Matt Norlander doubts that Olivier Sarr gets eligible for next season

Yesterday on The Take with Andy Sweeney (and yours truly) on ESPN 680 (105.7), we had Matt Norlander from CBS Sports on with us to discuss a multitude of topics, including new Kentucky Wildcats center Olivier Sarr.

Most college basketball writers and analysts agree that Sarr should get a waiver from the NCAA to be immediately eligible to play at Kentucky due to the circumstances of former Wake Forest head coach Danny Manning being fired. Sarr claimed that he was ready to test the NBA waters, but Manning convinced him to stay before being fired soon afterwards.

There was also encouraging news that the new head coach of the Demon Deacons, Steve Forbes, stated that he will support Sarr getting immediately eligible.

Things seem pretty clear cut for the waiver, but Norlander says not so fast. He’s been consistently saying that he is very doubtful that Sarr will be able to suit up for the Cats and John Calipari this season.

“Sarr, I don’t think is going to be playing at Kentucky next season,” said Norlander. “That is because players that have been in his position in the past that have been leaving one university for another, not as a graduate transfer, have not been given a waiver.”

Norlander then goes on to outline his reasoning in more detail as why he does not think Sarr will be playing for Kentucky. He also goes into some reasons as to maybe why Sarr could be eligible at the end, but ultimately he does not think it’s going to happen.

Obviously, this would be a major blow to Kentucky if Sarr isn’t available. The NCAA is notoriously slow with these cases, some of them going right up until the beginning of the season before being resolved. What looks like a fairly clear cut case could drag on until October.

With DeAndre Williams opting for Memphis, Calipari looks like he has one more big to add to the roster just for insurance purposes. People around Kentucky feel good about Olivier Sarr getting a waiver, but it is difficult to say what the NCAA will do.

Norlander talks about Sarr and the Cats at the 32 minute mark.

Tune into The Take every Monday-Friday, 3-6.