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Former UK recruit N’Faly Dante ineligible to start 2019-20 season

Dante will has to re-enroll at a later date.

Sunrise Christian Academy v IMG Academy Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images

Sometimes when UK misses on recruits, it turns out to be a good thing in the long run.

That may be the case with five-star center N’Faly Dante, who ultimately picked the Oregon Ducks over UK in the Class of 2019. However, Dante has been ruled ineligible to start the 2019-20 season because because the NCAA missed his clearance date.

Dante will now attempt to re-enroll in December, so he’s going to miss at least a month of the regular season, a big blow for an Oregon team predicted to win the Pac-12 and be a top-four seed in the 2020 NCAA Tournament. Dante was also a preseason All-Pac-12 selection.

Had Dante picked UK, the Cats may have opened the season as the preseason No. 1 team and been the favorite to win the 2020 NCAA Championship. He was viewed as a missing piece for a frontcourt severely lacking depth, especially at center.

Now, Oregon will have to wait on Dante until December, while UK now has the same team it had in the summer.