Much of the college basketball coaching world spent the weekend in Las Vegas, there primarily to watch high school talent during the penultimate live period of the recruiting cycle. But while there, their attention often wavered from the 17-year-olds on the courts in front of them to a different type of court.
A preliminary injunction granted by an Ohio judge Thursday afternoon to a number of graduating college basketball players sent the sport into a frenzy, with coaches scrambling for more information on the implications. Those players, headlined by Xavier forward Filip Borovicanin and Utah State wing MJ Collins Jr. (who was attempting to transfer to follow coach Jerrod Calhoun to Cincinnati), had challenged the NCAA not grandfathering in graduating seniors to the sport’s new age-based eligibility standards. That lawsuit doesn’t automatically mean all recent graduates will have an extra year, but more lawsuits are in motion in response to the legal win by the players. Attorneys Darren Heitner and Ryan Downton announced on X Monday morning that they are “gearing up” to file challenges in other states, and in Colorado several players filed a federal class action suit against the NCAA through a different law firm.
