:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/20507293/gyi0063878636.0.jpg)
Well, this is the news we all did not want to hear. Word is finally out on if the NCAA would grant Ahmad Starks a hardship waiver, making him eligible to play this upcoming season. They did not, because the NCAA is the worst. Starks, a guard, transferred to the University of Illinois from Oregon State this winter to be closer to his sick grandmother. You'd think the NCAA would be more understanding about moving two time zones back east to be within a two hour drive of the ailing elderly woman who raised him, but hey, NCAA.
While this is a bummer for this upcoming season, as Starks would have provided some nice senior leadership and much-needed shooting skills, next season is when the crunch is going to be felt hardest. With Starks having to sit out the 2013-2014 season, the Fighting Illini are now over-signed by one slot for next season. This is obviously not the ideal situation John Groce hoped for and now we just have to see how it's all going to play out.
Follow The Champaign Room on Twitter at @Champaign_Room and Like us on Facebook. You can follow Mark Primiano on Twitter at @SBN_UGod.