Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey announced on Tuesday that forward Tim Abromaitis will miss the first four games of the regular season due to a violation during the 2008-09 season.
In his sophomore campaign, Abromaitis played in two exhibition games and then sat out the rest of the season as a redshirt. The NCAA allows freshmen to play in preseason games and still redshirt – but not sophomores, juniors or seniors. According to the rule, Abromaitis technically used a season of eligibility with those two games.
“This certainly was an unfortunate misunderstanding that I had of the NCAA rule,” Brey said in a statement. “I discovered that I had misinterpreted the rule midway through the 2008-09 season and immediately reported it to our compliance office.”
Abromaitis will use his fifth year of eligibility this season, after sitting out four games against Mississippi Valley State, Detroit, Sam Houston State and Delaware State. He will return against Missouri in the CBE Classic semifinals on November 21. It doesn't seem like the Fighting Irish will have much trouble dispatching any of the first four teams, although Ray McCallum and Detroit could pose a threat. In Abromaitis' place, Jerian Grant will get an opportunity to provide a perimeter boost. The slasher sat out his freshman season, but is very aggressive at both ends of the floor.
Abromaitis, a 6-foot-8 Connecticut native, averaged 15.4 points and 6.1 rebounds last season. He shot nearly 43 percent from 3-point range.
Photo: US Presswire
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