As expected, the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Board of Directors held a vote to decide the fate of professional athletes that have aspired to return to the college ranks. The board unanimously adopted a resolution to enforce eligibility requirements that effectively prevent many professional athletes from returning to college athletics.
The verbiage in the ACC’s decision isn’t quite as ambiguous as the language from the Big 12 decision, but
here is what we know for sure:
- Players that previously declared for the NFL, NBA, or WNBA draft and did not properly withdraw from said draft will no longer be eligible.
- Such cases include any player that signed with the NFL (or other professional football league), NBA/G-League, or WNBA (or affiliate). As it pertains to the NBA Summer League, a contract includes any Exhibit 10 or two-way contract, as well as any agreement to compensation that exceeded any type of per diem.
- Finally, players that were listed on any roster for the leagues mentioned above are ineligible.
With these regulations in mind, it seems as though Carolina Basketball may be safe from any additional roster attrition. The ACC didn’t allude to an issue with international pros joining college, so Sayon Keita and Alexandros Samodurov are presumably still eligible. Things can change overnight, and more clarification from the league may be provided in the near future, so take this declaration with a grain of salt. But the only other player that falls in the gray area of this decision is Neoklis Avdalas, but since he played for Virginia Tech last season I have a hard time thinking he is anywhere near a chopping block no matter what future rulings may transpire.
The other UNC-relevant part of this is that because former Tar Heel Seth Trimble never withdrew from the NBA Draft, participated in the Summer League, and agreed to an Exhibit 10 contract, his dream of becoming eligible to play for Louisville is essentially over. It’s obviously bad news for a guy who deserves one more crack at a national title, but something tells me that he could find his way on a NBA roster one day if he puts in the work. His athleticism, basketball IQ, and overall competitiveness is enough to keep NBA teams intrigued, but also the G-League is a tough league to exit. Hopefully everything works out for him moving forward.
Now we will wait and see if the ACC elaborates on anything announced today, and we will provide any additional information that may be particularly relevant to the Tar Heels. But what do you think about the ACC’s decision? Let us know in the comments below.
