Oregon's N'Faly Dante to Miss Start of Season After NCAA Missed His Clearance Date

Rick Bowmer/AP/Shutterstock

Oregon center N'Faly Dante will not be eligible to play in the Ducks' first nine games of the season after the NCAA missed his clearance date, reports The Athletic's Shams Charania.

"I left my home four years ago with a dream and three goals: Graduate from high school, attend university, and play college basketball. None of that has changed," Dante said in a statement, per Charania. "On December 14, 2019, I plan to enroll and play college basketball with the University of Oregon. I have completed my academic requirements and am currently waiting for the NCAA eligibility process to finalize. We are hopeful this will conclude soon and have asked the NCAA to keep my goal of a December 14, 2019 enrollment date in mind.

"Every prospective student athlete that purchases an NCAA Eligibility Center ID, regardless of their gender or origin, should be entitled to a timely and transparent process that's in line with the student's targeted enrollment date."

The games Dante will miss include Memphis, Houston, Seton Hall and three matchups at the Battle 4 Atlantis. If he's cleared to return on Dec. 14, the Ducks face Michigan that day.

Dante, a five-star recruit from Mali, played high school basketball at Sunrise Christian Academy in Bel Aire, Kan. The 6'11", 225-pound center reclassified from the 2020 class to the 2019 class this summer and verbally committed to Oregon in August. He was selected as a preseason All-Pac-12 player.