Next Year.

[NJRedman]

Heron Should not be allowed to play next year.
1) They haven't given out the medical hardship waiver for the past couple of years. Don't see them reversing on that just for him.
2) His mom's case from what has been spread on the internet does not meet the criteria of life threatening. Post concussive symptoms are not life threatening.
3) I doubt he's going to have much day to day responsibility for her care which is necessary for the waiver when they live a considerable distance away from st. John's campus.
4) I personally don't think the waiver should exist. If a family member is legitimately sick that you need to be home to spend time with them before they die ( the reason the waive exists) you should actually be home and spend time with them not spend a third of the year practicing 7 days a week and traveling all over the country playing basketball.

I mean if he gets it good for St. John's and the Big East, but I oppose the idea of this waiver in general and am glad they've stopped giving it out.

Yeah! How dare kids try to get an education and work towards their dreams while a family member fights a terminal illness! Those little punks shouldn't even be allowed on campus! How dare they leave their dying family members bedside to even use the bathroom!

[NJRedman]

I would be really surprised if the NCAA opens back up that can of worms. It's been gone now for about 5 years.

Stever how many times have your predictions been wrong? Why not just wait and see?

[Red Rooster]

Heron Should not be allowed to play next year.
1) They haven't given out the medical hardship waiver for the past couple of years. Don't see them reversing on that just for him.
2) His mom's case from what has been spread on the internet does not meet the criteria of life threatening. Post concussive symptoms are not life threatening.
3) I doubt he's going to have much day to day responsibility for her care which is necessary for the waiver when they live a considerable distance away from st. John's campus.
4) I personally don't think the waiver should exist. If a family member is legitimately sick that you need to be home to spend time with them before they die ( the reason the waive exists) you should actually be home and spend time with them not spend a third of the year practicing 7 days a week and traveling all over the country playing basketball.

I mean if he gets it good for St. John's and the Big East, but I oppose the idea of this waiver in general and am glad they've stopped giving it out.

Yeah! How dare kids try to get an education and work towards their dreams while a family member fights a terminal illness! Those little punks shouldn't even be allowed on campus! How dare they leave their dying family members bedside to even use the bathroom!

Heron's mom may not be dealing with a life-threatening situation, but it could be post-concussion syndrome where she may require regular medical attention. He's close enough to his hometown at St. John's to make the trip if needed. It's a legitimate scenario where he could very well be granted immediate eligibility. Knowing the NCAA, they'll probably deny the waiver.

The Johnnies and a few people close to the situation feel confident. Auburn and Bruce Pearl being supportive of his transfer, as I mentioned earlier, could also go a long way towards Heron's case.

NJ, rest assure 'hooligan is speaking on what he would like to happen. He's in no way being objective (not that I expected him to be anyhow). He doesn't in any way want Heron eligible and paired with the likes of Ponds, Simon and Figueroa in the backcourt. He lacks credibility. He generally has unjustified reasons and use miniscule samples to overinflate his team whilst disparaging other teams. If you're looking for objectiveness, then I suggest to not look in his direction.

[adoraz]

Regarding Heron, generally in a situation like this I'd be 95% pessimistic. However, since those closest to the program seem somewhat optimistic, I'm about 55% optimistic at this point. Those sources, the same ones who knew about Heron going to SJU before he announced his transfer, know more about this than anybody on this board. They don't spread BS.

[stever20]

Regarding Heron, generally in a situation like this I'd be 95% pessimistic. However, since those closest to the program seem somewhat optimistic, I'm about 55% optimistic at this point. Those sources, the same ones who knew about Heron going to SJU before he announced his transfer, know more about this than anybody on this board. They don't spread BS.

Weren't there times in the recent past though where they thought a waiver would get done, and it turned out to be for not?

I just have a tough time believing the NCAA wants to open up this can of worms again.

[Edrick]

I'm actually surprised so many people have talked themselves into believing the Heron thing was even remotely likely.

Those things are done.

