By JOSH NEWMAN
Special to ZAGSBLOG
BROOKLYN – At some point, Indiana University, ranked No. 1 in the nation and off to a 4-0 start, is going to have its full lineup at its disposal. It’s just not going to be Tuesday evening in time to play Georgetown in the Legends Classic final.
The freshman duo of 7-footer Peter Jurkin and 6-foot-8 small forward Hanner Mosquera-Perea had an appeal heard by the NCAA via conference call on Tuesday afternoon in an effort to have their nine-game suspensions overturned. The appeal ended at about 4 p.m. and while the hope was that a decision would be reached in time for them to suit up against the Hoyas at Barclays Center, Hoosiers head coach Tom Crean told ESPN’s Andy Katz late Monday afternoon that he wasn’t expecting a decision before the 10 p.m. tip.
Should the duo’s appeal be denied, they will have to sit until Dec. 15 and a nationally-televised contest at in-state rival Butler. Tuesday will mark the fifth game they miss and the Hoosiers are not back in action until Nov. 25 against Ball State at Assembly Hall.
Indiana’s seventh game of the season is a highly-anticipated matchup with No. 9 University of North Carolina on Nov. 27 as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
Mosquera-Perea, out of La Lumiere School in Indiana by way of Colombia, was considered the better of the two prospects coming into this season, but Jurkin arguably has the bigger upside.
A three-star recruit, Jurkin played for former NBA point guard Muggsy Bogues at United Faith Christian Academy in North Carolina as a senior as part of a four-year career. He came to the United States from South Sudan as an adolescent.
The nine-game suspensions for Jurkin and Mosquera-Perea were levied on Nov. 6 after the NCAA determined they received impermissible benefits from Mark Adams, a coach with the adidas-sponsored Indiana Elite AAU squad and a booster by the NCAA’s definition. Jurkin was found to have accepted approximately $6,000 in benefits and Mosquera-Perea accepted approximately $8,000. Jurkin must repay $250 of those benefits to “a charity of his choice” and Mosquera-Perea must repay around $1,590 to charity.
On Monday, they won a separate appeal and were cleared to travel to New York City for Monday and Tuesday’s games. Neither player was in uniform on Monday, but the pair was met with applause from the pro-Hoosier crowd upon arrival at Barclays Center late in the first half.
Jurkin and Mosquera-Perea will eventually join a lineup that is returning all five starters from last season’s Sweet 16 squad, led by 7-foot sophomore and presumed 2013 top 3 pick Cody Zeller.
Photo: Indiana University
