Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
PROVO — College athletes denied the chance to play after transferring a second time may be able to return to competition after a district judge issued a temporary restraining order Wednesday against the NCAA, but the matter may be a bit more complicated for BYU's Marcus Adams Jr.
The ruling by U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey in northern West Virginia would seemingly apply to all schools, but Adams didn't see the court during the Cougars' 90-74 win over Denver on the first day of the 14-day restraining order. The ruling comes in response to a lawsuit filed by West Virginia and six other states alleging the rule's waiver process violates federal antitrust law, according to the Associated Press.
The NCAA said in a statement that it would comply with the order and notify schools accordingly. A hearing on the restraining order is scheduled for Dec. 27.
The association clarified to Front Office Sports that if the ruling is overturned after an athlete plays during the two-week period, the athlete will not lose a year of future eligibility for violating his or her year-in-residence. In other words, the games won't count, per Amanda Christovich.
But many schools and programs are taking a more measured approach to the ruling after the NCAA didn't send any additional instructions to member schools in the hours following the ruling, according to veteran college basketball reporter Jeff Goodman. BYU is no different in that regard, head coach Mark Pope noted.
"We're trying to make sure it's all real," Pope said after Wednesday's game. "As you can imagine, sometimes communication between universities and the NCAA can be super complicated. So until we get the final-final-final stuff, and some nuances to the ruling that we're trying to make sure on. We do tend to end up on the conservative side of making sure. But we'll see what we can do and how fast we can press forward."
Mark Pope addresses Marcus Adams and the NCAA stay via court ruling today: pic.twitter.com/zrPx2ZvqBZ
— Sean Walker (@ActuallyDSW) December 14, 2023
NCAA rules allow one free transfer for all underclassmen without having to sit out a year, but requires a year-in-residence for any undergraduate athlete that attempts to transfer a second time without an approved waiver.
In January, the NCAA implemented stricter guidelines for granting those waivers, a ruling that has been challenged by a joint lawsuit led by West Virginia basketball player RaeQuan Battle, among others, seeking a restraining order for immediate eligibility. The states involved in the lawsuit were Colorado, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and West Virginia.
The ruling could also impact the eligibility of Deivon Smith, who transferred to Utah from Georgia Tech after spending his freshman season at Mississippi State and had his waiver for immediate eligibility denied on Dec. 4.
Adams, a former four-star recruit from Torrance, California, came to BYU after initially reclassifying from the Class of 2024 to enroll in college early. The No. 46 prospect in the country by 247Sports initially signed with Kansas before entering the transfer portal four days before summer workouts were scheduled to begin and signed with Gonzaga.
His stay in Spokane lasted less than a month, when Adams re-entered the portal, visited BYU on Aug. 27, and signed with the Cougars less than a week later in joining Charlotte transfer Aly Khalifa and former UC Irvine scoring wing Dawson Baker as newcomers.
Adams earned high praise during preseason workouts from his teammates, even while struggling with a foot injury that limited his practice time while he submitted his waiver.
"He's awesome. He's young, a lot younger than the rest of us, which is a credit to him to come in at a young age and jump into the swing of things," point guard Dallin Hall told KSL.com of Adams. "He's just picking it up and trying to be a sponge, take it all in. He has good energy, loves to laugh, loves to have fun, and we like having him around. He's a great addition, and we're excited to see what he gives us out there."
Adding to Adams' complication is a nagging foot injury that kept him sidelined for much of the preseason. Obviously, without a waiver for his eligibility, rehabilitation has been allowed to drag on.
That could be changing soon, Pope admitted.
"He was in full shootaround today for the first time," he said. "So we'll see. We'll know more in the next few days."
