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FAYETTEVILLE — Transfers across college basketball were granted immediate eligibility Wednesday thanks to an approved proposal, but the rule change doesn’t appear to impact Arkansas.
The Razorbacks lone sit-out transfer in the 2020-21 season, Kamani Johnson from Little Rock, will not receive the blanket waiver because he is a midyear transfer, head coach Eric Musselman clarified during a Zoom videoconference Thursday afternoon.
“When you really start diving into the rule like we have, I think that players that have already been going to school a particular school for the first semester, those guys will probably get a blanket waiver,” Musselman said. “Kamani has not taken a class here. I don’t think the rule was necessarily intended for the mid-year guy right now, whether it’s Kamani or across the board.”
When he originally announced his decision to transfer from Little Rock to Arkansas, Johnson figured to be a traditional transfer required to sit out a year before being able to play for the Razorbacks. That meant he’d take the court after the first semester of the 2021-22 season.
However, the NCAA is currently considering approving a one-time transfer rule that is expected to be passed in January and would allow Johnson to play all of next season.
Wednesday’s news led to speculation that he might be able to suit up for the Razorbacks as soon as Sunday’s game against Oral Roberts, but that isn’t the case. Instead, Arkansas plans to ask the NCAA to grant him eligibility via a waiver request.
Known for his prolific recruiting of transfer, Musselman is no stranger to the waiver process. Just last season, the Razorbacks hoped to get Connor Vanover immediate eligibility after transferring from Cal, but it was ultimately denied.
“We will put in a waiver and see what happens,” Musselman said. “Obviously since I’ve been a part of college basketball, I cannot figure out the waiver situation, because we’ve had as many transfers as anybody in the country and done as many waivers, but have not had great success with it at times.”
As a sophomore, Johnson started almost every game for the Trojans and averaged 11.0 points on 52.3 percent shooting, 6.7 rebounds and 2.2 assists. Those numbers helped him earn third-team All-Sun Belt honors.
As a 6-foot-7, 215-pound forward, he is expected to bring even more size to a team that has already seen its average rebound margin improve from minus-6.8 (342nd nationally) to plus-11.5 (23rd). Johnson was also a high-volume and efficient free throw shooter at Little Rock, making 72.7 percent of his 6.4 attempts per game.
He has not yet begun practicing with the team, but indicated on Twitter that he would arrive in Fayetteville on Wednesday.
“Kamani has indicated to us he would like to play, his family would like him to play immediately,” Musselman said. “So all you can do is fill out the paperwork to the best of your ability. I have great confidence that from a compliance standpoint we’ll put the paperwork in and see where it goes.”