Dalton Tevlin/Sports Director
This past week will forever be remembered as one of the bleakest days in sports history.
It started with the NBA deciding to suspend the 2019-2020 season after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for the coronavirus. Soon after, the MLB, NFL, Nascar, NHL, XFL, and NCAA all decided to either suspend or cancel the rest of the season.
For the NCAA, president Mark Emmert announced on Thursday they would be canceling all men and women’s basketball tournaments.
While this is undoubtedly the safe decision, many FIU seniors they felt that they had played their last game in college.
For FIU’s senior center Osasumwen Osaghae, he is no stranger to unpredictable circumstances.
It would be ironic that Osaghae ends his FIU career in chaos, given his path to becoming the leading shot-blocker in the nation.
FIU basketball last played this past Wednesday in a crucial win against Rice in the first round of the C-USA tournament, they had no idea it would be the last game of their season.
“It’s just unusual and something that couldn’t have been predicted,” said Osaghae.
There was a feeling of disappointment among a Panthers team that was having one of their best seasons in nearly 25 years, feeling that their shot to do something special was snatched away from them.
However, Osaghae, and other FIU seniors like his teammates Devon Andrews and Trejob Jacobs, may have the opportunity to return next season.
The NCAA announced Friday that they will be providing “eligibility relief” to all senior athletes playing in Spring sports. While this mainly covers baseball and softball, a decision on winter sports has yet to be made.
While college basketball is most known for the annual March Madness tournament held in Spring, college basketball is classified as a winter sport.
Meaning no decision, if any, has been made regarding eligibility for NCAA basketball players.
With baseball and softball seniors being granted an extra year of eligibility, many are arguing the same be done for basketball.
With the NCAA canceling March Madness, there is immense pressure to provide eligibility relief to basketball programs as well.
This means, if they choose, all NCAA division 1 seniors will be granted an “extra year” of eligibility, allowing seniors like Osaghae to end their collegiate career the right way.
“Seniors like myself will never be able to achieve what we worked so hard for,” said Osaghae. “It’s definitely something I’d consider and weigh my options”.
It’s currently unclear how this will shake out with so much uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus. With new information and announcements made what seems like every hour, expect the NCAA to comment on basketball eligibility soon.
PantherNOW will continue to update you on all the NCAA’s decisions regarding coronavirus.
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