ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan men’s basketball got its veteran guard back in Ann Arbor on Thursday when Roddy Gayle Jr. was cleared to play a fifth college season, head coach Mike Boynton said.
The ruling came from a New York state court, which amended a temporary restraining order to bar the NCAA from blocking Gayle over his summer stint with the Detroit Pistons in the NBA Summer League, where he was paid a small stipend. Gayle, a Niagara Falls native, had won an earlier preliminary injunction but sat out both of the Wolverines’ exhibition games while the case played out.
Gayle is one of many players who sued after the NCAA moved to a five-years-in-five rule on eligibility. He had declared for the draft before that rule was written.
Across 146 games at Ohio State and Michigan, his career line stands at 8.8 points and 3.2 boards per game. He scored 24 points across tournament wins over Alabama and Tennessee during last spring’s title run.
His first chance to play comes Sunday against No. 10 Houston in an exhibition in Grand Rapids. Michigan opens the regular season Nov. 2 against Oakland.
Section: More Ann Arbor MI sports news
Ann Arbor sports business profiles
Filed under: Ann Arbor MI Sports News
