Former Kansas guard Melvin Council Jr. is trying to buy himself another run in college basketball, and he’s doing it through the courts.
Council filed suit Monday in Douglas County, Kansas, seeking a sixth year of eligibility that would make him available for the 2026-27 season. He and his attorneys are making the case that he should still have another year left because he has played fewer than four years at NCAA institutions: one year at Kansas, one at St. Bonaventure and two at Wagner.
Before that stretch, Council spent two years at Monroe Junior College in New York, where he finished as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 1,400 points and earned NJCAA Division I All-American honors in 2022 and 2023.
The eligibility fight isn’t new territory for Council. In 2024, he played under an NCAA-issued waiver that gave former junior-college athletes an extra year beyond what had originally been set to expire after the 2024-25 season. That waiver is what allowed him to suit up for a fifth year at Kansas this past season.
The landscape has changed since then. Under a recent NCAA Division I rule change, student-athletes are now limited to five years of eligibility in five seasons, with the clock starting when they first enroll in college or at the start of the academic year after their 19th birthday, depending on when that birthday falls.
Because the injunction was filed in Douglas County, the move may also signal that Council wants to return to Lawrence for a second season under Bill Self.
That would be a major boost for Kansas. Council became a fan favorite last season for his toughness, leadership and steady connection with Jayhawk fans. He delivered in big moments, especially when Darryn Peterson was out with injuries, and his 36-point performance in a road win at North Carolina State in December stood out as his biggest night.
Council put together a strong final season at Kansas, averaging 14.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists while playing in every game. For a 2026-27 roster that is expected to lean heavily on underclassmen, that kind of production and reliability would matter.
He’d also give Self a veteran guard he can trust while Taylen Kinney and the rest of the incoming backcourt settle in.
Now it’s up to the legal process, and then Council himself, to determine whether Kansas gets him back for one more year.
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