The NCAA and foreign-born players, it seems to always be a messy situation. After all, amateurism and professional sports are often intertwined across the pond. However, it appears there is a whole different set of circumstances for 20-year-old University of Wisconsin freshman forward Andy Van Vliet.
As we went to press with our exhibition game preview, the Badgers athletic department issued a statement confirming that Van Vliet will not participate in the exhibition matchup against UW-River Falls on Wednesday night.
It appears that the issue at hand is the amount of time spent away from a high school or prep school following the completion of high school for the Belgian.
From the UW statement:
NCAA rules state that prospective student-athletes have one year to enroll in a collegiate institution following their high school graduation or expected graduation date. Van Vliet played basketball as an amateur outside of that one-year window, which has resulted in the eligibility issue.
Citing factors outside of Van Vliet’s control, UW Athletics filed a waiver with the NCAA. UW was informed Wednesday afternoon that the waiver was denied and UW plans to appeal as soon as possible.
Should that appeal be denied it is likely that Van Vliet will loose this season of eligibility and be able to return to the Badgers in game situations as a sophomore next season. In effect, the rail-thin forward with the sharp shot from the outside could get time to bulk up. However, it appeared in scrimmages and the Red-White scrimmage in front of fans last week that Van Vliet was going to be a key component to the Badgers offensive attack off the bench.
We’ll have more on the matter as word gets to us.
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