NU signee Standhardinger is eligible

[Husker_Power]

NU signee Standhardinger is eligible

OWH

 

 

LINCOLN - Nebraska basketball signee Christian Standhardinger from Germany has cleared a major hurdle in his efforts to play for the Huskers this season.

 

The NCAA Clearinghouse on Friday confirmed the 6-foot-8, 210-pounder's academic eligibility for 2009-10, coach Doc Sadler said Saturday.

 

Now, Standhardinger (pronounced stand-HARDING-err) must go through the process of obtaining a visa and other documents that allow international students to enter the country.

 

That paperwork couldn't start until he received NCAA clearance.

 

Sadler declined to speculate on whether Standhardinger would arrive in time to enroll for the first semester.

 

"I think we'll know a lot more on Monday,'' Sadler said.

 

Good news in Nebraska basketball never seems to come without some bad, too.

 

Center Christopher Niemann, who formerly was a teammate of Standhardinger's in Germany, recently reinjured the same knee he had surgery on in March for a torn ACL.

 

Sadler said the extent of the 6-foot-11 sophomore's new injury isn't known. The setback occurred during a supervised rehab session.

 

As for Standhardinger, he signed a letter of intent with the Huskers last November, yet the NCAA didn't rule on his case until 279 days later.

 

With that in mind, Sadler said, Nebraska has filed for a waiver of the 13-scholarship limit for the coming season with the NCAA. Because NU continued to recruit late into the summer, it finds itself at least one scholarship over the limit.

 

Sadler said no decision has been reached on the status of senior forward Chris Balham, who has been severely limited by injuries. A source with knowledge of the situation said Balham, who graduated last week, likely won't be on the active roster.

 

How the scholarship list will shake out, "I don't know,'' Sadler said.

 

A source who asked for anonymity said one new recruit, 6-4 freshman Adrien Coleman from Stone Mountain, Ga., arrived on campus Friday.

 

Another, 6-5 sophomore Myles Holley from Norfolk, Va., was delayed one day and was expected to come Saturday.

 

The NCAA ruling on Standhardinger appears to break new ground.

 

Previously, all players on foreign club teams - even if only one member of the roster was paid - had been declared professional. The penalty for players such as Nebraska's Niemann and Iowa State's Lucca Staiger was to sit one year and lose one year of eligibility.

 

The NCAA has legislation prepared to alleviate the quandary labeled "vicarious professionalism,'' but that vote isn't scheduled until August 2010.

 

Standhardinger, 20, played well enough at Urspring Academy this season to attract attention from NBA and European pro league scouts.

 

In 22 games, he averaged 22.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists. He was the player of the month in January after consecutive games of 29, 28, 28, 28 and 28 points. The previous season, he had a 52-point game.

 

Web sites that cover European basketball have compared his slashing, unorthodox offensive style in some ways to a young Dirk Nowitzki, now with the Dallas Mavericks. Other sites say his defense needs work.

[redout22]

Good. This will add some well needed size.