The Joel Ntambwe saga is officially over. Unfortunately for Texas Tech basketball fans, it didn’t end the way we were hoping.
Thursday, Texas Tech and Ntambwe had a final opportunity to make a case for the sophomore transfer’s immediate eligibility but an NCAA panel ruled that he will not be eligible this season. That is a frustrating decision given that he is the only one of five players that left UNLV after last offseason’s coaching change to not be granted immediate eligibility this year.
This was at least the third time that Texas Tech took its case to the NCAA since November but most believe that UNLV bitterness over Chris Beard and his decision to leave Vegas for Tech after two weeks on the job back in 2016 has led to the administrators at that school pulling out all stops to stand in the way of Ntambwe’s waiver.