Villanova’s Kevin Willard hammers ‘clueless’ NCAA in fiery rant about eligibility rules appeared first on ClutchPoints. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Villanova is now 10-2 on the season, after a 64-56 victory over Seton Hall to open Big East play. The team has won three straight since Villanova lost to Michigan earlier this year. While speaking on Tuesday after the victory over Seton Hall, head coach Kevin Willard praised the work that Shaheen Holloway has done, but also took aim at the NCAA and their eligibility rules.
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“This era is insane. What [Holloway] has to deal with and what everyone has to deal with. The NCAA is totally clueless loss. It’s a joke. I just tried to sign a 47-year-old Chinese guy in the Chinese European League. I’m sure he’ll get eligibility. I think Oklahoma just signed a 24-year-old Russian. It’s like, what are we doing?” Willard said after the game, according to Dylan Johnson of The Villanovan.
Willard was speaking of Kirill Elatontsev, who was recently given a semester of eligibility. Elatontsev has been playing with Lukomotiv Kuban in the VTB United League, which is in the top tier of Russian Basketball. He will join Oklahoma when the spring semester begins and add front-court depth.
Elatontsev is not the oldest player to land in college basketball in recent years. Last year, Green Bay landed 28-year-old Ramel Bethea. Bethea spent five years in the military before playing at MiraCosta College in San Diego.
Willard is not the only coach speaking out about players with professional experience jumping back into college, after former G League players Thierry Darlan and London Johnson were given eligibility after playing in the G League.
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“To me, it’s ridiculous. To me, it’s embarrassing.” Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo said, according to Ben Shockley of WILX News.
Kansas’s Bill Self said he had “no idea what we are doing,” as noted by Kevin Sweeney of Sports Illustrated. Self went on to joke that he would have his staff looking to recruit off NBA rosters instead of the high school ranks.
Willard has made a valid point; the rules are murky and getting less clear consistently. While waiting for the rules to become clearer, Willard and Villanova will continue to look towards making a run in the NCAA Tournament. They return to play on December 31st against DePaul.
Related: Texas’ Sean Miller rips ‘worst performance of the season’ in 23-point win
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