Illini to pursue medical hardship waiver for Mike Thorne

#1      

Dan

Admin
Groce: We will pursue a medical hardship waiver for Thorne

Groce: Feel awful for Thorne. He's had setbacks and "numerous issues." Not in his best interest to play rest of season.

Groce: Up to NCAA to grant that, of course. Hopefully, he gets two senior nights.

Groce on if he has a chance for medical hardship: "Of course we do." Won't get into specifics but his case is unique.

Groce: The information that I have, he has a chance.

https://twitter.com/JWernerScout
 
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#3      
Very interesting.
A little surprised that Mike wants that, only because he has been on some campus for 5 years already. But he wanted to play at Illinois for the court time and exposure, so evidently he and his advisors have decided which way to go.

Could be very good for us. Fingers crossed (really a silly way to live your life, what with our NCAA track record, having one hand tied up with fingers crossed, but what the heck)
 
#5      

Jabber Jabber

Champaign, IL
Groce said based on the information he has, he thinks they have a really good chance of getting the waiver. Strange, since I'm fairly certain his own compliance staff has pointed out numerous times to media members that Thorne would be ineligible for a waiver due to playing the second half of the season. Maybe something changed.
 
#6      
IMHO, Nichols wins his appeal too, to be eligible at start of fall semester vs Mid December.

Abrams technically needs to be cleared as well right? Imagine he is set given that he didn't play at all the whole year.

Is there a limit per year? That's how crazy the injuries have gotten this year.
 
#7      

Jabber Jabber

Champaign, IL
"Numerous issues," "Won't get into specifics, but his case is unique." Something is odd about this case.
 
#8      

icengineer

Southern Illinois
IMHO, Nichols wins his appeal too, to be eligible at start of fall semester vs Mid December.

NO WAY! We aren't that lucky....lol. It would be wonderful to start getting a break here and there. Nichols, Abrams, Thorne, and Lucas, added to this years roster might make for a really nice year.
 
#9      
Hard to see why this isn't an open-and-shut case, given he played in the Indiana game. The rules are not ambiguous. I don't know what Groce could be thinking.
 
#11      
I do think this is a unique case, with Mike being a grad transfer and all. Hey, the NCAA has been known to be "kind and gentler" recently, so you never know. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Pretty sure its been the opposite recently. They have become tired of analyzing things case by case and have accepted few, if any waiver requests that dont fit the rules. I really dont see this getting approved unfortunately unless they truly know something we dont
 
#13      

homesickalien

Springfield
I get we need a big man next year, but there's no way this gets cleared. Watch this drag out and get denied late in the process which in turn makes us lose our chances with other 5th years.
 
#16      

IlliniDent

Chicago, IL
I think the argument could be made that it was obvious that when they tried to play him that he was not actually able to play and was truly injured for the year. Whether or not they take that is a different story.
 
#17      
I think the argument could be made that it was obvious that when they tried to play him that he was not actually able to play and was truly injured for the year. Whether or not they take that is a different story.

Hard to sell that one when he played 16 minutes in that game. If he had gone in the game and only been able to go a few min then maybe you could make a case.
 
#19      
While I'd have to say it's preferable to get a HS kid, IF Groce is back next year, hes gonna have to finish top half of the B1G and at least make a hard case for a sweet 16 team (given the talent, with or without Thorne/Black). That's why we need Thorne back, or maybe its better to say Groce needs Thorne back.

Developing a HS kid is the better option long term, but if Groce wants to stick, 2+ years down the road is his last thought right now.
 
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#20      

blackdog

Champaign
While I'd have to say it's preferable to get a HS kid, IF Groce is back next year, hes gonna have to finish top half of the B1G and at least make a hard case for a sweet 16 team (given the talent, with or without Thorne/Black). That's why we need Thorne back, or maybe its better to say Groce needs Thorne back.

Developing a HS kid is the better option long term, but if Groce wants to stick, 2+ years down the road is his last thought right now.

Also there really aren't any HS big men available for next season that would be able to contribute.
 
#21      
A little surprised that Mike wants that, only because he has been on some campus for 5 years already. But he wanted to play at Illinois for the court time and exposure, so evidently he and his advisors have decided which way to go.
This was my very first thought.

I'll be amazed if this gets granted, because why would the NCAA help us? Buuuuuut, I would like it quite a bit.
 
#22      

Hands Malone

Quad-Cities, IL
I would hope the NCAA makes their decision quickly. I can just see an extended drawn out affair where Groce or whoever will be scrambling to fill a spot.