NCAA, Not Caring About Ater

From Mike Anthony, The Hartford Courant
The wait for Ater Majok's status is over. The wait for Ater Majok himself will continue for almost another year.

UConn announced Wednesday night that Majok, a 6-10 forward from Sudan via Australia, has been granted partial eligibilty by the NCAA. He will move into a dorm and begin classes at UConn Thursday, and he is eligible to practice with the team. However, Majok is not eligible to play in games until after exams of the fall 2009 semester.

That means Majok, who has been in the U.S. for 88 days awaiting word from the NCAA eligibility center, will begin playing about 10 games into next season.

"It's good but it's bad," Majok said. "It's bad because I don't get to play [immediately] but it's good because I can get acclimated. I'll practice and get to know the team."

Majok, who left war-torn Sudan and moved to Egypt as a boy, eventually ending up in Australia, said he will be a pre-law major. If the NBA doesn't work out, he would like to be a lawyer and an archeologist.

Majok, as a partial qualifier, will be allowed to sit on the bench during home games but can not travel -- unless he travels on his own, as he did for last Thursday's game at St. John's.

Really, Ater? A lawyer AND an archeologist? Come on. I mean, really. First Rip gets benched, then Bynum rubs it in our face with 42 points, and now the NCAA bones us with Majok? The sky is falling on UConn basketball.