[hoyahooligan]

Heron Should not be allowed to play next year.
1) They haven't given out the medical hardship waiver for the past couple of years. Don't see them reversing on that just for him.
2) His mom's case from what has been spread on the internet does not meet the criteria of life threatening. Post concussive symptoms are not life threatening.
3) I doubt he's going to have much day to day responsibility for her care which is necessary for the waiver when they live a considerable distance away from st. John's campus.
4) I personally don't think the waiver should exist. If a family member is legitimately sick that you need to be home to spend time with them before they die ( the reason the waiver exists) you should actually be home and spend time with them not spend a third of the year practicing 7 days a week and traveling all over the country playing basketball.

I mean if he gets it good for St. John's and the Big East, but I oppose the idea of this waiver in general and am glad they've stopped giving it out.

Yeah! How dare kids try to get an education and work towards their dreams while a family member fights a terminal illness! Those little punks shouldn't even be allowed on campus! How dare they leave their dying family members bedside to even use the bathroom!

Heron's mom may not be dealing with a life-threatening situation, but it could be post-concussion syndrome where she may require regular medical attention. He's close enough to his hometown at St. John's to make the trip if needed. It's a legitimate scenario where he could very well be granted immediate eligibility. Knowing the NCAA, they'll probably deny the waiver.

The Johnnies and a few people close to the situation feel confident. Auburn and Bruce Pearl being supportive of his transfer, as I mentioned earlier, could also go a long way towards Heron's case.

NJ, rest assure 'hooligan is speaking on what he would like to happen. He's in no way being objective (not that I expected him to be anyhow). He doesn't in any way want Heron eligible and paired with the likes of Ponds, Simon and Figueroa in the backcourt. He lacks credibility. He generally has unjustified reasons and use miniscule samples to overinflate his team whilst disparaging other teams. If you're looking for objectiveness, then I suggest to not look in his direction.

The rule specifically states it has to be a life threatening situation. Hence my point that they would be bending a rule that I don't even think should exist in the first place to allow him to be eligible. I would say the same thing if he was coming to Georgetown or any other school. I'm a homer for my team, but that doesn't invalidate my point.

And I never said they shouldn't go to school or have to be by their bedside constantly, I'm just saying they should redshirt the year and focus on spending time with their family member while attending school, not flying halfway across the country every couple weeks. The rules for the waiver state the player is supposed to be playing some part in the day to day care of the family member, seems like that's hard to do between class, practice, games, and travel, especially in this case where he'll still be 80+ miles from his mom. It's not going to hurt your NBA stock to take some time off.

I was taught by former Dematha and hall of fame basketball coach Morgan Wooten that your priorities and commitments should be 1st to God 2nd to your family 3rd to your education/school work and then only 4th to basketball.

[stever20]

I guess my question is when is the last time the NCAA approved this waiver since they closed it up a few years ago. If they have at all(as far as I know, they haven't).

[Irishdawg]

I'm not trying to compare situations since I know nothing about Heron or his mother, but Joey Brunk from Butler was granted a hardship waiver from the NCAA this past December to restore a year of eligibility with his late father's illness that was diagnosed early on in his freshman season, but after Brunk had played in several games. Of course Brunk wound up missing practices and often didn't make road trips with the team so he could be with his dad and family during that time.

Again, not comparing the two situations in the slightest, just using an example of a hardship that was granted pretty recently within the Big East. As much of a no-brainer as this one may sound like, the NCAA still took a year to grant it, but time also wasn't of the essence in his case.

[stever20]

I'm not trying to compare situations since I know nothing about Heron or his mother, but Joey Brunk from Butler was granted a hardship waiver from the NCAA this past December to restore a year of eligibility with his late father's illness that was diagnosed early on in his freshman season, but after Brunk had played in several games. Of course Brunk wound up missing practices and often didn't make road trips with the team so he could be with his dad and family during that time.

Again, not comparing the two situations in the slightest, just using an example of a hardship that was granted pretty recently within the Big East. As much of a no-brainer as this one may sound like, the NCAA still took a year to grant it, but time also wasn't of the essence in his case.

That's a bit different though. That's a waiver granted for an extra year of eligibility. That's not for allowing for immediate playing after a transfer. Apples and Oranges quite frankly.