Oregon Basketball's N'Faly Dante Receives NCAA Decision on Eligibility Appeal

Oregon Duck's basektball star N'Faly Dante has received a decision from the NCAA on his appeal of their previous decision. The NCAA has again denied Dante's request for an additional year of eligibility.

Kaleb Henry | Jun 30, 2024

Mar 20, 2024; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Oregon Ducks center N'Faly Dante (1) during practice before their 2024 NCAA Tournament First Round game at PPG Paints Arena. / Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

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Oregon basketball's N'Faly Dante has likely played his final game as a Duck.

The NCAA denied Oregon's request to grant Dante an additional year of eligibility just a couple weeks ago. The Ducks appealed that decision, and today the NCAA came back with another denial, first reported byJon Rothstein and confirmed by Oregon SI.

Dante suffered an ACL injury during the 2020-21 season, appearing in only six games. He also appeared in 12 games the season before, then 32 as a junior, 31 as a senior, and 22 last season.

In his now final year as a Duck, Dante was All-Pac-12 First Team and named the Pac-12 Tournament Most Outstanding Player. He averaged 17 points and 9.2 rebounds for coach Dana Altman.

Had Dante's appeal been approved, he still would have needed to make a decision on the NBA. The deadline to withdraw from the NBA Draft is coming up on June 16, but now that will have to be his path forward.

Mar 23, 2024; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Oregon Ducks center N'Faly Dante (1) dunks the ball against Creighton Bluejays guard Baylor Scheierman (55) in the second round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at PPG Paints Arena. / Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Last month, Dante performed at the 2024 NBA Draft combine in Chicago, Illinois. His ceiling would likely be in the second round, though getting picked up by a G League team is also a possibility.

The loss of Dante hurts the Duck's as they head into the rugged Big Ten Conference this year. The league is known for its more physical play, especially from bigs like two-time National Player of the Year Zach Edey at Purdue.

In an exclusive interview with Oregon SI's Olivia Cleary, Dante said, "I think it's time for me to go be great."

Read that full story at Oregon Ducks on SI.

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Published Jun 13, 2024|Modified Jun 30, 2024

KALEB HENRY

Kaleb Henry is an award-winning sports reporter, covering collegiate athletics since 2014 via radio, podcasting, and digital journalism. His experience with Big Ten Conference teams goes back more than a decade, including time covering programs such as the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Oregon Ducks, and USC Trojans.He has contributed to Sports Illustrated since 2021. Kaleb has won multiple awards for his sports coverage from the Nebraska Broadcasters Association and Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association. Prior to working in sports journalism, Kaleb was a Division I athlete on the Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Track and Field team.