Melvin Council Jr.’s path back to Kansas basketball appears to be over.
The Douglas County District Court said Thursday that Council, who had been seeking another year of eligibility, voluntarily dismissed his case against the NCAA. With that move, he is no longer pressing the dispute that had kept alive the possibility of a return to Lawrence.
Council filed the lawsuit in July, arguing that his two seasons in junior college should not have counted against his eligibility clock. His case centered on the claim that Division I programs did not recruit him out of high school because of criminal charges that were later dismissed.
The NCAA pushed back earlier this month with a 20-page response asking the court not to grant him eligibility. The governing body also pointed to the fact that Council signed a contract to play in the NBA Summer League and hired an agent, which it said already made him ineligible.
A hearing had been set for 9 a.m. on Sept. 4 on a motion for a temporary injunction. That request would have temporarily restored Council’s eligibility while the lawsuit continued, but the case has now been dropped before reaching that point.
Council spent one season at Kansas after transferring from St. Bonaventure. In 35 starts for the Jayhawks, he averaged 12.7 points, 5.1 assists and 5.8 rebounds as the team’s starting point guard.
For Kansas, the development closes the door on a comeback that had been hanging out there for months. Bill Self will now need to look elsewhere in the transfer portal if he wants another addition for the 2026-27 roster.
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