Sep. 30—A preliminary injunction hearing held Tuesday afternoon in Santa Clara County came with some good news, some bad news and, in many ways, no news at all for a pair of Gonzaga players seeking a fifth year of college eligibility.
The Glancey v. NCAA lawsuit including Xaivian Lee, a Florida transfer looking to extend his career with Mark Few and the Gonzaga men, and Ines Bettencourt, a returning starter hoping to return for one final season with Lisa Fortier and the Zag women, continued Tuesday afternoon in Northern California, where a Santa Clara County judge heard statements from player plaintiffs and coaches, along with arguments from attorneys representing the NCAA.
Lee, Bettencourt and more than 70 other player plaintiffs involved in the case are seeking a preliminary injunction that would grant them a fifth year of eligibility, extending their clocks months after the NCAA passed its new 5-in-5 eligibility model.
No ruling was made Tuesday and another hearing was scheduled for Oct. 20, according to Ryan Downton, one of the attorneys representing the player plaintiffs.
"There was not enough time for all of the players and coaches to testify today, so the hearing will resume on October 20," Downton wrote in an email to The Spokesman-Review. "The TRO (temporary restraining order) remains in place pending the next hearing."
Tuesday's no-decision could be interpreted as either a negative or positive development.
Although players now have to wait at least three weeks for clarity, the TRO issued by the Superior Court of Santa Clara on Aug. 7 gives them eligibility until a judge makes a final ruling. Specifically, it allows Lee and Bettencourt to practice with their respective teams and participate in the upcoming Kraziness in the Kennel and Numerica Fan Fest events scheduled the next two weekends.
The second injunction hearing will take place four days before the Gonzaga men travel to Fayetteville, Arkansas, for a preseason exhibition against Arkansas and seven days before the Zag women host Westmont College for their only preseason exhibition on Oct. 27.
A preliminary injunction would signify an important step for Lee and Bettencourt, but the NCAA is expected to counter with an appeal and push for a stay motion, which would reverse both players' eligibility until the case is heard by a Court of Appeals.
Two other incoming Gonzaga men's basketball transfers seeking a fifth year of eligibility, Javon Bennett (Dayton) and Chauncey Wiggins (Florida State), initially secured eligibility through similar injunctions in Ohio and Georgia, but judges in both cases granted the NCAA's request for a stay, making both players ineligible for the time being.
Downton is representing player plaintiffs in a handful of other 5-in-5 cases across the country, including the Ohio lawsuit involving Bennett and Georgia lawsuit involving Wiggins. It's possible final verdicts on one or multiple cases won't arrive before Gonzaga opens the season on Nov. 2 against Purdue in Las Vegas.
A handful of fifth-year hopefuls including BYU's Jaxon Kohler, a Michigan State transfer, testified in person Tuesday afternoon. St. John's coach Rick Pitino also attended the injunction hearing in Santa Clara to testify. Reed Bailey, a fifth-year forward who transferred from Indiana to St. John's this offseason, is one of the player plaintiffs named in the lawsuit.
"The NCAA should give up on all of these lawsuits and let everyone in the Class of 2022 play this year," Pitino said during the hearing, according to a post on X from Downton's firm, the Texas Trial Group.
Other notable players named in the California suit include former UCLA guards Donovan Dent and Skyy Clark, both of whom transferred to play for LSU and first-year coach Will Wade. If granted an injunction, all three of Lee, Dent and Clark could be on the floor when the Tigers travel to Spokane for a Nov. 14 matchup with Gonzaga at Numerica Veterans Arena.
Former Saint Mary's, UConn and UC Santa Barbara guard Aidan Mahaney is also part of the lawsuit, as is fifth-year point guard Moe Odum, who faced the Zags at each of his three college stops: Pacific, Pepperdine and Arizona State.
