Oregon guard Joseph Young’s waiver to gain immediate eligibility from the NCAA was granted, ESPN.com’s Andy Katz reported, giving the Ducks another backcourt weapon to complement Damyean Dotson, Dominic Artis and Johnathan Loyd. The news was later confirmed by the athletic department.
Young, who transferred from Houston this past summer after his dad was reassigned within the school's athletic department, averaged 18 points and 3.5 points for the Cougars. He will have two years of remaining eligibility and will give Oregon another deep threat—Young made 42 percent of his 3-point attempts last season.
The Ducks, picked fourth in last week’s Pac-12 preseason media poll, now have a much stronger case to challenge for the Pac-12 regular season title. They won the league tournament last March to get into the NCAA Tournament, reaching the Sweet 16 as a No. 12 seed after knocking off Oklahoma State and Saint Louis. The Ducks then lost in the regional semifinals to eventual national champion Louisville.
Oregon opens its season Nov. 8 vs. Georgetown in South Korea in the Armed Forces Classic. The Hoyas got their own good transfer news Thursday when Joshua Smith, a transfer from UCLA, was cleared by the NCAA to play immediately.
TWO CHAMPIONS CLASSICS?
Two very important news items came from one 90-second video with ESPN.com’s Andy Katz. First, Kentucky, Michigan State, Duke and Kansas are expected to renew vows for a second iteration of the Champions Classic, now in the third and final year of its round-robin format.
OK, a little disappointed that new teams aren’t being invited, until Katz notes that Wildcats coach John Calipari is working on having another Champions Classic-like event involving his team and three other marquee programs—Ohio State, UCLA and North Carolina.
Now we’re excited.
Bruins coach Steve Alford has confirmed his team’s participation in the event, according to ESPN, and Buckeyes coach Thad Matta says his team will play if the event is played. The Classic sites are expected to be Brooklyn, Las Vegas and somewhere in the Midwest.
Given Indianapolis’ success in conducting multiple Final Fours, it would have to be a city in contention to host the event, along with Detroit or Chicago.
Great idea, and it would be even greater to see execution on it.
FACEY ELIGIBLE
Connecticut player Kentan Facey was granted a waiver to play this season and allowed four years of eligibility by the NCAA, which was looking into eligibility issues related to his schooling in Jamaica, the university said Friday.
The 6-foot-9 forward had left the island's British education system to attend his final two years of high school at Long Island Lutheran High School.
The NCAA was looking into whether an exit exam he took in the British System before he left started his eligibility clock. The NCAA normally gives athletes one year after they leave high school to enroll in college without any penalties.
Facey took to Twitter Friday upon hearing he would be able to play this season.
"Uconn compliance staff is dead serious!!!! Thank you lord!!!! NCAA thank y'all too," he wrote.
Coach Kevin Ollie said the NCAA waiver means the 20-year-old Facey will have four years of eligibility starting this season.
"I can't say enough about what a model student-athlete Kentan has been in spite of the situation he was facing," Ollie said in a statement. "He never let circumstances distract his positive image of himself and that's just a testament to his strong character. We are very excited that he will be with us this year and beyond."
Connecticut has eight players returning from a team that finished with a 20-10 record last season, when it was academically ineligible for the NCAA Tournament.
He is expected to bolster a frontcourt, which had been the Huskies biggest question mark. Senior Tyler Olander was reinstated to the team this month after a suspension stemming from his arrest on drunken driving charges in September. Those charges were dropped after test results showed Olander was under the legal limit. He later pleaded guilty to driving without a license.
The team's other big men are sophomore Phil Nolan and another freshmen, 7-footer Amida Brimah out of Ghana.
UConn opens its season on Nov. 8 against Maryland at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Contributors: Roger Kuznia and The Associated Press