Doug McDermott to "walk-on" this season at Creighton

[Da Coach]

In an effort to help his team and his coach (father Greg McDermott) Doug McDermott will give up his scholarship for his senior season at Creighton and will play as a "walk-on" this year.

https://twitter.com/GoodmanESPN/status/352116675409223680

Creighton was out of scholarships when the NCAA somewhat unexpectedly granted a 6th year of eligibility to graduating senior Grant Gibbs, thus requiring the McDermotts get creative to open up another scholarship-

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/9444744/grant-gibbs-creighton-bluejays-gets-6th-year-eligibility

Gibbs has already played 2 full seasons at Creighton, but he sat out his first year at Gonzaga with injuries, then also sat out a second year after transferring to Creighton. So by the NCAA's rules (NCAA rules allow for only 1 redshirt year, and players must play all 4 eligible years within a 5-calendar year period), he had used up his eligibility

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/players/81539

[tornado]

but what's highly unorthodox - is that one of Gibbs' years was consumed waiting out after his transfer - and the specifics of the rule for a 6th year say it has to be something outside of the players control and a transfer is not...

this failure to get a 6th year cost Taylor Brown one of his seasons at Bradley - so I guess I am a bit puzzled why the NCAA is so arbitrary and allows such a waiver when Gibbs' does NOT meet the specific criteria - but they denied Taylor Brown...

so throughout all of NCAA's history they rarely ever allowed the 6th year to players who transferred.

Here are a couple of our older discussions on this topic

http://bradleyfans.com/vb/showpost.php?p=101445&postcount=22

http://bradleyfans.com/vb/showthread.php?t=17451

anyway - if the coach pays the tuition so that one of his players can be on the team without a scholarship -
that should still be a violation (extra benefits that are NOT available to every player or student)
even if he's paying for his son...

[amckillip]

but what's highly unorthodox - is that one of Gibbs' years was consumed waiting out after his transfer - and the specifics of the rule for a 6th year say it has to be something outside of the players control and a transfer is not...

this failure to get a 6th year cost Taylor Brown one of his seasons at Bradley - so I guess I am a bit puzzled why the NCAA is so arbitrary and allows such a waiver when Gibbs' does NOT meet the specific criteria - but they denied Taylor Brown...

so throughout all of NCAA's history they rarely ever allowed the 6th year to players who transferred.

Here are a couple of our older discussions on this topic

http://bradleyfans.com/vb/showpost.php?p=101445&postcount=22

http://bradleyfans.com/vb/showthread.php?t=17451

anyway - if the coach pays the tuition so that one of his players can be on the team without a scholarship -
that should still be a violation (extra benefits that are NOT available to every player or student)
even if he's paying for his son...

If it is anything like BU, McDermott would attend for free...

[CABUFan]

but what's highly unorthodox - is that one of Gibbs' years was consumed waiting out after his transfer - and the specifics of the rule for a 6th year say it has to be something outside of the players control and a transfer is not...

this failure to get a 6th year cost Taylor Brown one of his seasons at Bradley - so I guess I am a bit puzzled why the NCAA is so arbitrary and allows such a waiver when Gibbs' does NOT meet the specific criteria - but they denied Taylor Brown...

Do we know for a fact that TB applied for another year? I was under the impression that he had not.

[Nacho]

Orginally CU said Douggie would get a 50% discount on tuition because of his dad working at the school but they just put out a correction that he is not eligible for that, as you have to work at the University for 5 years to get a 50% discount. Daddy gonna be forking out $35-$40k for Douggie this season...

[LongTimeFan]

You have to remember that Creighton is not a member of a 'mid-major' conference anymore.

[Da Coach]

I am happy to see Gibbs get another year, and happy that McDermott returned for another year. Creighton could have quite a nice season. I am not sure I'd be so happy for them if they were still in the MVC.

