that the ticket came from an agent, an unidentified friend of former Connecticut star Ray Allen, now with the Milwaukee Bucks.

Connecticut athletic director Lew Perkins insisted no games would be forfeited. The Huskies, 11-3 overall and 4-2 in the Big East, play top-ranked Kansas Sunday.