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Connor Hickman ineligible

Y

yoda

Well-known member
yoda said:
Connor Hickman taking on the NCAA in court
His court date is Nov. 25, but meanwhile the judge issued an injunction that makes him eligible to play until then.....
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Back in November, a court issued an injunction allowing Connor Hickman to play for College of Charleston
after NCAA denied his waiver request for a 5th year. NCAA shelved the issue and Connor has continued to play since.
Now, fresh off the court victory in the Charles Bediako case (the guy who was drafted by the NBA but went back & played for Alabama)

...now NCAA took up the Hickman case and ruled him ineligible
He has played in 20 games for Charleston, averaging 11.7 ppg
Thus, his season is over with six regular season games remaining and their conference tournament

Read the link highlighted above - all along they portray the situation as Connor being cheated - an innocent victim of a harsh & unfair system.
"He did nothing wrong. He followed poor medical advice..." - they try to shift blame to someone else.

BUT- altho we all agree it's unfortunate, the fact is that the season Connor wanted as a medical waiver to get the extra year, HE CLEARLY
PLAYED TOO MANY GAMES to qualify for a medical redshirt year. - He was over the long held limit that NCAA has had in place for decades.
In 2024-25, while at Cincinnati, he played in 13 games, which is well over 30% of the team's scheduled games (they had 31 games,
so 30% would be 9.3. Thus anything over 9 games played would disqualify him from a medical waiver (redshirt))

The release also said Connor's lawyers will file further motions and consider an appeal.
 
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Connor is a victim of the NCAA's selective enforcement of their rules. Hundreds of players have been granted waivers for an extra year, even though they exceeded the limit of games played to qualify for a redshirt. The NCAA has regularly violated many of their own rules by giving extra years of eligibility to athletes in their 6th, 7th, 8th, and now 9th year of college. And they've even arbitrarily allowed professional players to have eligibility and go back and enroll at colleges to earn NIL, since it is more than their pro team was paying them. And this past year they allowed juco, D2, D3, and NAIA transfers extra years just because they didn't have as many years to line their pockets with NIL money. What a joke they are.
 
Connor peaked at Bradley around the time of our conference championship. He took a risk. The grass wasn’t greener. Wish it had worked out better for him as far as finish to a career.
 
Dub said:
Connor peaked at Bradley around the time of our conference championship. He took a risk. The grass wasn’t greener. Wish it had worked out better for him as far as finish to a career.
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Yeah, it would have been nice if he had returned to Bradley for his final year last year. Maybe he doesn't injure his foot and miss most of the season, and is able to finish on a high note here. Imagine him playing another year with Duke, Darius, Zek, Christian, Jaquan, Burch, Atlason, Thomas, et. al. I think Bradley would have ended up playing higher than the NIT.
He worked hard to come back, and is having a pretty good year, averaging 11.7 points. And Charleston is 16-9 and in contention for the CAA. So it's tough luck if he has to miss the rest of this season.
 
NEWS on the Connor Hickman front....

He has again been reinstated by the court and played Thursday (8 pts on 2-7). They are scheduled to play again today.
www.live5news.com

Connor Hickman reinstated at College of Charleston

Connor Hickman can be back on the court for the College of Charleston as soon as Thursday night.
www.live5news.com www.live5news.com

overall in his five seasons in college (3 at BU, one each at Cincy & Charleston), he's played 130 games, and likely now will play at least 4 or 5 more.
Note that for SEVENTY YEARS the all time record number of games that any Bradley player had played was 140 by Gene Melchiorre.
And only six other players had ever played more than 130.
(But with the Covid waivers- now Darius Hannah holds the record with 151 games played.)

But playing 135 college games is not exactly getting cheated by NCAA, which is how much of the media and basketball gurus put it.
In fact at least 25 of those games he will have played while being officially deemed ineligible by NCAA - but he played anyway
using the judge's temporary injunctions.

Good for CH, but we need to have a system in place where the NCAA can set the rules that everyone agrees to play under, then hold to it instead of the courts constantly forcing NCAA to make exceptions for the ones with enough $$ for attorneys and lawsuits.
 
Here is an interesting site that lists around 50 or more lawsuits that the NCAA has been fighting, many of them involving athlete eligibility and NIL issues-

The Tracker — The College Sports Litigation Tracker

www.collegesportslitigationtracker.com www.collegesportslitigationtracker.com

Note that one of them is from Connor Hickman-
https://www.collegesportslitigationtracker.com/tracker (click on Hickman vs. NCAA)-
Hickman lost the initial judgement and also lost an appeal, but in each case, the judge issued a stay to allow further reconsideration or appeals. The case is still open, but Charleston's season ended yesterday when they lost in the CAA quarterfinals-
cofcsports.com

Men's Basketball Falls in CAA Quarterfinals - College of Charleston Athletics

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The College of Charleston men's basketball team fell to Towson 81-56 in the 2026 Air Force Reserve CAA Men's Basketball Championship to co...
cofcsports.com cofcsports.com

Charleston's final record is 21-11. They were 14-4 and finished 2nd to UNCW in the CAA, though their NET is not very good (163), and there are 3 other CAA teams that finished behind Charleston who have better NET's (Hofstra, William & Mary, and Towson).
So it's possible they could get an at-large bid to the NIT, though it doesn't seem likely. And they might buy their way into the CBI or Vegas/College Basketball Crown (CBC) tournament. But it looks like the final ruling in his lawsuit, even if it does go against Hickman, will hold off long enough for him to finish the season.

