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Aiken Standard, S.C.
Quarles-Daniels eligible for Gamecocks, but will it last?
- Story byAiken Standard, S.C.
- Quarles-Daniels eligible for Gamecocks, but will it last?
Oct. 20—COLUMBIA — South Carolina has its point guard.
For now.
Brooke Quarles-Daniels, an emergency import due to the Gamecocks' lack of a true point guard and the player taking advantage of the NCAA's "5-in-5" rule that denied another year's eligibility to the Class of 2022, which has caused hundreds of athletes to sue to the NCAA, got good news on Tuesday. Her group that sued the NCAA (Glancey vs. the NCAA) received an injunction that allows everybody to play this year.
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But the NCAA will appeal, as it has all of these decisions, with split results. That's where the water gets murkier.
What seems certain is that Quarles-Daniels can play in the immediate future. She played in the Gamecocks' September exhibition against College of Charleston, and she is presumably able to play on Friday against Benedict, the No. 1 Gamecocks' final exhibition before the Nov. 2 season opener.
The good news is if she plays in a real game, the team cannot be punished since she played under a court order (i.e., the NCAA can't force USC to forfeit games due to an ineligible player). The bad news is who knows when a trial could be set and a decision announced on the NCAA's appeal, meaning she could be told midseason that she's no longer eligible.
Coach Dawn Staley said last week that they've been preparing with Quarles-Daniels as if she'll be eligible. While the Gamecocks have several more players who can play point or bring the ball up, they don't want to have to rely on them since it would hamper what those players were brought here to do.
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The NCAA will appeal the injunction on grounds of requesting a stay, and a trial cannot be scheduled until the appeal is filed. If the stay is granted, players are ineligible until the trial.
If the stay is denied, players are eligible until the trial. And with the precedent of recent cases, a stay is likely to be denied.
It's the choice of Staley and USC of whether or not to play Quarles-Daniels, and up to this point, the answer was yes. As the season opener approaches, perhaps that changes.
A transfer from Michigan, Quarles-Daniels never played in the WNBA or any other pro league after her eligibility was (thought to be) exhausted last season. There would be no holdup in that vein, the NCAA making it clear that players who had been with pro teams since leaving college would not be able to return to college.
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In two years with the Wolverines, the 5-foot-7 guard averaged just over five points and 4.4 rebounds plus 2.1 steals, twice being named to the All-Big Ten defensive team. She also won all-Horizon League honors during her two years at Oakland.
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