In a statement released by Quinnipiac University this afternoon, junior guard Giovanni McLean was declared ineligible for the start of the 2014-15 season.
“The NCAA has issued a temporary waiver allowing Giovanni McLean to continue his studies at the university for the remainder of the fall semester,” vice president for public affairs Lynn Bushnell said in a statement. “He is, however, prohibited from playing and practicing with the basketball team until the NCAA issues a final decision.”
McLean becomes the latest Division I transfer from Westchester Community College to have his eligibility revoked due to illegitimate transcripts. Jamall Walker and Damien Davis had their scholarships revoked by Florida A&M University after it was revealed their transcripts had been falsified.
McLean originally committed to the University of Oklahoma before a Big 12 rule which requires a junior college transfer to complete a specific number of credit hours led him to shift his commitment to Quinnipiac. The school launched an investigation into McLean’s junior college transcript last week after St. John’s found Keith Thomas had been ruled ineligible for the 2014-15 season. He is not listed on the team’s 2014-15 roster.
McLean’s status will remain in the air until the NCAA completes their own investigation into Westchester Community College, which suspended basketball operations earlier this week in light of the expanding transcript scandal.
Per Bushnell’s statement, McLean will be permitted to attend the university for the remainder of the fall semester. Depending on the outcome of the NCAA investigation, McLean could be reinstated for the Spring semester. The first day of the spring semester at Quinnipiac is on January 20 and the Bobcats will play 12 regular season games after that date, starting with a road trip to Saint Peter’s on January 21.
Whether McLean returns or not, the Bobcats will be without a valuable talent for at least half the season. McLean was expected to fill the void left by the departure of Umar and Shaq Shannon. With less than two weeks until the start of the season, head coach Tom Moore will be faced with the challenge of re-tooling his lineups at the eleventh hour.
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