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PROVO, Utah (Nov. 23, 2006) - BYU men's basketball coach Dave Rose today announced that 6-foot-6 freshman forward Jonathan Tavernari will play Friday when the Cougars host Southern Utah in the Marriott Center.
A native of Sao Bernardo, Brazil, Tavernari has not played in BYU's first three regular-season games as a potential redshirt while a review of his two years of high school in the United States was being conducted by the NCAA.
"We decided to redshirt Jonathan indefinitely until the matter was resolved," Rose said. "We received initial news from the NCAA that Jonathan would need to sit out three games and have been waiting to hear on the results of the complete review. We received word from the NCAA this week that their extensive review is now finished and that no further action is required. After sitting out the first three nonconference games, we have made the decision that he will not redshirt this season. He will dress and be ready to go Friday against Southern Utah."
Despite BYU seeking and obtaining the appropriate approval, Tavernari's three-game suspension stems from living with longtime family friend and current BYU assistant coach Walter Roese when Tavernari first came to the United States from Brazil.
In the spring of 2004, the Tavernari family contacted Roese, a fellow Brazilian and close family friend, to ask if Tavernari could stay with the Roese family to attend high school in Utah. Roese, then the director of men's basketball operations, sought guidance from the BYU Compliance Office, which requested and was granted permission from the Mountain West Conference Compliance Office for Tavernari to live with the Roese family for that year.
Tavernari lived with Roese's family while attending one year at Timpview High School, a public school in Provo, Utah, in 2004-05. He then completed his senior year at Bishop Gorman High School, a private school in Las Vegas, in 2005-06. After Tavernari signed with the Cougars this past spring, BYU, at the request of Coach Rose and his staff, asked the NCAA to confirm the MWC interpretation regarding Tavernari's stay in Utah with the Roese family and also review his year in Las Vegas.
The NCAA review of Tavernari's two years in the United States, both in Provo and in Las Vegas, found no issues related to any BYU staff members. The NCAA determined that despite the documented 2004 decision rendered by the MWC Compliance Office, Tavernari must pay living expenses for the year he stayed with the Roese family to a nonprofit charity and sit out three games.
"After being told the original interpretation we received was not correct, we wanted to make sure the NCAA conducted a thorough review of Jonathan's entire high school experience, including his senior year in Las Vegas," Rose said. "Jonathan's a good kid. He did everything right. We wanted to make sure there were no other issues or surprises before we made any definitive decisions about his redshirt situation this year. We appreciate the efforts of our compliance office and the NCAA in bringing closure to this matter."
Tavernari can play both the small forward and power forward positions. He averaged 7.0 points and 6.0 rebounds in 10.5 minutes of action in BYU's two exhibition games this season while making 4-of-7 three-point attempts. ###
