Sunday Quickies: Olivier Sarr Waiver Edition

Dick Vitale said that Kentucky has submitted the waiver for Sarr’s immediate eligibility

By Zac Oakes@ZacOakes Jun 14, 2020, 6:40am EDT

Now the wait begins.

ESPN’s Dick Vitale tweeted yesterday that after talking with John Calipari, Kentucky has submitted all the paperwork to the NCAA as the school seeks a waiver to grant Wake Forest transfer Olivier Sarr immediate eligibility.

BBB @UKCoachCalipari told me tonight that all the paper work for OLIVIER SARR has been submitted to @NCAA for a waiver to be eligible instantly .To me a no brainer /ALL PLAYERS AT A SCHOOL WITH A COACHING CHANGE should be allowed to transfer & be allowed to play .
— Dick Vitale (@DickieV) June 14, 2020

KSR’s Jack Pilgrim added that the waiver was submitted in May, so we could hear soon on whether or not the NCAA will approve it.

While John Calipari acknowledged the waiver with Dick Vitale tonight, Kentucky officially submitted the paperwork back in May.

As of this weekend, UK remains uncertain about a timeline for a final decision from the NCAA. https://t.co/cfG1BrP4ov
— Jack Pilgrim (@JackPilgrimKSR) June 14, 2020

Sarr transferred from Wake Forest following the firing of coach Danny Manning. Sarr averaged nearly 13 points and 9 rebounds per game last season and it’s been no secret that Sarr is seeking a waiver from the NCAA to play in the 2020-2021 season.

The waiver process, unsurprisingly, is quite inconsistent and there’s no real way to guess how the process will go for Sarr and Kentucky or what the timetable will be. We do know that former Kentucky Wildcat Johnny Juzang was granted an immediate eligibility waiver after transferring to UCLA. The NCAA approved that waiver relatively fast, so the process for Sarr may not drag out too long.

If new Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes offers his support for Sarr’s transfer waiver, as it has been previously reported he would, and considering the circumstances of the transfer, it seems like the odds are in Sarr’s favor, but if we’ve learned anything from the NCAA, things like precedent and common sense don’t always factor in to decisions.