Touted recruit Sallie won't join Huskers

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BY BRIAN ROSENTHAL

A wrinkle in a Big 12 Conference rule will keep highly-touted recruit Roburt Sallie from ever playing basketball at Nebraska, or any Big 12 school.

Nebraska coach Doc Sadler on Tuesday told the Journal Star that Sallie, despite earning good grades at City College of San Francisco, can't attend NU.

The Big 12 Council, a group comprised of faculty athletic representatives, last week turned down Nebraska's request for a waiver of Rule 6.2, which states that any student-athlete who enrolls at a conference institution must meet NCAA initial eligibility requirements.

Sallie had not met those requirements when he enrolled part-time at Nebraska in the fall of 2006 while waiting to learn if the NCAA academic clearinghouse would grant him eligibility.

That Sallie is on the verge of receiving his associate's degree from City College doesn't alter his status within the league.

"If he's going to be eligible to compete and receive financial aid at a Big 12 school, you have to be a qualifier before you enroll, either full or part-time," Nebraska faculty athletics representative Jo Potuto said Tuesday.

Had Sallie enrolled full-time at Nebraska, he wouldn't be eligible to play at any NCAA institution. But the Big 12 rule includes part-time status, meaning Sallie is not eligible to play for a Big 12 school, but he is eligible to play elsewhere.

"For the purposes of the Big 12 rule," Potuto said, "it doesn't matter if you're full or part-time."

Kansas and Memphis were among schools who initially recruited Sallie. A person close to the situation said Kentucky may now also be in the mix.

Potuto said Sallie, in essence, was faced with a decision in the fall of 2006 while waiting for word from the NCAA clearinghouse.

"The prospect is trying to make a decision, whether to enroll — thinking that the NCAA waiver process is going to work and you're going to be a qualifier – or not," Potuto said. "The other choice — if you don't (enroll) — by the time the waiver process is finished, even if you are then determined to be a qualifier, it's going to be too late in the semester."

The NCAA clearinghouse deemed Sallie, who attended Laurinburg Prep, ineligible, and ensuing appeals were denied. Sallie then dropped out of classes at Nebraska, and in the spring of 2007 enrolled at City College.

There, Sallie was named the California junior college player of the year in 2007-08. He re-signed with Nebraska in November.

"The University of Nebraska has exhausted all avenues to permit Roburt to attend and compete for the Huskers," Sadler said. "We all feel badly for Roburt and his situation. We know how much he wanted to come to Nebraska, and we were counting on him coming as well."

 
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That is just BS. If a kid wants to pay his own way and get himself settled in as far as classes and stuff goes before he is cleared to earn a scholarship how does that make him ineligible to get that scholarship? You are punishing a kid for WANTING to come in and PAY for his own schooling, making it that much harder for a kid to transition into a college lifestyle.

 
this ruined my day and honestly my high hopes for next season...there is a chance now that we wont see any new players on the court next year except the redshirts from last year.

 
so with all probablity NU will not get either one of their recuirts this year(because of Niemann's play in Europe). It really sucks but could have been avoided. The rule doesn't even make since and is just political garbage dedhoarse . I wonder if the blame goes to Doc, Salie, or the complinance staff

Sounds like Salie's attroney is trying to fight this- http://www.journalstar.com/articles/2008/0...9d717231954.txt

 
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Sallie's side of the story:

Attorney: NU recruit Sallie didn't know he was enrolled

BY BRIAN ROSENTHAL / Lincoln Journal Star

An attorney for Roburt Sallie said the Nebraska basketball recruit never knew he was enrolled in classes at NU in the fall of 2006.

"He didn't know anything about it, and neither did I," Don Jackson told the Journal Star on Wednesday. "And the other thing that's interesting about this is, I don't think (Nebraska's compliance staff) knew anything about it, either."

Jackson, who represented Sallie through appeals to the NCAA academic clearinghouse in 2006, said he's still waiting to see proof of either Sallie's enrollment, or his withdrawal, from Nebraska.

