Another turn in the eligibility mess has left Gonzaga without Florida State transfer forward Chauncey Wiggins for now.
The NCAA’s stay request was granted by the Georgia Court of Appeals on Wednesday evening, and that means Wiggins is currently ineligible. The appeal is still pending, but while that process plays out, Wiggins and the other plaintiffs in the case cannot practice or play this season. It’s the same outcome that has already shown up in lawsuits in Ohio, Tennessee and the federal case in Colorado.
That ruling also keeps Wiggins out of team activities, which means he won’t be part of Kraziness in the Kennel or any exhibition or regular season games unless something changes first.
And something still could. The plaintiffs in Ohio have already asked the Court of Appeals to reverse the stay there, which would restore eligibility for Dayton transfer point guard Javon Bennett and the other plaintiffs.
A similar move could happen in Georgia before the official appeal hearing. There’s also the possibility that the NCAA loses its appeal entirely, which would clear Wiggins to play for Gonzaga.
For now, though, there’s no clean answer on who Gonzaga will actually have available when the season opens Nov. 2 against Purdue. Even that might not be settled for long, since the eligibility picture has already been shifting and could keep changing through the season.
Wiggins was expected to be a key piece right away. The 6-foot-10 forward averaged 13.3 points last season for Florida State and hit 39% from three on 6.0 attempts per game. He had been lined up to start at small forward, which would have pushed Davis Fogle to shooting guard and Houston transfer Isiah Harwell to the bench.
With Wiggins sidelined for now, the projected look changes. Harwell and Fogle are now expected to start together on the wing, with senior Braden Huff and Arizona State transfer Massamba Diop in the frontcourt and Florida transfer Xaivian Lee at point guard. Lee remains eligible for now after a TRO was granted in a lawsuit in California, though that case could still get stayed too if the current pattern holds.
Wiggins is one of several Gonzaga commits dealing with eligibility uncertainty. Bennett is in the same boat because of the Ohio stay, while 23-year-old French point guard Nathan de Sousa and 21-year-old Spanish big man Izan Almansa are also currently ineligible.
De Sousa and Almansa both have professional experience overseas, which is why the NCAA has not yet cleared them. De Sousa is already in Spokane and could wind up as the starting point guard if Bennett and Lee are both unavailable.
Gonzaga’s first public look at the roster comes Oct. 10 at 2:00 PM PT, when the team will hold a scrimmage in front of fans at Kraziness in the Kennel. Which players will actually be able to take part is still very much up in the air.