Tennessee Basketball: The NCAA is really starting to piss me off

The NCAA has denied Tennessee basketball transfer Uros Plavsic’s eligibility waiver, and whatever the NCAA’s system is, it’s really aggravating.

The Tennessee basketball program has been waiting for months to see if Arizona State transfer Uros Plavsic would be eligible to play the 2019-20 season.

The NCAA has been all over the place since the new rules have gone into effect, and that didn’t change with their ruling for Plavsic.

The eligibility waiver was denied by the NCAA, and the appeal that Tennessee filed has also been denied. Now, Plavsic will have to wait until next season to make his official debut with the Vols.

The seven-foot center transferred to Tennessee to be closer to his recruiter and where he played high school basketball in Chattanooga. Plavsic and fellow Serbian Drazen Zlovaric went to Arizona State, but he was let go from the Sun Devils’ staff, which is why Plavsic transferred.

All of that fell apart at Arizona State, and that left Plavsic to transfer. Under the NCAA’s new eligibility rules, Plavsic should be eligible, but, of course, his request is denied because the NCAA is extremely inconsistent.

At this point, the NCAA either needs to go back and not allow any immediate eligibility or allow every player who transfers immediate eligibility. The inconsistency within the NCAA is unfathomable, and it needs to be fixed.

Tennessee Athletic Director Phillip Fulmer gave his thoughts on the situation, and I think he’s just as shocked as some Tennessee fans.

"“Uros Plavsic was denied clearance to compete with our men’s basketball program this season, and our appeal of that decision was also denied,” Fulmer said. “We are extremely disappointed – quite frankly, stunned – in this outcome, and feel strongly that very compelling facts support clearance for immediate eligibility. We are at a loss as to how this decision aligns with a mission of prioritizing the well-being of student-athletes, and we are struggling to provide an explanation to a deserving young man who stands to lose a year of eligibility.”“We will stand by Uros and support him in every way possible as we exhaust all options in advocating for his competitive opportunity.”"

I hope Fulmer and the basketball program will continue to appeal this decision. Based on what the NCAA has granted in the past, it seemed like Plavsic was almost guaranteed immediate eligibility for the 2019-20 season.

This leaves Tennessee without another big man down low to help balance the minutes with John Fulkerson. That’s a big hit for the Vols, and the NCAA’s terrible decision leaves the Vols suffering.

This also makes Plavsic’s second season in Division I College Basketball without using a minute of eligibility. Arizona State redshirt him last year, so now he’s forced to sit out a second straight season.

It’s really aggravating how the NCAA makes these decisions. It’s like they pick names out of a hat to decide what players are eligible. The fact that they waited until a few days before the season starts to deny him of his eligibility is also really aggravating.

A lot of players get their notice much earlier than Plavsic, and he was still denied. The NCAA needs to fix their system. They need to get their crap together and have a consistent system.

Based on everything that has happened so far, it looks like Tennessee is still going to fight it as they should. Hopefully, we will get to see Plavsic play some basketball this year. He deserves it.