Today, Adam Zagoria tweeted, that former Rutgers wing--and Mike Rice's first recruit of his own--was granted a hardship waiver. He will not have to sit out next year and will be eligible to play immediately. By all accounts, Eli Carter is waiting to hear back about his hardship waiver down in Florida. As is Derrick Randall at Pitt.
One tends to wonder, though, what was Carter and Poole's hardship?
Was it playing for Mike Rice, and suffering those terrible practices we all saw on video? Or was it the coach's firing?
It's a tricky situation, and one that will also tie into the public perception of the Rutgers' program.
Meanwhile, by all accounts, Rutgers is still waiting to hear about Kerwin Okoro and JJ Moore's waivers. While Rutgers is apparently very confident both will get their waivers, neither has been officially announced. Okoro's waiver, after losing his brother and father last year, appears to be a slam dunk.
So, why the wait?
Is the NCAA punishing Rutgers for letting Mike Rice coach there? Unlikely.
What is likely is the NCAA is going to make Rutgers sweat it out for a while. But, with any luck, Moore and Okoro will be on the court next year, and Rutgers can finally put this mess behind them.
What do you think?
Will the rest of the Rutgers who transferred because of the Rice situation play immediately? And what of Moore and Okoro?
There is still a lot of time before practice opens on 10/1