For now, UH says 2-of-3 players eligible
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
No news turned out to be relatively good news for the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team yesterday.
UH officials did not receive word from the NCAA on the eligibility status of Predrag Savovic, Mindaugas Burneika and Luc-Arthur Vebobe.
Because of that, Savovic and Burneika will play in tomorrow's exhibition game against the EA Sports West All-Stars, but Vebobe will sit out.
The exhibition is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Stan Sheriff Center.
The three players are being investigated for past participation with professionals in European leagues. Last week, the NCAA announced that players would be penalized 20 percent of the games they played in "first tier" European leagues, up to a maximum of eight games.
According to research conducted by UH attorneys, Savovic did not knowingly play in such leagues in Yugoslavia and never signed a contract with any first-tier teams; Burneika played in a lower-tier league in Lithuania; Vebobe played 11 games in a first-tier league in France. In essence, UH is recommending to the NCAA that Savovic and Burneika not be penalized, while Vebobe should sit 20 percent of the 11 games he played in France.
"That's what we know, so that's what we're going with," UH head coach Riley Wallace said. "Unless the NCAA tells us otherwise before (tomorrow), that's all we can do."
Because of the holiday weekend, UH officials do not expect to hear from the NCAA until Tuesday, at the earliest.
Savovic, the team's leading scorer last season, said: "I was expecting to play (tomorrow), and I expect to play in all the games this year."
Vebobe will sit out the exhibition because the paper work submitted by UH to the NCAA is, in effect, declaring him ineligible for the time being.
"We know that Luc played in one of those leagues, but we just don't know what the (NCAA) penalty is," Wallace said. "Until we hear from the NCAA on what his official penalty should be, we don't want to play him. With Savo and Mindaugas, our stance is that they're eligible."
Vebobe, a 6-foot-9 junior, has been battling for a starting forward spot.
"Just give me my three games (penalty) and let's play basketball," he said. "I'm tired of all the paper work and all the questions. It's like I committed a crime and I'm dealing with the FBI."
With senior captains Savovic and Burneika available, Wallace said he will start five returnees tomorrow.
Senior Mike McIntyre, also a team captain, will start at point guard, with Savovic at shooting guard. Sophomore Carl English will start at small forward, Burneika at power forward, and sophomore Haim Shimonovich at center.
In addition to Vebobe, three other players are not expected to play tomorrow: sophomore Phil Martin, a starter last season, has not practiced since spraining his left ankle two weeks ago; freshman Tony Akpan bruised his left quadriceps during practice yesterday; junior walk-on Joshua Stanhiser is expected to redshirt this season.
"I'll do what ever I gotta do for this team," Vebobe said. "If I gotta be a cheerleader for the first couple games, I can do that. I just don't want to be a cheerleader the whole season."
