Cal Basketball: NCAA Waiver Ruling Means Jarred Hyder Must Sit One Season

Fresno State transfer had hoped the NCAA would eliminate the one-year redshirt

Cal’s hopes that Fresno State transfer Jarred Hyder would be available to give the Bears a second point guard for the 2020-21 basketball season were dashed Wednesday by a ruling from the NCAA Division I Council.

The NCAA panel tabled a proposed one-time transfer waiver that would have allowed athletes to transfer and be immediately eligible at their new school, according to Brett McMurphy of Stadium.

Instead, the group approved a resolution to create legislation that would face a vote at next January's NCAA convention and could potentially go into effect for the 2021-22 academic year.

“I knew there was a chance. It was 50-50. Me and the coaches were hoping it would pass,” Hyder said in a phone interview from his home in San Bernardino. “It’s definitely disappointing, but there’s an opportunity for me to get even better . . . get stronger, get faster before I get back on the court and start playing.”

The outcome leaves Cal, at least for now, with just one available point guard, sophomore Joel Brown, on its 2020-21 roster. Hyder, who signed with the Bears late last month, averaged 9.1 points and 3.1 assists for Fresno State last season as a starter much of the season.

Now, unless he can secure a waiver through some other means, it appears Hyder will be required to sit out next season before beginning his three years of remaining eligibility.

While choosing Cal last month, Hyder said he was impressed by the efforts of coach Mark Fox and his staff in their debut season.

“I was getting a feel for how they came to Cal and in one year started to turn things around quickly,” said Hyder, who also looks forward to joining forces with Cal standout Matt Bradley, a friend since middle school. “And there’s the academic side. The balance they have between athletics and academics is the best you can get.”

Brown is the Bears’ only other point guard. A native of Canada, Brown started 17 games and averaged 2.4 points while sharing the floor leader assignment with Paris Austin, who has completed his eligibility.

Fox has one remaining scholarship, and the Bears reportedly have been pursuing two grad transfers who would be immediately eligible to lend one-year assistance at the point:

— Stony Brook’s Makale Foreman averaged 15.6 points and 2.0 assists last season. Foreman, who is 6-foot-1, began his career at Chattanooga. He also is looking at Iowa State and Santa Clara.

— DePaul’s 6-3 Jalen Coleman-Landis averaged 11.1 points and just 1.2 assists from his shooting guard spot while one-time Cal player Charlie Moore manned the point guard position. Coleman-Landis also reportedly is considering North Carolina State, Iowa State, Michigan and USC.

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo

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