| | ST. LOUIS -- The NCAA ruled Tuesday night that Missouri
freshman forward Kareem Rush can regain his eligibility, but must
be held out of half of the Tigers' games.
"We're all in support of Kareem," coach Quin Snyder said after
a 78-72 upset of No. 15 Illinois. "I'm glad it's settled and we'll
try and make something positive out of it."
The school plans to appeal the ruling on Wednesday to the NCAA
Subcommittee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement, and anticipates the
case will be heard next week. Athletics director Mike Alden
complained that there was no statute of limitations.
"When you see something impact somebody, particularly on issues
that took place when he was 15 years old, that's even more
troubling," Alden said. "He's a great representative of our
university."
The 6-foot-6 Rush averaged 10.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and played
about 25 minutes a game in the first eight games. He has sat out
the last two pending an investigation into alleged payment from an
AAU coach in Kansas City before he enrolled at Missouri.
The NCAA in its ruling said that Rush will be required to repay the money, which will go to a charity of his choice.
Missouri met with a representative of the U.S. Attorney's office
for the Western District of Missouri on Monday. The NCAA also is
investigating the coach involved, Myron Piggie, for alleged
payments to Kareem Rush and his older brother, JaRon Rush of UCLA.
JaRon Rush also has been suspended.
Alden also complained that the authorities arrived unannounced.
"It's the first time I've every been exposed to that, and I can
tell you it was a unique experience and one that was a little
foreign to me," Alden said. "When we make an appearance at
someone's office, we usually make an appointment or we call ahead,
or we usually announce ourselves before we arrive."
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ALSO SEE
Report: JaRon Rush told UCLA officials he accepted money
Feds to share info with NCAA in Piggie-AAU case
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