Arizona commit Terrance Ferguson could end up playing overseas next season if he’s not cleared by the NCAA Clearinghouse, a source with direct knowledge of the situation told SNY.tv.
Ferguson and Arizona are expected to learn sometime this week if he’s cleared.
“If he doesn’t clear academically like [Emmanuel] Mudiay, then he’s going to go overseas,” the source said.
Mudiay, the onetime SMU commit, attended Dallas (TX) Prime Prep, a school the NCAA didn’t recognize as legitimate, and ended up playing professionally in China for one season before chosen as the No. 7 pick in the 2015 NBA Draft by the Denver Nuggets.
Although Ferguson attends Dallas (TX) Advanced Prep International — the successor school to Prime Prep — he has been taking NCAA-approved online classes, the source said. Thus, Ferguson could be deemed a full qualifier this week.
Ferguson did not immediately return a text message seeking comment.
After decommitting from Alabama, Ferguson committed to Arizona on April 13. He also considered Baylor, Kansas, Maryland, North Carolina and N.C. State.
If he ends up at Arizona, Ferguson will join a strong recruiting class that includes guards Kobi Simmons and Rawle Alkins and power forward Lauri Markkanen.
Arizona also returns several guards and wings, including projected 2017 NBA Draft pick Allonzo Trier.
“This is a unique Arizona team,” Alkins told me Thursday after scoring 28 points en route to MVP honors at the Frankie Williams Classic in Greenburgh, N.Y. “They’ve never had a team like us where we’ve had five five-stars and we already had five stars on the team so this is not your average Arizona team that you’re used to seeing.”
If Ferguson is not cleared, it would open additional playing time for the other guards and wings.
Jerry Meyer of 247Sports.com reported earlier Monday that Ferguson is expected to spend next season overseas.
Adam ZagoriaZagsBlog
