Brendan Maloney-USA Today Sports
The LSU Tigers have made some noise on the recruiting trail recently and head coach Johnny Jones is set to welcome in a six man freshmen class that features three, top 100 prospects here in 2013.
One of those top 100 recruits is Texas-native, Jordan Mickey. At 6-foot-8, the freshman has a unique skill set and he was poised to help impact the Tigers’ front court almost immediately. However, the keyword in that statement is was.
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According to a report from ESPN‘s Jeff Goodman, Mickey has been ruled ineligible by the NCAA due to academic clearance issues from his high school resume at Prime Prep in Texas. The school, which is co-founded by Deion Sanders, is approved by the Texas Education Agency. The NCAA ruled that Mickey, along with TCU commit Karviar Shepard, are non-qualifiers.
Ironically enough, Prime Prep also boasts 2014 stud Emmanuel Mudiay and 2015 star Elijah Thomas, both of whom are ranked No. 5 in the nation in their respected classes. Whether this is a school issue or an NCAA issue, something needs to be figured out because now college basketball and these particular schools in question, are losing out on some top notch talents for reasons that remain unclear.
Now, both players are left in limbo, although the report states that both players plan to appeal the decision.
This is another sad day for the NCAA and two athletes who both had solid GPAs prior to attending Prime Prep. Both Shepard and Mickey enrolled before their senior seasons.
Follow Paul Seaver on Twitter: @PaulSeaverRS
