The NCAA will not allow former Gophers forward and Minnesota Mr. Basketball Royce White to play for Iowa State this year, according to the Associated Press. But Iowa State will "exhaust every option" in its appeal of the NCAA's decision to deny White's bid for a waiver.
Following a pair of legal issues, White withdrew from Minnesota in February without ever playing for the team. He was suspended after a shoplifting incident at the Mall of America last October and remained sidelined when police questioned him about a missing laptop at a campus dorm that November.
After topping a 3.0 GPA during the first semester of his freshman year, White officially quit the team and withdrew from school days after students returned from winter break.
Although the NCAA requires Division I transfers to fulfill a two-semester residency before they can play (most sit out a year), White requested a waiver to play during the 2010-11 season. He argued that he was held out of competition for something he didn't do and wanted a chance to play with his new team this year.
The NCAA could give White another shot if his appeal is successful. But it would set an interesting precedent. If a guy who dropped out of school in the middle of the second semester gets the chance to play for another team the following year, what would stop other players from doing the same thing?
I could be wrong. But I don't think we'll see White on the floor this year.
