Texas Tech hoops under NCAA rules cloud

• Tweet

LUBBOCK, Texas, Sept. 6 (UPI) -- Texas Tech is investigating NCAA allegations that its men's basketball team violated team practice rules, the school's athletics director said.

The charges stem from allegations that Coach Billy Gillispie, at the team's helm since last March, forced injured players to practice and mistreated players, prompting a dual "personnel" review by the school, USA Today reported.

Gillispie checked into a Texas hospital Friday, telling the Lubbock (Texas) Avalanche-Journal he'd experienced heart attack or stroke-like symptoms. Gillispie remains hospitalized.

Kirby Hocutt, the school's athletics director, said Gillispie's health conditions have prevented the school from interviewing the coach and expressed concern for his condition.

"We remain concerned about Coach Gillispie's health. We want him to make a full recovery and move forward with that. ... We will continue to gather facts and we will continue to move forward with the NCAA rules component as well as the personnel component as expeditiously as possible," Hocutt said.

NCAA rules prohibit teams from practicing more than 20 hours per week during the season and more than 4 hours per session.

"We used to go more than 4 hours all the time," former guard Kevin Wagner told CBSSports.com.

Gillispie, 52, entered a substance abuse program in 2009 after his third drunken driving arrest in 10 years. He has previously coached powerhouses Kentucky and Texas A&M.