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The NCAA Division I Council voted on Wednesday to present all winter student-athletes — most notably, for our functions, males’s basketball gamers — an additional yr of eligibility. So let me be the primary to congratulate the Kentucky Wildcats as a result of this ought to be the factor that will get Olivier Sarr eligible for this season.
I am going to clarify why momentarily. However first, let me again up.
For these unfamiliar, Sarr is a 7-foot, 255-pound ahead from France who averaged 13.7 factors and 9.0 rebounds in 26.7 minutes per sport final season at Wake Forest. After Danny Manning was fired in late April, greater than six weeks after the season ended, Sarr, who performed three seasons within the ACC, introduced his intention to switch. Unsurprisingly, he enrolled at Kentucky — with one yr of eligibility remaining, however not as a graduate-transfer — with the thought being that he might fill an apparent gap on an in any other case immensely proficient roster. So Sarr utilized for a switch waiver in an try to realize quick eligibility.
The NCAA reportedly granted the waiver weeks in the past.
However just a little factor generally known as SEC bylaw 14.1.15 stays an impediment for Sarr as a result of it states that “a student-athlete who, upon enrollment on the certifying establishment, has lower than two years of eligibility remaining shall not be eligible for intercollegiate competitors at a member establishment till the scholar has fulfilled a residence requirement of 1 full educational yr on the certifying establishment.”
Which brings me again to Wednesday’s information.
Guess who not has lower than two years of eligibility remaining?
All people — together with Oliver Sarr.
So that ought to do it.
Now, if you wish to nitpick, I suppose you possibly can argue that SEC bylaw 14.1.15 explicitly states that “a student-athlete who, upon enrollment on the certifying establishment, has lower than two years of eligibility remaining shall not be eligible for intercollegiate competitors at a member establishment till the scholar has fulfilled a residence requirement of 1 full educational yr on the certifying establishment,” and that, no matter what the NCAA voted to do Wednesday, Sarr did certainly have lower than two years of eligibility remaining upon his enrollment at Kentucky. Technically, that is true. However conserving him ineligible based mostly on that wording would clearly violate the spirit of the rule now that Sarr not has lower than two years of eligibility remaining. So, in the end, I don’t imagine that shall be a difficulty. Which is why it is affordable to recommend no one goes to profit extra this season than John Calipari’s Kentucky Wildcats from the NCAA Division I Council voting on Wednesday to grant all winter student-athletes an additional yr of eligibility.
The wealthy, as they are saying, are about to get richer.
Will Olivier Sarr be nice at UK?
I am actually unsure.
Keep in mind, Kerry Blackshear was anticipated to be a monster final season when he enrolled at Florida after taking part in three full years at Virginia Tech — however he simply wasn’t. Two years in the past, some thought Reid Travis can be among the best bigs within the nation when he enrolled at Kentucky after taking part in three full years at Stanford — however he simply wasn’t. So the current historical past with these items is not nice. However, both means, Sarr ought to be, on paper at the least, Kentucky’s finest accessible massive. And, even when he is not, he’ll add much-needed expertise to a roster that is returning just one participant from final season’s staff that completed 25-6.
Backside line, his addition shall be welcomed.
And now the SEC has a very good cause to clear him.
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