STARKVILLE — Dee Bost is hopeful to rejoin the Mississippi State men”s basketball team after school officials confirmed he is enrolled in summer school and seeking to regain his college eligibility.
Bost declared for the National Basketball Association draft but failed to withdraw his name before a new NCAA deadline of May 8. He kept his college option open up to that point by not hiring an agent, but the former Bulldogs” point guard faces an uphill battle to play at Mississippi State again.
Nearly a month has gone by since Bost turned pro and he must prove he had mitigating circumstances that forced him to miss the withdrawal deadline.
The NCAA bylaw, which came into effect this season through a push from Atlantic Coast Conference coaches, pushed up the date from mid-June. It was immediately criticized by other coaches because it allowed a narrow window between when classes end and when players must withdraw. By rule, no workouts can take place on a day when a class is scheduled.
As it”s new terms, neither side of the table have previous cases for precedence.
Bost is the first to take a crack at it and remains on scholarship, which is renewed every July 1. There”s a possibility Mississippi State could be forced to make that decision before a ruling is returned.
Mississippi State will file Bost”s appeal and it”s unknown at this point what documents or information the university will need to provide to the NCAA, MSU associate athletic director for compliance Bracky Brett said Thursday.
Bost enjoyed a stellar sophomore season, his second as a starter for the Bulldogs. He averaged 13 points, 5.2 assists and 4.4 rebounds per game. Along with teammate Ravern Johnson, Bost elected to test the draft scene with limited time to get feedback on where he could land. Johnson met the 4 p.m. deadline to file necessary paperwork with the university and NBA, but Bost made the surprising decision to forgo his final two years. Bost hasn”t cracked a notable mock draft or had a reported workout for an NBA team.
Shortly after the deadline passed, Bost told The Clarion Ledger in Jackson “he hadn”t yet” hired an agent. If Bost had at any point, it wasn”t made public. He didn”t return messages left Thursday.
Any such evidence also would jeopardize Bost”s amateur status.with the amount of time that”s lapsed between the deadline there”s a month”s worth of interviews and investigations looming to decide if Bost has received impermissible benefits. That could immediately close the book on Bost returning.
This case, of course, comes just months after Renardo Sidney”s year-long quest to gain eligibility came to a close.
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