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Mike Miller

Mike Miller has been NBCSports.com's college basketball editor since 2003. It's a position he relishes; no wonder considering he transferred to Kansas to watch Paul Pierce play. Most of his favorite sports memories involve college hoops, usually during March, when every waking moment is spent thinking about March Madness.



Could 'Nova get into troble with Yarou?

Posted: Tuesday, November 10, 2009 10:00 AM
Filed Under: ,

Villanova’s dynamite recruiting class is one reason why the Wildcats are a Final Four favorite and favored to win the Big East. Adding two elite guards and a power forward like Mouphtaou Yarou should be enough to offset the losses of guys like Dante  Cunningham and Shane Clark to make another NCAA tournament run.

But ‘Nova may have just hit a speed bump. Turns out Yarou may not be eligible to play.

An odd twist first reported by the Sporting News’ Mike DeCourcy highlights an irregularity in Yarou’s age. A Web site for FIBA – basketball’s governing body – shows that he played in the 2007 Africa club tournament with a listed age of 23. That would make Yarou 25 entering this season and ineligible to play.

Villanova coach Jay Wright told Sporting News that Yarou was OK’d by the NCAA clearinghouse after it examined his transcripts and passport. And the school’s compliance officer says it’s not an issue.

"I don't have a compelling need to look into it because I believe it's probably a typo," Gordon Finch, Villanova's associate athletic director for compliance, told Sporting News. "We've got his passport, his naturalization papers and his international student athlete form, all of which don't have that as his birthdate."

Any eligibility issues would arise from NCAA rule 14.2.3.5, which pertains to athletes playing on other teams after their 21st birthday. Or, as DeCourcy points out, the NCAA could ding him for lying about his age. After all, Yarou wouldn’t be the first athlete to do that.

I’m sure the school did its due diligence on Yarou. And if the clearinghouse says he’s good to go, then that should be enough, right? Or not…

UPDATE: Wright announced that Yarou has been cleared to play Friday. I'm rooting for everything to work out.

Follow me on Twitter (@BeyndArcMMiller) and get more college basketball news at NBCSports.com.

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Mouph is good to go according to Jay.

Mike (Sent Tuesday, November 10, 2009 3:41 PM)



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