OSU Waiting on Eligibility Appeal for Olukemi
Oklahoma State men’s basketball student-athlete Jean-Paul Olukemi has just one semester of college basketball eligibility left before his five-year clock runs out. The reason is a mix-up back in his prep school days:
After Stoneridge Preparatory closed its doors midway through the year, the school’s coaches suggested Olukemi and his teammates take classes at nearby Riverside Junior College in California. … Those initial junior college classes, without his knowledge, started his eligibility clock. That was five years ago next semester.
OSU’s head coach Travis Ford compares the situation to Dennis Tinnon, who had a waiver approved to continue his career at Marshall after his five-year clock started without his knowledge when he enrolled at a junior college to earn his GED.
The two cases are very similar and Olukemi’s situation would seem to argue even more strongly for a waiver. Tinnon planned to practice with the team at Williston State while earning his GED, which more obviously would have started his clock, while it appears Olukemi never planned to do anything at Riverside Community College except take classes, on the advice of his prep coaches.
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