EXECUTIVE SPORTS EDITOR

The Fordham men’s basketball team suffered a major blow on Friday, as 6-foot-10 freshman forward Manny Suarez was ruled a partial qualifier by the NCAA and will be forced to sit out this season.

Suarez will spend the season in NCAA purgatory after failing to qualify academically. He will retain his scholarship and be allowed to practice with the team but will not be able to compete.

“Obviously it’s disappointing for a kid who worked hard,” Fordham head coach Tom Pecora said. Pecora also said that he could not comment on the specifics of Suarez’s situation, because the decision is currently being appealed.

The NCAA clearinghouse evaluates student-athletes based on a combination of their GPA in 13 core high school courses and their SAT scores. The higher the student’s GPA, the lower the minimum SAT score needed to qualify, and vice versa.

Per NCAA bylaw 14.3, a full qualifier is a student-athlete who falls between a sliding scale from GPA of 2.5 or better and an SAT score of at least 820, to a GPA of 2.0 and a 1010 SAT score.

Suarez was declared a partial qualifier, meaning he falls on a scale from a GPA of 2.75 or better and an SAT score of at least 720, to a GPA of 2.525 and an 810 SAT score.

Pecora said he was not concerned about Suarez’s academic status during the recruiting process.

“We thought he was going to be a full qualifier,” he said.

Without Suarez, Fordham is left with only three true big men on its roster: junior Ryan Canty and sophomores Travion Leonard and Ryan Rhoomes. Pecora plans to use freshman Jake Fay, a 6-foot-6 2-guard, in the frontcourt as a “stretch-4”.

Pecora said he plans to start Rhoomes and Fay in the frontcourt in Friday’s exhibition game against Northwood.