Shimonovich won't appeal

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

Haim Shimonovich of the Hawai'i men's basketball team said he will not appeal the 22-game penalty he served last season.

Shimonovich, a 6-foot-10 sophomore center, sat out the first 22 games of his collegiate career after it was discovered that he played with professionals in Israel prior to enrolling at UH.

On Thursday, the NCAA approved a new policy that will penalize players 20 percent of the games they may have played with professionals in Europe, up to a maximum of eight games.

If the policy had been in place last season, Shimonovich would have sat out four or five games.

"What's done is done," he said. "It's a bad deal for me, but good for the team."

Teammates Predrag Savovic, Mindaugas Burneika and Luc-Arthur Vebobe are currently under investigation for past participation with pros in Europe. Because of the new policy, none will have to sit out more than eight games this season.

"If I tried (to appeal), it would only cause more problems," Shimonovich said. "We all just want to get it over and play."

Amit Tamir, a freshman at Cal, played in more than 50 games in the same league as Shimonovich, but will sit out only eight games this season.

"I don't like it, but I don't want to fight it," Shimonovich said.