"We don't have anything like that," Jackson said.

Nebraska faculty athletics representative Jo Potuto, who's fielding all questions on behalf of the university regarding Sallie's status, said there is record of Sallie's enrollment and withdrawal within the first week of classes.

Sallie, by attending classes part time for a four-day period, was in violation of Big 12 Conference Rule 6.2, which states that any student-athlete who enrolls at a league institution, either part-time or full-time, must meet NCAA initial eligibility requirements.

Sallie, who'd signed a letter-of-intent to play at Nebraska in 2006-07, hadn't met those requirements.

"When Roburt enrolled part-time in 2006, he was advised that this could create a problem with the Big 12 rule," Potuto said. "Those are the things that were laid out for them."

The NCAA academic clearinghouse deemed Sallie ineligible and denied three appeals. Sallie then attended City College of San Francisco, where, according to coach Justin Labagh, Sallie has achieved good grades and is on the verge of receiving his associate's degree.

But because Nebraska says Sallie was enrolled part-time in 2006, Sallie needed a waiver from the Big 12 Council to allow him to play after he re-signed last November.

Last week, that waiver was denied, meaning Sallie is not eligible to play at Nebraska, or any Big 12 school.

"If there was an issue, why was he allowed to re-sign in November?" Jackson asked. "I'll tell you why. Because compliance (officials at Nebraska) didn't know that this mix-up had occurred.

"There was a mix-up, and he's having to suffer the consequences of it."

Jackson said Sallie did attend classes from Aug. 21 through Aug. 24, 2006, on his own accord, "based on the assumption that when he was cleared, he would then be enrolled in those classes and be eligible."

He said Sallie, who rented his own apartment, didn't purchase books, instead borrowing those of classmates. He didn't know whether Sallie had paid for his hours.

Why would Sallie attend classes while believing he wasn't enrolled? Jackson said Sallie wanted to keep up to date on the coursework so that he wasn't behind if he ever became eligible.

"That was done all over the country during that summer," Jackson said. "If he is cleared (before the drop-add deadline), then he hasn't missed anything. He's not behind, he can enroll in school full-time, and he can play in the fall."

So if Sallie was enrolled, but didn't know it, who enrolled him? Jackson points to Nebraska's academic services.

"If I had to guess, I would say the decision to enroll him was probably an oversight," he said. "I don't think anybody had malicious intent. I think it was probably an oversight."

Potuto denied Jackson's claim that Sallie was enrolled without knowing.

"I think that's just not credible," Potuto said.

Jackson said neither he nor Sallie knew anything about the need for a waiver until Sunday – three days after the request had been denied.

"The University of Nebraska didn't even bother to contact him or me," he said. "They clearly knew I represented him the first time around. It would've been better off to put us on notice of what was going on."

Potuto, who presented Sallie's case to the Big 12 Council, said Sallie wasn't contacted because he was busy with final exams, and that there was no further information needed from him in regard to the waiver request.

"Trying to interrupt somebody while he's taking exams and while he's finishing up his classwork would not have been prudent," Potuto said.

As for informing Jackson?

"I do not know Don Jackson," Potuto said. "These are private matters, and we don't, as an institution, inform individuals when things are proceeding.

"I didn't know Don Jackson represented Roburt Sallie now. I didn't know Don Jackson represented him last week or two weeks ago, even if that's true."

Jackson said he doesn't envision taking legal action.

"What Roburt wants to do right now is see if there's any recourse as far as getting eligible (at Nebraska)," he said.

What are those odds?

"To be frank with you, I have to reserve judgment on that because no one in the athletic department has shared any information with me," he said. "None."

As for Sallie, Jackson said many schools have been contacting him, but he didn't have any idea where he may go.

"This is not something that he's placing any blame on anybody for," Jackson said. "He's just merely disappointed."

 
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Callipri, said today that Sallie might be a starter and definitely will be a huge competitor.

That really ticks me off that NU messed up that much, and lost such a talented player. :bang

 
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