[Da Coach]

From CBSSports.com- McDermott may be the best walkon in NCAA history-

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/blog/eye-on-college-basketball/22612490/gibbs-eligiblity-means-doug-mcdermott-to-walk-on-at-creighton

[tornado]

can anyone recall a walk on who went on to play in the NBA?





http://www.ballinisahabit.net/2009/08/jarvis-varnado-will-be-walk-on-this.html

[Bobby Parker]

Not exactly the same issue, T, but as I understand the story, Roger Phegley was not recruited to Bradley to play basketball, but rather baseball. He only joined the basketball team after doing well in pickup games. Of course, he was certainly a scholarship basketball player by the time he made the move to the NBA.

As for Gibbs, he apparently sat out his true freshman season at Gonzaga with a shoulder injury, then hurt his knee during his redshirt freshman season, requiring multiple surgeries that Creighton successfully argued would have forced him to miss the transfer season even if he had stayed at Gonzaga. http://www.omaha.com/article/2013070...of-eligibility

[bradleyfan124]

I hope he can make the team.

[tornado]

BP - that actually wasn't what I was thinking - and if you mouse over just beneath my last post - you'll see the link I hid there that talks about a pretty talented kid that chose to walk on for essentially the same reason as McDermott is - to help the team land someone else...
a kid we played against in the NIT in 2007, Jarvis Varnado...

and as for the Gibbs case - I am as well, happy he got the extra year - but I am bummed that even tho the 6th year IS used rarely for kids like Sam Singh & Will Egolf - it has pretty solidly ALWAYS been denied to kids who lose a year due to transfer - and that IS THE CASE with Gibbs...
so the Gibbs 6th year is a true gift by NCAA to CU & the new Big East and I have my own doubts that had they stayed in the MVC or had it been another mid-major asking for such a 6th yerar waiver - it might have been denied.

as I said - you'd be hard pressed to find any other examples of a 6th year being granted to any player who had transferred schools - but that situation happens all the time -


Again - here is the exact NCAA rule (edited to show the relevant parts) that allows a waiver to participate BEYOND the 5-year ("clock") limitation that an athlete has to get four seasons of athletic participation.


30.6 FIVE-YEAR RULE WAIVER
As authorized in Bylaw 14.2.1.5, the Committee ..may approve waivers of the five-year rule...
..This waiver may be granted, based upon objective evidence, for reasons that are beyond the control of the student athlete


30.6.1.1 Circumstances Beyond Control. Circumstances considered to be beyond the control of the student-
athlete or the institution and do not cause a participation opportunity to be used shall include, but are not
limited to, the following:
(a) Situations clearly supported by contemporaneous medical documentation
(b) The student-athlete is unable to participate in intercollegiate athletics as a result of a life-threatening or
incapacitating injury or illness suffered by a member of the student-athlete’s immediate family...etc..

30.6.1.2 Circumstances Within Control. Circumstances that are considered to be within the control of the
student-athlete or the institution and cause a participation opportunity to be used include, but are not limited
to, the following:
...
(d) Redshirt year;
(e) An inability to participate as a result of a transfer year in residence..

thus the rule seems to eliminate consideration in those cases where the player voluntarily chose to transfer

[DUBulldog]

can anyone recall a walk on who went on to play in the NBA?





http://www.ballinisahabit.net/2009/08/jarvis-varnado-will-be-walk-on-this.html

Jeff Hornacek

[Chico]

Not exactly the same issue, T, but as I understand the story, Roger Phegley was not recruited to Bradley to play basketball, but rather baseball. He only joined the basketball team after doing well in pickup games. Of course, he was certainly a scholarship basketball player by the time he made the move to the NBA.

As for Gibbs, he apparently sat out his true freshman season at Gonzaga with a shoulder injury, then hurt his knee during his redshirt freshman season, requiring multiple surgeries that Creighton successfully argued would have forced him to miss the transfer season even if he had stayed at Gonzaga. http://www.omaha.com/article/2013070...of-eligibility

With the stats Roger had at East Peoria I always wondered why he wasn't recruited for basketball instead of baseball.

[it's boogie time]

Wasn't Scottie Pippen a walk-on since he was short entering college.