The NCAA has lost many of the eligibility lawsuits they defended, but even if they win this one, it will probably be moot.
But in this NIL and big money era, expect even more NCAA lawsuits in the near future that could determine the long-term sustainability of college athletics for many schools.
 
in that final loss by Charleston, Connor had what may be the worst game of his career in the CAA quartfinals.
In a 25 point loss to a considerably lower seed - Connor went 0-6 (0-5 from 3-pt), and was scoreless in 25 minutes
 
Connor Hickman posts a long and thoughtful summary of his 5-year college career.
www.x.com/connor1035/status/2036966403060941047
Connor lived through the Covid year(s), the start of NIL, the emergence of the portal, along with injuries, lawsuits, and NCAA ruling him ineligible, twice. He never says it, but I have to wonder if there is some regret for leaving Bradley, where he had his best season as a junior. Recall that in 2022-23. he was terrific and helped lead Bradley to the MVC regular season title, was the team's leading scorer, averaged a career-high 14.5 ppg, shot 40.2% from three, and also had career-highs in FG%, 3-point FG%, rebounding, assists, steals, and minutes-played. His numbers all fell off after he left. Injuries plagued him in his 2 years at Cincinnati. And in his 6th year back at mid-major Charleston, he should have rebounded and fourished. But his season was disappointing and his numbers were all well short of what he accomplished in his final year at Bradley (2022-23).
Career stats- https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/stats/_/id/4897447/connor-hickman

Good luck to Connor in his future!
 
It does sound like his Bradley experience and friendships were the most impactful. 3 years vs 1 afterall.
 
He stayed 3 years and the thing I remember the most is when he made the big dunk against Drake at home when Bradley won the regular season championship. I fully understand why he left because he challenged himself to see if he was capable of playing in a tougher league. I do think if it was not for NIL he would have stayed at Bradley. The article he wrote was really good in telling how past relationships are so important in your overall growth in life. I also wish him good luck.
 
tomahawk chop said:
He stayed 3 years and the thing I remember the most is when he made the big dunk against Drake at home when Bradley won the regular season championship. I fully understand why he left because he challenged himself to see if he was capable of playing in a tougher league. I do think if it was not for NIL he would have stayed at Bradley. The article he wrote was really good in telling how past relationships are so important in your overall growth in life. I also wish him good luck.
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He would have had success at Cincinnati if he had not suffered the broken foot. He was a starter and playing very well in his first 5 games before getting injured. The injury was misdiagnosed initially as just a sprain, and he was told he could continue playing. In the next 8 games, while playing on a broken foot, he only averaged 1.6 points and he was just 5-29 from the floor and 2-17 from three. Further tests revealed a fracture, but by then he had played in 13 games, too many to qualify for a redshirt year. That is what lead to the lawsuit and eligibility fight.
 
Da Coach said:
He would have had success at Cincinnati if he had not suffered the broken foot. He was a starter and playing very well in his first 5 games before getting injured. The injury was misdiagnosed initially as just a sprain, and he was told he could continue playing. In the next 8 games, while playing on a broken foot, he only averaged 1.6 points and he was just 5-29 from the floor and 2-17 from three. Further tests revealed a fracture, but by then he had played in 13 games, too many to qualify for a redshirt year. That is what lead to the lawsuit and eligibility fight.
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Great Doctor. They didn't bother to take x-rays. Again another reason he should have stayed at Bradley. They dont take short cuts
 
bradleyfan124 said:
Great Doctor. They didn't bother to take x-rays. Again another reason he should have stayed at Bradley. They dont take short cuts
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Yeah, I have communicated with Connor's dad, and they were not happy about it. But, stress fractures, especially early on, are difficult to discern from strains. Even X-rays may look normal until re-calcification starts to accumulate.
 
The Bonds at Bradley! Connor reflected on this in his own words! I'm glad I joined Bradley fans forum and thanks to Coach for letting me be able to read Connor's Statement on his 5 years in College 🏀! Life is so much more then the game itself. I loved hearing about his special bonds with Cade and his roommate Malevy who he considers the nicest guy he ever met. I know he's greatful most for his 3 years at Bradley which gave him the time to form these relationships! I'm sorry like him that NIL has changed what was a great Bonding sport! I wish him well. I do wish Coach Wardle had a position for him at Bradley if he even wanted it! I can still root for Bradley, but also know as a fan, the Good old days are over.
 
Is this the total article that Connor wrote?I do not subscribe to the Journal Star.Can someone post the article?
 
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