Maryland's reaction to Gilchrist decision
The news that the NCAA is allowing Gus Gilchrist to play at South Florida beginning in mid-December came as a big surprise to Maryland senior associate athletic director Kathy Worthington.
In an interview this afternoon, Worthington said she spoke with an official at the NCAA today and that "they are not holding Gus accountable for the ACC sit-out rule...I think they are taking a very liberal interpretation of that rule.''
The rule states that a player who either commits to or plays at one ACC school before going to another has to sit out an extra year on top of the NCAA sit-out rule regarding transfers. In Gilchrist's case, he committed to Virginia Tech and then came to Maryland last December.
Gilchrist left College Park in June and transferred to South Florida over the summer.
Worthington said that the explanation she was given for the NCAA's decision was that Gilchrist sat out a year's time between his stint at Maryland and the first semester at South Florida. It marks the first time in 17 cases that the NCAA has waived its transfer penalty for a men's basketball player, dating back to around 2000.
It might open the door for others to do the same, Worthington said.
"I thought the NCAA rule was in place to prevent a kid from shopping around from place to place to place," Worthington said.
Comments
He's gone and sour grapes from Worthington makes us look like chumps--fugeddaboutit
Posted by: chris | November 6, 2008 6:44 PM
In another article that I read, Worthington said that she wished Gus the best but in this article it sounds like she didn’t want him to play, because if she did she’d be happy for him. Is Maryland telling the truth??? Are they happy for him or not??? Why would Worthington contact the NCAA and inquire about the ruling if Gus doesn’t attend the school anymore? Something is fishy!
Posted by: Dale | November 6, 2008 9:13 PM
It's not sour grapes at all. She is simply noting that the NCAA has consistently denied such appeals in the past, from many other student athletes more deserving than Gilchrist. Personally, I'm glad Gilchrist isn't at MD. The way he and Woody handled his decommitment from VT was questionable at best. Gary Williams publicly said he would do everything he could to assist Gilchrist when he decided to transfer. There is no sour grapes from MD's perspective.
Posted by: Freestater | November 7, 2008 9:02 AM
Who cares???
Posted by: pknaps | November 7, 2008 6:28 PM
Freestater
What are u thinking,Gus decommitted because of the shooting how can people down play this.But i herd that when Gus wanted to attend prep school and give tech some time Seth said some bad things to the parents and that's why he decommitted.People keep trying to blame this trainer.What if Woody does have control if he wanted a job from UMD would'nt he have that done before Gus signed his Loi.Put your mind to work and ask yourself what makes sense.Im not saying this trainer is a good guy,but i heard alot of the UMD player's liked him and they said this stuff is not true.
Posted by: Dale | November 8, 2008 3:04 AM
Dale,
the reason Woody didn't have a job lined up at MD before Gust signed was 1) G'town said no thanks after Monroe signed, leaving Gus with virtually no options so late in the fall and no time for a plan B and 2) Woody needed a college degree to be a trainer at MD, which he didn't have. I don't have any ill will toward Woody, the NCAA doesn't prohibit what he did. It's not going to win you any ethics awards, but it isn't an NCAA violation either.
Posted by: Freestater | November 8, 2008 7:53 PM
Freestater
There's no reason for me to keep talking to you.You are a great fan and the terps should be proud of you.So I will no longer respond to you because your terp dumb will not let you see the truth.
Posted by: Dale | November 9, 2008 2:57 AM